CAULIFLOWER SALAD & VINEGAR SLAW

The two treasures for today are Cauliflower Salad and Vinegar Cole Slaw!

They are favorite recipes in our family for sure!  One of the great things about both of them is that you can make them the night before. That really helps when you have a lot of cooking to do.  The original version for the cauliflower salad came from a beautiful lady and fabulous cook who went to our church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  Over the years I have changed the recipe to better suit my family.   I hope you enjoy it---and although it has the word “salad” in the title---that doesn’t mean it is healthy…oh well, enjoy it anyway! 

The slaw recipe is  very similar to my Grandmother’s vinegar-based cole slaw.  It goes beautifully with fried chicken, pork barbeque, fish or beef roast.  Enjoy!

Cauliflower Salad

Ingredients:

*Lettuce-washed, dried and torn into bite size pieces (I use 1 head of iceberg or ½ head of iceberg and an equal amount of romaine).

*Cauliflower-1 small head, washed (I just use the flowery tips, cut into bite size pieces).

*Bacon-approximately 10 pieces, cooked until very crispy and crumbled.

*Parmesan Cheese- 1 cup(or more), shredded (please don’t use the powdered kind of parmesan cheese)

*Mayonnaise-1 cup (or more) –I use the Hellman’s olive oil variety

*Sugar-1/3 cup sugar (ok, use less if you want to)

Instructions:

*Wash, dry and tear lettuce into pieces and place in a large serving bowl.

*Wash, dry and cut cauliflower into pieces and place in a layer on top of lettuce.

*Layer crumbled bacon on top of cauliflower.

*Sprinkle parmesan cheese over bacon.

*Spread thin layer of mayonnaise over bacon and seal salad around the edges.

*Sprinkle sugar on top of mayonnaise (this sentence just seems crazy doesn’t it).

*Cover salad with plastic wrap and chill for 12 to 24 hours.

*Toss before serving.

Vinegar Cole Slaw

Ingredients:

1 cup white vinegar

1 cup sugar

1 t. mustard seeds

1 t. celery seeds

½ t. Salt

1 t. Black pepper

¼- ½    cup mayonnaise (alter amount based on how much  cabbage you use—the mayonnaise is added just to bind slaw together a bit and to add to the creaminess—but don’t add too much.)

1 small head of green cabbage (or more)—finely shredded

½ cup shredded carrots

Instructions:

In a saucepan, bring to a boil the vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, mustard and celery seeds. Stir and let boil for 1 minute.  Remove from heat and let mixture cool.  Then add desired amount of mayonnaise.

Toss with shredded cabbage until cabbage is coated.

Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

Addition:

Add ¼ cup finely shredded beets to add tangy sweetness to the slaw—it also makes your slaw turn pink!