From Colon Blow to Taco Town to Shweddy Balls, SNL is known for its sometimes-temping, often-disgusting food parodies. Most pale in comparison, however, to the Overnight Salad: dripping with mid-century mayonnaise overdose, this send-up of 1950s American "cuisine" has been haunting me since its premiere last spring, and now finally it's here. Along with a practical version, because as it turns out, overnight salads are an actual thing for some reason. Don't forget the quarter (like I did)!

Ingredients

SNL Version Ingredients:

• Shredded lettuce

• Cheddar cheese, cubed

• 1 lemon

• Mayonnaise

• 25 Hot Dogs, halved

• 2 handfuls raisins

• Freshly ground black pepper

• Fritos

• Root Beer

• Cookies

• Pizza 

• Maraschino cherry, for garnish

Good Version Ingredients:

• 1 egg

• 1 tsp mustard

• Kosher salt

• 1 lemon

• 1 cup neutral flavored oil

• ⅓ cup chili oil

• 3 Tbsp horseradish

• 1 tsp hot sauce

• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

• 1 tsp sweet paprika

• 2 Tbsp finely minced onion

• Rye bread, cubed

• Purple cabbage, chopped

• Arugula

• Swiss cheese, shredded

• Deli pastrami, thinly sliced

• Cornichon pickles, chopped (optional)

• Potato Chips, crumbled (optional), for serving

Method

SNL Overnight Salad Method (Don’t Make This):

1. In a large bowl, fill the bottom with a little bit of lettuce followed by a sprinkling of cubed cheddar cheese and the juice of one lemon.

2. Add in enough mayonnaise to cover the cheese and enough that will hold 25 standing halved hot dogs. 

3. On top of the hot dogs, cover with two handfuls of raisins and enough freshly ground black pepper to cover the raisins. 

4. Top with Fritos, and pour in enough root beer to cover the standing hot dogs. 

5. Add the cookies to the top before topping with a few slices of pizza and one final dollop of mayonnaise with a cherry on top. I do not recommend making or consuming this!

“Good” Version Method:

1. Start by combining 1 egg, 1 teaspoon of mustard, a pinch of salt, and the juice of 1 lemon in an immersion blender jar. Slowly pour 1 cup of neutral-flavored oil (i.e. canola oil) and blend until a thick emulsion forms. You now have homemade mayo!

2. Into a large bowl, combine the homemade mayo with ⅓ cup of chili sauce, 3 tablespoons of prepared horseradish, 1 teaspoon of hot sauce, 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika, and a couple of tablespoons of finely minced onion. Whisk to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. This makes your russian salad dressing.

3. For the croutons, cube up a bunch of rye bread. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle generously with olive oil. Sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and toss together, spread out, and bake at 300°F for 20-40 minutes. 

4. For the meat, slice deli pastrami into thin little bits. 

5. Shred a ton of swiss cheese along with 1 chopped purple cabbage before assembling. 

6. For assembly, start the bottom layer with some purple cabbage, then top with arugula, swiss cheese, and an optional sprinkle of cornichon chopped pickles.

7. Top the pickles with a generous amount of the sliced pastrami, some more swiss, and another layer of arugula, cabbage, and cheese. 

8. Place in the croutons and top with another layer of arugula, cabbage, and swiss cheese. Make sure this layer of cheese is thick enough to block the dressing from reaching the other ingredients.

9. Pour in the russian dressing on top of the cheese. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. 

10. Optionally crumble a few potato chips on top of the salad when serving.