Broccoli Salad

My very favorite vegetable is broccoli.  Even as a young child, I'd get excited to learn my mother was fixing broccoli for supper, and because I was excited about it, she'd make sure I got broccoli as much as she could buy and fix it for me.  Normally I prefer my broccoli pretty much unadulterated.  Just a little butter and salt for me, please.  It's also good in fettuccine Alfredo and because I like it so much, I often add broccoli to that dish when I make it.  But I'm not crazy about raw broccoli.  Sad, but true.

However, my mother-in-law, a few years ago attended a ladies luncheon where someone served a broccoli salad that she fell in love with.  She has been serving that broccoli salad at nearly every family function since. It's creamy, cool, smokey, and sweet.  Even my husband, who sometimes has problems with mayonnaise (because of the eggs), loves it.  So recently I decided it'd be a great dish to take to our congregation's covered dish dinner.

Because of my husband's issue with mayonnaise, I decided to try to cut some of it in the dressing by substituting sour cream or plain yogurt.  And because my mother-in-law does not like to share recipes, I made things up as I went along trying to get close, but not exact to her dish.  I recently made this for her for Easter, and she went back for seconds, so I guess I did pretty good.  Raw red onion isn't a favorite here, but the salad does need the flavor.  I took it easy on the red onion, but if you like it, feel free to add more.

Broccoli Salad

4 slices bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbled
2 heads broccoli, chopped
1 cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1 cup raisins
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons white sugar
salt and pepper
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1 teaspoon lemon juice

In a large bowl, combine broccoli, cheese, bacon, onion, and raisins.

In a medium bowl stir together vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, mayonnaise, sour cream, and lemon juice.  Stir well to combine.  Pour over broccoli mixture, folding to coat well.

Refrigerate 2 hours to let flavors meld.