Classic Broccoli Salad

Goodness! I'm behind in posting pictures of recipes I've made! I am cooking, but I'm too tired to blog on work nights. I'm also taking a night class on Digital Photography, so I have been extra tired. You won't be seeing anything new and exciting with my photography...yet... but, I will tell you that I've discovered bells and whistles on my camera that I never knew existed! What a concept... read the manual!


I digress. Back to broccoli. In my C.S.A. (Consumer supported agriculture) box, I received a lot of fresh broccoli. We love broccoli-- roasted, steamed, raw. I haven't made broccoli salad in ages, so I decided to go for it. Since I had a lot of broccoli stalks, I also decided to make cream of broccoli soup.

I didn't measure, so I will do my best to help those of you who like to follow recipes to the "letter". I thought I'd admit to all of you that, when trying a brand new recipe, I tend to follow it precisely. I rarely improvise, unless it's something I feel really safe with. I make notes, and the second time around I'll improvise.

That's what I did with my broccoli salad. I checked around for recipes, and I decided that I wanted to use dried cranberries, instead of raisins. I also wanted to use rice vinegar (unseasoned) so that I could use less sugar. I decided to use sliced almonds and so I got busy:

My florets are a little on the chunky side. You can cut them teeny tiny, but I like shortcuts...

In boiling water, I blanched the broccoli for 2 minutes.



Using one of my favorite kitchen gadgets (my "spider") the broccoli was immersed into an ice water bath.

I had cooked bacon from a previous recipe that I re-heated in the microwave. I'd say it was about a cup of bacon...maybe a little less. I used about handful of sliced onion, about 1/2 cup of red onion (be careful, or it can overpower your salad, about 1 cup of dried cranberries, a handful of sliced almonds and I was ready to add the dressing...



I used approximated one cup of mayonnaise, 2 Tablespoons of rice vinegar, 1/4 cup of sugar and whisked it as my dressing. Adjust seasonings to suit your taste.

This is about the time that my boys show up. How do they know when something is almost ready?


My son, who has usually been skeptical of broccoli took a taste. He loved it!

Personally, I think this salad tastes best fresh. The next day, I find that it can become soggy. But, that's me...

A printable recipe card is at the end of this post.