Here we are on the brink of summer in Texas, and that means one thing for sure: my beloved slow cooker is taking a hiatus. Just not in the mood for chili or vegetable beef soup, ya know? To fill the cooking void, I dragged out Ol' Trusty, my Southern Living cookbook. I use it like a hardbound Ouija board, gliding my hands over it and letting the pages fall open wherever they may.
I hadn't made this salad in a while, and had sort of forgotten about it until the cookbook opened, rather dramatically, to that exact page (274). The first time I had ever had it was when we lived in Minnesota many years ago. It was known up there as the Dayton's salad (or maybe Marshall Fields salad, depending on what corporate takeover had occurred most recently). You've probably enjoyed it under one of its many other aliases. It's the one with the broccoli, raisins, and creamy sweet dressing similar to a coleslaw dressing.
It was love at first bite! Not just because it's delicious. Whenever I eat this salad, I feel like I'm gaming the system. With salads like this, you can offset the guilt of using such a sugary dressing by telling yourself how much benefit you're getting from the broccoli.
As usual, I was lacking at least one of the ingredients and had to wing it. I was quite certain I had just taken a pound of bacon out of the freezer to thaw in the fridge, but alas, it was nowhere to be found. All other household members proclaimed innocence.
Am I the only one who is always surprised at how well raw veggies go with fresh fruits? Really must think to combine them more often.
Pro tip: if you're using fresh broccoli, don't discard the stems. Just chop them up really small, more like a dice, and toss them in; or save them for another salad. Chopped small, they remind me of a sweeter celery with just the right amount of crunch.
The SL version of this salad includes mandarin oranges. I don't recall the oranges being in the Minnesota version, but I could be mistaken. I love the addition of dried cranberries rather than golden raisins. And I used walnuts instead of almonds, cashews, pecans or any other nut I have seen included in this recipe. Whatever nuts you like/have on hand will be fine.
p.s. It was just fine sans bacon - crisis averted.
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