Broccoli Salad Supreme

Broccoli Salad Supreme

We attended a Christmas concert December 1 that was followed by a family get-together potluck. The concert, by the way, was a wonderful way to start of the Christmas holiday season.  This recipe is cold which makes transporting easy and it serves 20. For transporting and serving, a crockpot liner/top is very convenient. The recipe can be downsized by dividing it in half .... most of the ingredients are easily divisible by two.

During the potluck, my brother told me this recipe "is a keeper" .... high praise indeed. At a potluck this past weekend, I had several inquiries as to ingredients and where to find the recipe, plus comments that it was  "delicious". The recipe is five-star rated on Taste of Home, also a sign of "success".

There are many similar recipes you can 'google' that have most of the ingredients in this particular recipe or some variation, but this is the one I settled on because I liked that it was scaled for 20 servings and I especially like the flavor and color combinations. The specific ingredients in this recipe are:

Broccoli florets
Grapes - red make the nicer color contrast/presentation
Bacon
Green onion (scallions)
Celery
Slivered Almonds
Mayonnaise (Hellman's works well)
Apple cider vinegar
Sugar

The link to the actual recipe is HERE. (Taste of Home: Broccoli Salad Supreme)

Cooks Notes:

• I've made this a day ahead both times I've made it. There is washing, chopping, frying of bacon, toasting almonds, etc. The broccoli florets keep for a couple of days in a gallon zip-loc. The onions/celery are together in a plastic container. The bacon was wrapped in paper towels in a zip loc and the dressing was in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. The "day of", just mix it all together in a large bowl.

• The dressing is best not made at the last minute since the sugar needs time to dissolve, otherwise you get a 'grainy' texture. Overnight is fine and I suspect just an hour or two plus a couple of good stirrings in between would work as well.

• The amount of sugar (2/3 cup) was excessive to me since there are very sweet grapes also in the recipe. I cut the sugar in half to 1/3 cup and the sweetness seemed to be at a good level.

From the enthusiastic reception that Broccoli Salad Supreme has received thus far, it's quickly becoming a 'mainstay' in my recipe book for future potlucks and gatherings.  :-)



(Photo: Merlot)

Turkey, Mandarin and Poppy Seed Salad

Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)

Photo Source

 

 

 

According to the National Turkey Federation (www.eatturkey.com ), this recipe was No. 1 on their website in 2009 for using turkey leftovers. It's a great use of turkey year round, too. If you don't have red leaf lettuce, use whatever lettuce you like or have on hand. You can also use fresh oranges or clementines in place of the canned mandarin oranges. Makes 4 servings.

 

• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1-1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1-1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 5 cups red leaf lettuce, washed, dried, chilled and torn
• 2 cups baby spinach leaves, washed, dried, chilled and torn
• 1/2 pound cooked turkey breast, cut into 1/2-inch julienne slices
• 1 can (10.5 ounces) mandarin oranges, drained
• 1 teaspoon orange zest

 

Dressing: In a small bowl, combine orange juice, vinegar, poppy seeds, oil, mustard, and fresh ground black pepper.

Salad: In a large bowl, toss together lettuce, spinach, turkey and oranges. Pour dressing over turkey mixture. Garnish with orange zest and serve immediately.

 

 

 

Fresh Corn Salad

Corn pudding is a family favorite and it makes a frequent appearance at family gatherings, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas.  During the spring and summer months, however, corn pudding tends to be on the "heavy" side so what recipe is out there for corn that is light and fresh? While looking for a cold corn 'salad', I stumbled across this one from Ina Garten, 'The Barefoot Contessa'. It had a ton of reviews and almost without fail the ratings were '5-star'. A common theme to the review comments was 'how could something with so few/simple ingredients turn out so good?'

Inspired by the great comments and personally liking the individual ingredients in the salad, I decided to debut it at a family dinner ..... and see what happened. I did make one major change to the recipe in that I had to use frozen corn (that I cooked) because I did not have fresh corn available and the recipe was also doubled. The result was perhaps 4-5 spoonfuls of Fresh Corn Salad left in the bowl - the salad was simply delicious and with folks taking second helpings, it quickly disappeared. Made with fresh corn .... perhaps even corn roasted on the grill .... wow! This recipe is a 'keeper' for sure and will be appearing again multiple times this summer.

The ingredients are corn, small-diced red onion, cider vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper & fresh basil.

Here's the link:

Fresh Corn Salad (Ina Garten - The Barefoot Contessa)

Cooking note:
Since I used frozen corn instead of fresh, what is the ratio of fresh/on-the-cob to frozen/by-the-cup?  Depending on the size of the ear, I saw estimates from 3/4 cup to .93 cups.  Hmmmm, .93? I wasn't about to try and figure that one out in corn kernals!! What I ended up using was about 1 cup per ear (a 'scant' cup - not packed, not exactly level with the top of the measuring cup). The recipe called for 5 ears, I used 5 cups. Since I doubled the recipe, I used 10 cups of frozen corn, doubled all the ingredients (including the red onion) and everything tasted fabulous.

