Watergate Salad

We're talking about getting really Southern here

They are so good. Y'all, I'm so excited to be reunited with an old friend

This is Chef Jeff Henderson. Yes, give this man a hand, because we hope that all the children we raise will turn out like Jeff

Thank you. And we first met in New Orleans, I believe it was

What were we doing, Jeff? Feeding the hungry, delivering protein all across the country

to folks in need of some good food. Yes, yes. Jeff, let me explain real quickly to you

what I've been trying to do over the last few days. You know, people have a hard time with side salads and dishes

There is things that us Southern girls have been putting on our table for years that are so simple

and you're almost embarrassed to tell anybody because they are so simple

But you should not be because my children and my grandchildren love some of the simplest of salads

and I know everybody in here has had a Watergate salad. They are so good

It's really almost like a dessert. Have you ever had this, Jeff? I have, and it's amazing

Absolutely and everybody got their own little twist So if you just rinse those real good I going to take about a cup of crushed pineapple y And I not going to measure

I'm not going to worry about if it's a little. Who measures? That's right, honey

And we're just going to put. What is this here, Paula? This is pistachio pudding

Pistachio pudding? So if you would just stir that in. All right, so while we're just throwing these things together

I want you to tell everybody, how did you become a chef

We just, I'm going to toss those in the mixture. Well, you know, Paula knows my story. We've traveled the country over many, many years

Yes, I do. I was one of those guys when I was young, kid, I was hard-headed

I didn't want to listen to nobody. I thought I knew everything. I don't know about things like that, Jeff

Uh-oh, uh-oh. And I got myself in trouble, but I always was a curious kid

You know, my family comes from New Orleans, Louisiana. Three generations down there

and hardworking family, and I got myself into some trouble. And I wound up spending a little time

I went away for a little while. I call it an adult timeout. That's what I call it there. Sometimes we need that

Yeah, that's right. And I learned to cook. I discovered a hidden passion about food and..

Now, did you do that during your timeout? I did. Because those guys in timeout, they had to eat, didn't they

They had to eat. Three hots and a cot that was, you know

All right, now I'm gonna put some pistachios. And I'm gonna put as much of those as I want to

Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh. Uh-oh. I gonna put a cup and a half of marshmallows Okay I gonna put our cherries that you rent so good Paula don play around you rent so good So keep talking baby So keep talking And the first thing I learned to cook was fried chicken

by a guy by the name of Friendly Womack. Was he in timeout, too

He was in timeout, too. And he ran the kitchen. While you're stirring that up, I'm

going to tell y'all what I did here. OK. I took a cup of heavy cream, and I sweetened it with a fourth of a cup of sugar

And now I'm going to add, because I just think mayonnaise belongs in southern salads

Yes. I'm going to fold in some mayonnaise into our heavy cream

Uh-oh, talking about getting really southern here. Yes. I like that. All right

So there you go. I'm just going to stir that in. Mm-hmm. All right, because we have put so many nuts in this, y'all, it's turned it a little sickening green color. Uh-oh

So I'm going to add just a touch of green food coloring to just make that pistachio pudding pop

You don't have to do this. You don't have to add the green food coloring

This is great for St. Patrick's Day because, you know, on St. Patrick's Day here in Savannah, we color everything we eat green

Oh, yeah. Wow. But look at that. Now it's got some wet up in there now

We got some wet, baby. I'm going to fold it over really good

So don't ever be embarrassed about making your meals simple. It doesn have to have 10 ingredients that can none of us pronounce It doesn have to be that way Uh But see that little extra green food coloring just kind of offset

all them nuts. Oh, yeah. I want everybody at home to see this here. Oh, yeah

I hear them out there. I hear y'all. It looks like a cloud, doesn't it, y'all

Uh-oh. Uh-oh. So, like I said, this is good enough for dessert, Jeff

So you and I, just let's take us a little taste. Mm

Mm. See what that mayonnaise does to that? Mm. Mm. Mm. Mm

Just gives it a little twang. And I love the texture and the nice crunch, you know

in my salads as well, too. Yes. So can you make this a day ahead or a few hours early

Absolutely. That's what I like a lot. Absolutely. Mm. So, we've got some friends over there

Okay. We'll serve them up. I'm going to take one more bite. I love this

So y'all have all had this before. Uh-uh. So they know what to do, huh

They know what to do. Get up and serve themselves, huh? They know what to do. All righty

So y'all, this side salad is just one of many. And you know that you can always find a good, go-to

Simple Side Salad right here on the Paula Deen Network