Fresh Broccoli Salad with Bacon & Grapes

Mr. O-P loves to shop, but at his age there really isn't a whole lot that he needs anymore, so he buys food. Lots of food. He buys what's on sale whether he likes it or not. This week he came home with three crowns of broccoli, and he doesn't even like broccoli. I do like broccoli, quite a bit, but there is really only so much broccoli a girl can eat, so there's been a bit of a scramble, on my part, to find as many ways as possible to use it. Broccoli soup was made, beef and broccoli enjoyed one night for dinner, crudites became afternoon snacks, broccoli has been blanched, streamed, and broiled, and today I made this salad from a recipe that I've long had and was discovered in the bowels of my recipe box.

I couldn't believe how good this was. Now, I happen to be one of those people who truly enjoys raw broccoli and cauliflower, so that probably enhanced my enjoyment, but it wasn't just about the broccoli, but the wonderful combination of tastes as well as a simple, yet tangy dressing.

This recipe made four side salads that I placed in those small, squat canning jars. I stacked them up in the fridge and grabbed for one when I wanted an energizing snack. This is great picnic food here, being both portable and tasty to boot. If you have a crazy, food-buying shopper in your house, direct him (or her) to the next broccoli sale and give this recipe a try.

Fresh Broccoli Salad with Bacon & Grapes

2 cups fresh broccoli florets

1/3 cup diced red onion

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup seedless black grapes, halved

1/3 cup mayonnaise

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons raspberry vinegar

Pinch of dry mustard

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a large salad bowl, combine the broccoli, onions, celery and grapes. In another bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, and dry mustard; pour over broccoli mixture; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Stir in bacon and sunflower seeds just before serving.

This post is linked to:

Veggie Wednesday

Wake up Wednesday

Wine’d Down Wednesday

Full Plate Thursday

Friday Finds

Successes, Mistakes, and Salmon Cakes

People who read this blog, or come to the house for a nice lunch or dinner, ask if we eat like this all of the time. No. We probably do most of the time, and by most, I mean about 75%. The other 25% is made up of BLTs, scrambled eggs, fruit and cheese plates, or carryout from the local barbecue joint.

Another thing I'm asked is if I have any failures. Oh, yeah! I just don't tell you about those. (Here is one exception that eventually worked out favorably.) Last week, in fact, when I made a recipe for jambalaya, but mistakenly halved the first part of the recipe without halving the second part, it resulted in a sticky, gloppy, rice-filled disaster. Hello peanut butter and saltines!

I've also had successes that turned into failures, which brings to mind this article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that ran a few years back, and that I happened upon recently in my files. (It was actually in the file that holds the owner's manuals for small kitchen appliances; don't ask me how it got there.)

I have no idea how the food editor of the Post got my name, or learned of my blog, but when the offer came to be a featured cook in the Food Section of the paper, I reluctantly accepted. I say reluctantly because, largely, well, entirely, I am not a seeker of publicity; I am the queen of the low profile, and I like it that way.

Choosing a recipe for the feature was no easy task (and I still regret taking my own picture for this, which resulted in my looking like a stern science teacher). I wanted something simple, make ahead, that would plate attractively, and have a wide appeal, so chose my salmon cakes. I had made these so many times that absolutely nothing go possibly go wrong. Nothing! By the time the photographer arrived to photograph the food (and, really, I think I could have taken the picture myself), I had them ready, cooled, plated, and waiting for their photography session. I'd made the sauce ahead of time and, as I do, had poured it into an icing bottle for easy and even dispersal on top of the cakes. What I did not realize, in my rather jittery state, was that I had put the wrong top on the icing bottle. Instead of the top with the wide opening, used to accommodate thicker sauces, I used the pointed top that is used for icings and glazes.

As the photographer stood by, I pulled out the bottle to dress the salmon cakes. I squeezed gently, ready to drizzle the sauce back and forth with great aplomb. Nothing happened. So I squeezed again. Nothing. Once more, and kaPOW! The lid blew off, sprayed glops of sauce onto the salmon cakes, spattering both the photographer and me in the going. I can still see bits of it hanging from her hair. Needless to say, I was mortified. I had to rinse and dry the salmon cakes, re-plate them, and scrape up what remained of the sauce to then apply with a small spoon.

I don't think the photographer, a young woman half my age, was at all amused, but we thought it was screamingly funny, still laughing after her departure while removing bits of sauce from the walls.

The lesson here of course, is to not let little upsets deter you. Embrace your uniqueness and press on!

This post is linked to:

You're Gonna Love it Tuesday

Wow Us Wednesday
Work It Wednesday

What’s It Wednesday

Share Your Style

Keeping it Simple

Creative Ways

Show and Share

Share Your Style on Thursday