Trisha Yearwood's Broccoli Salad

DeniseBC's Note:

This is from Trisha Yearwood's 1st cookbook, Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen that she wrote with her mom and sister. This is my husband's favorite broccoli salad. Trisha says "This is great served with barbecued pork ribs or prepared to take to a covered dish supper, because it's sturdy enough to stand at room temperature for a while without wilting. It also adds great color to a picnic spread." I've entered it as written, but we like to use red onion and golden raisins. Preparation time includes chilling time.

• Total Time: 2 hrs
• Prep Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 10

• 1/2 lb bacon
• 2 cups small broccoli florets
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds

Directions:

1. In a medium skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat just until crisp; drain on paper towels. When cool enough to handle, crumble the bacon and set aside.
2. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli and blanch until bright green and slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Drain well, run under cold water to stop the cooking, and drain again.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, vinegar, onion, sugar, and raisins. Add the broccoli and toss to coat with the dressing. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
4. Just before serving, fold in the sunflower kernels and all but 2 tablespoons of the crumbled bacon. Sprinkle the reserved bacon over the salad to garnish. Serve immediately.

Reviews

[jaselane3]

I make this every time we have a family get-together and it is always devoured! We do add the diced red onions and golden raisins also.

[twissis]

Made for your Football Pool win since DH & I both favor broccoli salads, esp when we entertain. Not only do they allow for combining the salad & veggie courses of a meal, but they are easily & best made the dy prior to serving & have proven very popular w/our guests. New to us was the use of sunflower seeds & raisins. We esp liked the textural crunch the seeds provided, but will prob do w/o the raisins for the next effort as a DH pers pref thing. Thx for sharing this yummy recipe w/us & congrats on your Football Pool win. :-)

[FloridaNative]

I selected this recipe especially for my hubby, as he is a huge broccoli fan (me - not so much)! He LOVED this salad, ate almost the whole bowl in one serving LOL. I did cut the sugar and the mayo by half, and that was plenty of "sauce" for him ~ he doesn't like overly-wet salads. He said "Give it a 10" so you know it was good. Thanks for posting Denise ~ this is a new family must-have recipe! Made for your Week #5 FOOTBALL POOL Win, October 2010!