Recipe of the Week: Broccoli-Raisin Salad

Our annual recipe booklets - cute, huh?

This recipe is among my very favorite salad recipes, and the dressing is the same one I use for regular coleslaw.  This recipe is made extra-special by the fact it came from one of my past Secret Sisters at Highland Heights.  

Susan usually makes this salad - and many other yummy foods - for us when we converge on her house for an annual paperback book and DVD swap.  It was also the recipe she submitted for our 2008 recipe book, which focused on salads.  (This year's book will be all about brunches, and promises to be full of exceptionally delicious recipes, too!)

Susan's Broccoli-Raisin Salad

Ingredients:
2 cups broccoli, chopped
12 strips bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
1 red onion chopped
1 cup raisins
1 cup sunflower seeds

Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Directions:
Mix broccoli, bacon, onion, raisins and sunflower seeds.  Mix dressing together separately and pour over broccoli mixture; toss to coat.  Serves 8.

I have doubled (and even quintupled) this recipe for large gatherings; in fact, I made it for my mother-in-law's 70th birthday party last summer, and it got rave reviews.  If you're making it ahead, I recommend mixing the dry ingredients together in one bowl and blend the dressing in a separate container. Refrigerate both until ready to serve; combine and toss just before serving.