Roasted Chicken Salad with Sour-Cream Dressing

"The sour cream dressing can be made up to four days in advance & refrigerated in an airtight container. Keep the chicken salad in a cooler when serving it at a picnic." (Printed in RTD)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pecan halves (about 3 oz.) broken in half lengthwise
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• Course salt & freshly ground pepper
• 1 whole roasted chicken (about 3 lbs.) skin removed
• 8 scallions, white and light-green parts only, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
• 5 tablespoons golden or dark raisins
• 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh oregano leaves

To Assemble:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spread pecans in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
Toast in oven until fragrant, about 10 minutes.
Remove from pan, let cool immediately.

Meanwhile, make dressing.
Whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, and vinegar in a small bowl.
Season with salt & pepper & set aside.

Pull chicken meat from the bones and cut into 1/4 inch pieces (discard bones)
Transfer to a medium bowl
Add pecans, scallions, celery, raisins & oregano
Season well with salt & pepper
Add dressing & stir to combine

Chill covered until ready to serve.

Cranberry Pecan Salad

Great for potlucks - easy to transport ingredients separately and put together in a matter of minutes.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups mixed salad greens, rinsed & dried
• 1 cup glazed pecans (you can use plain toasted pecans, but glazed really adds to the salad)
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• crumbled feta cheese
• Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing (fat-free works fine) to taste - start with 1/4 - 1/3 cup & add more if the salad is too dry for your liking

Directions:

1. Combine all of the salad ingredients except vinaigrette in a large serving bowl. Just before serving, pour raspberry vinaigrette over salad and toss.
2. Salad is best if greens & vinaigrette are cold.

Edible Flowers - How to Choose - Chart

Lilac bush blooming here on the farm

Edible Flowers - How to Choose - Chart

When I ran across this article, I was absolutely astounded at all of the flowers that are edible! One of my favorite things is a beautiful food presentation so you can imagine a salad garnished with gorgeous, edible flowers. Garnishing with flowers makes the 'mundane' something special and we do "eat with our eyes"!

I have known that you could eat pansies and violets, but here is a list of some of the ones that surprised me:

• Chrysanthemums
• Day Lilies (see caution in article)
• Gladiolus
• Honeysuckle (flowers only, berries are poisonous)
• Impatiens
• Lilac
• Snap Dragon

Check out the article for a much more extensive list of edible flowers. Be aware that there are cautions and notes for some of the flowers so take heed.

These pansies are a little patch of 'sunshine'.



We have a yard full of wild violets!

Sea Island Salad

This cold pasta salad was served by a church member, Elizabeth Smith, at a luncheon many, many years ago where it was such a hit that she shared the recipe and mom was lucky enough to get a copy.

Sea Island Salad is very appealing for a couple of reasons. It is a delicious, colorful salad and since it contains shrimp, it's elevated a couple of notches above the usual run-of-the-mill cold pasta salad. This recipe is good to make a day ahead to let the flavors really blend, plus it keeps you from stressing out over cooking the day you are having company or taking this dish to a potluck or buffet. I made it for a large group of friends at the Lake one year and they all loved it, as do I ..... my very favorite 'go-to' cold salad when I want to do something special.

Sea Island Salad

(Elizabeth Smith)

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz.) box macaroni (creamettes or shells)
*1/2 cup Hellman's mayonnaise
*1/2 cup sour cream
*2/3 tsp. sugar (use more if needed - I've never had to add more)
*1/2 tsp celery salt
*black pepper if desired
1 (7 oz.) can tuna, drained well (use 2 cans if desired - I always do!)
1 (17 oz.) can of small green peas, drained
3/4 cup diced cheddar cheese (mild)
1 Tablespoon diced pimentos
8 oz. package cooked shrimp (if frozen, thaw as directed)
1/2 cup diced celery
2 Tablespoons minced green peppers

Directions:

Cook macaroni.

Stir in all ingredients except (*) items: seasonings, sour cream, mayonnaise which are to be mixed & poured over the salad last.

Mix by folding lightly.

Chill well before serving.

Keeps 2-3 days.


Helpful hint #1:
Do all of your chopping, dicing & draining ahead of time so you are ready to combine ingredients when the macaroni is cooked. I always dice everything fairly small & try to keep the sizes uniform - makes for a prettier salad.

Helpful hint #2:
In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients marked with an asterisk (*) which makes the 'sauce' and let the sauce chill in the fridge until ready to add to the salad.

Helpful hint #3:
Serve in a really beautiful or unusual dish & knock their socks off!!