Monday, April 25, 2011

"Egg-ceptional" Egg Salad

Happy Easter, Y'all!

I sure hope this post finds you all basking in the after-glow of a beautiful Easter weekend spent with the ones you love and cherish the most. Another Easter Sunday has come and gone, but as you sweep up the chartreuse green Easter grass and polish off the remaining yellow chick Peeps, you may find yourself contemplating what to do with all those EGGS?! If Peter Cottontail left you with a bevy of brightly hued hard boiled eggs, put those Easter icons to good use! Behold, "The Best Egg Salad EVER!!!" OK, I may be a bit biased but hey, what could it hurt? Only until I got a little older, did I appreciate Egg Salad. In my childhood days, it was always one of those sandwiches that you PRAYED would not be in your lunchbox that day. Now, as my taste buds have matured and ripened, I can appreciate the simplicity of this perfectly composed salad. The recipe below has a few little twists and turns and is definitely not your momma's Egg Salad! Give it a go!

Easter Egg Salad

Ingredients

12 bacon slices

8 large hard-boiled eggs, peeled, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup finely chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped pimiento-stuffed green olives

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

12 slices "Texas Toast" sandwich bread, toasted

12 Butter lettuce leaves

Fresh Tomato Slices (if desired)

Directions

Sauté bacon in skillet over medium heat until brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Combine chopped eggs, celery, and olives in bowl. Mix in 1/4 cup mayonnaise and mustard. Season with seasoning salt and pepper. ( Add a pinch of Cayenne for a little rabbit kick!) Place toast slices on work surface; spread lightly with remaining mayonnaise. Divide egg salad among 6 toast slices. Place 4 bacon pieces, then 2 lettuce leaves atop egg salad on each. Cover with remaining toast slices, mayonnaise side down. Cut sandwiches diagonally in half.  Serve immediately.

What are you waiting for? Hop to it and get cracking with this "egg-travagant" version of Egg Salad.