Wedding Salad

Tonight, I made the first meal for Josh as his WIFE! Clearly I had to make salmon, and what would be better than baked salmon and the salad our caterer served at the wedding, which was the hit of the night! I had at least 20 people tell me that night or the next day how much they loved this salad. 

Beatriz Ball salad bowl and tongs

Unfortunately, given the popularity of this salad my caterer keeps the recipe top secret. Thankfully, I remembered every ingredient (broccoli florets, sunflower seeds, craisins) and after spending a little time in the online cooking world, I found a recipe that matched exactly. Though we served the salad without bacon at our reception, the salad usually has bacon bits in addition to the other ingredients. 

I had so much fun tonight playing with my new kitchen-themed wedding gifts. My Wisconsin family surprised me with SIX handmade crafted metal serving pieces made by Beatriz Ball (the salad bowl is pictured above), which are stunning and rustic and totally my style. I also used my new set of hand crafted kitchen knives, made from cocobolo wood and damascus steel blades that sit on a magnetic butcher block. 

My brother and his wife surprised us with a case of flavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars from Napa, and I made our salmon rubbed with the blood orange olive oil. These photos are all taken with my new 100mm macro lens. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. The greatest part of our wedding was being surrounded by the people I love the most. My family and friends traveled all the way from Missouri, Wisconsin, Florida, California, and Georgia to spend the weekend with us. My cousin and his wife even spent 12 hours in the car with a baby to be at our wedding. 

I realized earlier today how much love I have in my heart to share, and how the feeling of being loved is the best feeling in the entire world. 

Wedding Salad
spinach, broccoli, sunflower seeds, craisins, in creamy dressing
adapted from all recipes

4 cups spinach, rinsed and torn into bite size pieces
1 head broccoli, rinsed and chopped with florets only
1/3 cup craisins
1/3 cup sunflower seeds (salted)
1/3 cup finely diced red onion

Dressing
1/2 cup mayo
2 Tbsp white sugar
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste (I used 1/2 tsp of each)

Combine ingredients in large salad bowl. Whisk together dressing, pour over salad, and toss well.