Broccoli Salad with Bacon, Golden Raisins, & Sunflower Seeds

This is one of those classic salads that everybody and their mother has a recipe for. They're all basically the same, but with little personal touches. It's actually not something I grew up with. I got a recipe from a co-worker when I did a brief stint selling motorhome windshields just out of college (no, that's not a joke - I even met Arlo Guthrie when his tour bus windshield cracked and he stopped in to get a new one).

We used to have certain days of the month where we'd bring in food, potluck-style, and a girl I worked with brought in a broccoli salad. Like most people, I was smitten. She wrote the recipe out neatly (and misspelled - "Brocolli Salad") on a pink index card that I still have today. Originally I made it exactly as written. My family started to not only look forward to it but to expect it on the table at our extended-family holiday meals.

Over the years, I've tweaked that original recipe a bit by reducing the sugar, changing the color of raisins that I prefer in it, upping the amount of bacon (duh!), and adding sunflower seeds. As written today, this is pretty much my personal favorite version of this salad...although I'd happily eat your favorite version as well.

Broccoli Salad

Tiny broccoli florets, bacon, golden raisins, sunflower seeds, and red onion are folded together with a sweet and tangy dressing in this classic salad.

by Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Keywords: side bacon broccoli American

Ingredients (serves 8-10)

• 1 pound bacon
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• pinch of fine sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large broccoli crowns
• 3/4 cup golden raisins (or a mix of colors)
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup finely diced red onion

Instructions

Cut the bacon into small strips (or dice if slab). Cook until crisp, drain the grease off, and set the bacon aside.

In the meantime, stir the mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, salt, and several grates of black pepper into a bowl until smooth. Allow to sit for 15 minutes.

Cut the broccoli into very small florets (reserve stalks for another use) and put into a large bowl; you should have about 6 cups of tiny florets. Add the raisins, sunflower seeds, onion, and reserved bacon to the bowl and toss everything together.

Drizzle the dressing over the salad, then use a rubber spatula or spoon to turn and mix until everything is coated evenly in the dressing.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 24 hours before serving.

Notes:

If you don't have White Wine Vinegar, you can substitute plain white vinegar, cider vinegar, or champagne vinegar

Slow Cooker Baked Beans

Lately I've talked a fair deal about grilling, cold cocktails, and frozen treats as ways that I like to beat the heat during the hot summer months, but I also like to take advantage of my slow cooker(s). It's great to have that comforting scent of food cooking without melting every time you walk into the kitchen. So, when my friend Leslie suggested that we plug in our slow cookers for this month's edition of she made, ella hace, I thought that was a brilliant idea.

Last week I shared Apple Barbecue Grilled Ribs and Old Fashioned Creamy Potato Salad recipes that were both part of the same meal. Well, guess what else went along with that meal? You guessed it—baked beans. While the ribs were parbaking in the oven and the potatoes were cooling, I poured a few different kinds of canned beans into my slow cooker, along with some smoky bacon, some veggies, and some classic baked bean flavorings like ketchup, molasses, vinegar, mustard and more.

Old Fashioned Creamy Potato Salad

Every time I post a potato salad recipe, I note that I tend to choose a vinegar-based one over a mayo based one. But every once in a while, I get a craving for some good old fashioned creamy potato salad, the kind my grandma used to make. Well, that feeling hit me hard about a month ago, and I knew it wouldn't go away until I made a batch. It actually took two batches to quiet the craving.

If you're looking for a good all-American style meal to serve on the Fourth of July this year, it doesn't get much closer than some tender grilled barbecue ribs, baked beans, corn on the cob, and some potato salad. Although, adding some classic macaroni salad would also be a nice touch. That's my next craving...I can feel it stirring just under the surface. Oh, and don't forget to top it off with a bomb pop.

All you'll want to do after eating this meal is watch some awesome fireworks and listen to some patriotic tunes. Sounds like summer in the U.S.A. to me.