Bacon Pea Salad

I love party food, and by “party food” I mean something that I wouldn’t fix on a normal day. I’m talking canapés, cheese dip, little weenies wrapped in bacon, deviled eggs, and, in this case, pea salad. There is something that just says summer about pea salad. This one is crunchy, fresh, and flavorful, and needs to be made ahead of time, something I always find to be a good thing.

Bacon Pea Salad

4 slices thick cut bacon
¾ c. Duke’s mayonnaise
1 T. real maple syrup
1 T. granulated sugar
1 T. grated onion
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 20-oz. pkg. frozen peas
2 T. chopped fresh parsley
2 ribs celery, chopped
½ c. cubed cheddar cheese, white or yellow
1/3 c. chopped red onion

Cook bacon until crispy in a medium/large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain bacon on paper towel-lined plate; chop. Reserve 1 tablespoon bacon grease.

Whisk together mayonnaise, reserved bacon grease, maple syrup, sugar, grated onion, salt, and pepper, in a bowl until combined.

Stir in bacon, peas, parsley, celery, cheddar cheese, and red onion until coated. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

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Sweet & Spicy Coleslaw

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While backyard barbecues and holiday gatherings may be a bit different this year, the food remains the same. I have been craving summer food like ribs on the grill, mounds of potato salad, deviled eggs, and coleslaw. Inasmuch as coleslaw is perfectly good on its own, I find I like it more as a sandwich topper. If you have never tried that, put a mound on top of a barbecued beef sandwich, burger, or, as I have done here, a homemade Sloppy Joe. It is so good. This is my favorite recipe for coleslaw. It was inspired by of Bobby Flay's recipe. As simple as it looks, it has a lot of flavor.

Sweet & Spicy Coleslaw

Inspired by Bobby Flay

1 sm. head green cabbage, finely shredded

1 large carrot, finely shredded
1/3 c. Duke’s mayonnaise
1 T. sour cream
1 T. grated Melissa's shallot 

2 T. granulated sugar
1 T. cider vinegar
1 t. dry mustard
1 t. celery salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine. Refrigerate at least an hour before serving, preferably overnight.

Asian Cucumber Salad

Yesterday I gave you an amazing recipe for barbecue sauce; if you haven’t seen that post you can see it here. Today I’m going to give you a delicious, light, summery salad, that, while it is Asian and goes well with all kinds of Asian foods, it also pairs wonderfully with any type of barbecue. Barbecue sauce can be rich, making food a bit heavy. That food needs to be lightened up with a salad, and this is the one. This is easy to make, light, refreshing, and so delicious, even people who aren’t all that keen on cucumbers are going to enjoy it. This recipe can be doubled, tripled, quadrupled, whatever you need to do to make it for whatever size crowd you happen to be hosting, works. I think you’re going to find it to be quite addicting. This is going to be my “go to” salad of the summer.

Asian Cucumber Salad

2 large cucumbers, halved lengthwise, seeded,

and sliced into ¼” half rounds
1 t. salt
¼ cup rice vinegar
2 T. granulated sugar
1 T. sesame oil
1 scallion, white and green parts, minced
1 clove garlic, finely minced
½ T. ginger root, finely minced
1 T. minced Melissa’s Fire Roasted Red Bell Peppers
1/8 - ¼ t. dried pepper flakes

Place the cucumber slices into a colander, sprinkle with salt, and set aside to drain for at least 1 hour.

Whisk the vinegar and sugar together until dissolved, then whisk in the sesame oil, scallion, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes, and red bell pepper.

RINSE (I cannot emphasize this enough! If you don’t rinse these thoroughly, your salad is going to be too salty.) the salt off the cucumbers, place into a large bowl, drizzle the dressing over, and toss to coat. Refrigerate for one hour prior to serving.

PRINT RECIPE

An equally delicious cucumber salad, but with less zing is this Sweet Corn and Cucumber Salad.

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