Delish Broccoli Salad

Yesterday as I was wrapping up the photographing of this salad I had a visit from my one and a half year old granddaughter Rebecca.  Needless to say hugs and kisses took over the fading light in my kitchen.   I was holding her and trying to take a shot and picking out little pieces of cubed cheese to feed her.  I didn’t even think to offer her a piece of broccoli or cauliflower.  Grandma’s know better than that.

I traded in my camera for walks up and down the stairs,  looking for the dog, holding her new baby brother Maverick, raiding the white chocolate chip jar, reading stories and watching Dean Martin sing “It’s A Marshmallow World In The Winter”.

She recently moved closer, after being in Indiana, so I am well aware of how lucky I am for each moment I spend with her.    Anyway–grandpa took her for a bit to read The Pokey Little Puppy and I packed  a container of salad for my daughter-in-law to take home for dinner.  I got a phone call late in the evening telling me that Rebecca had eaten loved eating all the little white and green trees from the salad!  I’m not gonna lie–it sorta made my day.

So yes, it is a very yummy salad and the colors that you choose to put into the salad are limited only by the season you are in, what you are craving and your creativity.  The basic recipe is an absolute winner.  I have been making variations of this salad for 20 years.  It’s a wonderful side dish and unique enough to shake things up at a party or event.  I always come home with an empty dish, you will too.

Start with a head of washed and trimmed cauliflower and broccoli.  As I’m trimming these I like to try and keep the proportions of broccoli and cauliflower fairly equal so sometimes I ditch a few florets of cauliflower and save them for lunches.  I try to keep the veggies about the size of my thumb, or bite size.   Not too big, but not too small.  Also–don’t throw away that stalk of broccoli!  Trim off about a half inch of the bottom, peel the stalk and dice or slice it for the salad, it’s crisp and delicious!

Put the trimmed broccoli and cauliflower in a large bowl and add baby tomatoes, halved, 1/2 cup cooked bacon pieces ( I like to buy these in bulk and then I saute them just a bit to crisp them and bring out the flavor), 1/2 cup each of grated or cubed cheddar and mozarella cheese, 1/2 red diced or sliced red onion.    Notice in this photo that extra bowl of broccoli and cauliflower?  Take about 2 cups of your trimmed cauliflower and broccoli and chop in finely.  I put mine in the food processor and pulsed it 4 or 5 times.  This blends well with the dressing and gives the salad a little extra texture.

Add the bacon pieces and finely chopped broccoli and cauliflower.  As I was adding my onions it all of a sudden looked like a lot so I reserved a few.

 Give it a toss.  Use your hands, it’s fun!  Isn’t it beautifully colorful?

Time to whip up some dressing for this.  You will need red wine vinegar, sugar and good old mayonnaise.

In a small mixing bowl combine 3/4 cup mayonnaise, 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar and 1/4 cup granulated sugar.  Stir this together until the sugar has dissolved.  Now it’s time to pour on your salad.  If you are taking this to a party, add the dressing just before you go.  Remember that adding vinegar means that the vegetables will start to wilt.  Around my house, we don’t mind it much… but if I am taking it somewhere I want to make the best presentation possible. Pour the dressing on the salad and give it a good toss.

To finish it off, sprinkle with 1/4 cup slivered almonds.   This recipe is a good one… try it for dinner soon.  You might get your little ones to eat little white and green trees!  I love you Rebecca… a final shot never looked so good!