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Daisy Salad
Make small balls of minced chicken, well seasoned, and moistened with French dressing. Boil 5 eggs hard, peel, rub the yolks through a sieve and cut the whites in form of petals. Arrange the chicken-balls on crisp lettuce leaves, cover with the powdered yolks, and arrange the whites around the balls in the form of a daisy. This makes a very attractive salad.
A composed salad built for the eye rather than the palate, from the era when a luncheon plate was expected to look like something. Nothing here is cooked beyond the eggs, so success rests entirely on how firmly the chicken balls hold together.
- The hinge: bind the balls properlyMinced chicken moistened with dressing will not cohere on its own. Chop the meat fine rather than shredding it, and add only enough dressing to make it just tacky -- too much and the balls slump on the lettuce within minutes. Chilling the mixture 30 minutes before shaping helps it hold.
- French dressing, 1900 senseNot a sweet orange bottled dressing but a plain vinaigrette: roughly three parts oil to one part vinegar, salt and pepper, whisked or shaken to a temporary emulsion. Make it fresh; the recipe assumes it.
- "Well seasoned" means more than you thinkCold poultry needs aggressive salt and pepper to taste of anything. A little onion juice, celery salt or a dab of mustard in the mince is entirely in period and improves it.
- Hard-boiled eggsCover the eggs with cold water, bring to a boil, then take off the heat and let them stand covered 10-12 minutes before cooling in cold water. Boiling hard for the full time gives the grey-green ring and a rubbery white that will not cut cleanly into petals.
- Cutting the petalsHalve each egg lengthwise, remove the yolk, then cut the white shell into four or five lengthwise wedges. A thin knife wiped between cuts keeps the edges sharp. Five eggs give roughly 40-50 petals, enough for four or five daisies.
- Sieving the yolksPush the yolks through a fine sieve with the back of a spoon and let them fall loosely onto the chicken -- do not pack them down. The point is a fluffy yellow center, and pressing flattens it.
- Yield and timingThe recipe gives no quantity of chicken; five eggs suggests four or five daisies, for which perhaps 2 cups of minced cooked chicken (two breasts or so) would be enough. Assemble no more than half an hour before serving, since lettuce wilts under dressing and the yolk crumb absorbs moisture.