Broccoli Salad

So here it is….
My very first blog post. Welcome to Culinary Cool.

Summer is upon us, and that means its BBQ season! To celebrate my friend Edith’s graduation from University, we had a BBQ. Burgers and hot dogs on the grill are a summer staple in these parts. But to round out the meal, I feel like a salad is necessary. More often than not, the go-to salad around here is potato or macaroni. Don’t get me wrong, I love potato salad, but sometimes it’s nice to change it up and offer a (slightly) healthier, lighter option.


This broccoli salad was first introduced to me by a close family friend. Now, let it be known, that I am not the biggest fan of broccoli. There are only a handful of ways I will eat the stuff. And one of my favorite ways is this salad. It’s so versatile. You can use almonds, cashews, crasins, raisins, whatever you heart desires. The recipe below includes my favorite ingredients. Feel free to play around with it to suit the tastes of you and your family. I use both red and green grapes in mine.  I cut some of the grapes in half and leave some of the smaller ones whole.  It adds great texture

with dressing, bacon and sunflower seeds added

Broccoli Salad

8-10 slices of bacon, crumbled

3 crowns of broccoli, chopped

¾ cup celery, chopped

¼ cup minced red onion

1 ½ cup seedless grapes (red or green)

½ cup craisins

¾ cup unsalted sunflower seeds

Dressing

¼ cup sugar

1 cup Mayonnaise

2 tbsp white vinegar

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the broccoli, celery, onion, grapes and craisins.

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sugar and mayonnaise. Pour over broccoli mixture, and toss to coat.

Refrigerate before serving, toss salad with crumbled bacon and sunflower seeds.

**This salad tastes best if made ahead and refrigerated for several hours or overnight.