Imagine your favorite chicken salad warmed up and served with a buttered and toasted slice of rustic crusty bread. This recipe comes from Betty Rose, my mom! In the eighties and nineties, my mom hosted many, many wedding and baby showers. Hospitality has always been her one of her specialties. One thing that you could count on was her menu! This chicken salad was always the staple. It was served on an exquisite, crispy, fried butterfly mold, accompanied with a side of fruit and salad. 45 years later and my friends still ask about it. I made it a few years ago at a Christmas party with my Walton high school besties and it brought up sweet memories.
I called mom today and asked her what those beautiful butterflies were called, she said she didn't know if they had a name. I have the molds and look forward to making them for the next generation of parties. I think that the Copy Cat Chicken Salad Chick Grape Salad would pair nicely with the California Hot Chicken Salad and those beautiful butterflies!
This is made as a casserole and can be served with a salad and bread, or as my mother, Betty Rose, used to make it, served on delicate crispy fried shapes some call Rosettes. It is an easy way to use up leftover chicken or turkey.
Add chicken, celery, almonds, pimiento to a large bowl.
In a separate bowl stir together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, graded onion and seasonings.
Add the mayonnaise mixture to the large bowl of chicken and stir together. Then pour into a greased casserole dish (8x10).
Mix grated cheese and potato chips and sprinkle over casserole.
Bake in a preheated oven at 375° about 30 minutes. It should be just heated through and lightly browned.
This casserole can be made ahead and put in the refrigerator. Add the cheese and potato chips just before putting it in the oven.
