Salads and other summer things

Oleksii Shtandarov, Vecteeza.com

You know it’s summer weather when a peach cobbler lands on the table.

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Days are warmer, more people are planning picnics, camping menus, and lighter meals. I try not to limit my menu planning to certain times of the year, as many summer-type recipes are appropriate at any time.

My husband loves the broccoli salad that is sold at a big-box store. I hardly ever shop there, so I was happy to find a recipe for a salad he likes just as much. I am including it here so you can enjoy it, too.

As always this time of year, be fire safe and very careful.

Broccoli salad

6 cups chopped fresh broccoli florets

4 finely chopped green onions (more if they are very skinny)

1/4 to 1/2 cup raisins

6 to 8 slices bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled (or 3 tablespoons bacon bits)

Dressing:

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1. To prepare salad, mix the broccoli, green onions, raisins and bacon in a bowl. Cover and chill. This can be done the night before, if desired.

2. To prepare dressing, mix the mayonnaise, sugar and cider vinegar. Add to salad mixture and keep covered and chilled until ready to serve. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Pretzel salad

2 2/3 cups pretzels, broken into small pieces

1 1/2 cups butter, melted

4 packages (3-oz. each) cream cheese, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 container (9-oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided

1 package (6-oz.) strawberry gelatin

2 cups pineapple juice or water

1 large package frozen strawberries (no sugar added) or 2 to 3 cups fresh berries

1. Preheat oven to 400. Place pretzels and butter in bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and cool to lukewarm.

2. In a bowl, mix the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Spread over the top of the lukewarm pretzels.

3. Spread half of the whipped topping over the cream cheese layer and chill in refrigerator.

4. Dissolve gelatin in boiling pineapple juice or water. Stir in strawberries and allow mixture to thicken almost to a jellied thickness.

5. Spread remaining whipped topping and refrigerate until ready to serve.

San Francisco style hot dogs

Frozen bread dough, white or wheat

Hot dogs

Ketchup

Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Bacon, fried crisp and crumbled

1. Thaw dough. (One loaf will cover about 6 hot dogs.) Cut dough into equal pieces, according to how many hot dogs you wish to prepare.

2. Flatten and stretch dough to approximate shape of hot dogs and place 1 hot dog on each piece of dough.

3. Gather dough to enclose the hot dogs, pinching and sealing all seams. Let rise for about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350.

4. Bake in preheated oven until rolls are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven.

5. Split rolls, add about 1 tablespoon of ketchup to each one, followed by desired amount of shredded mozzarella cheese. Top with bacon crumbles.

6. Return rolls to the oven and heat until the cheese melts. Serve at once.

Peach cobbler

10 ripe peaches, peeled and sliced into wedges

1/2 cup walnut or pecan halves (optional; I leave those out)

1/4 cup white granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

For the topping:

1 cup flour

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

1/4 cup boiling water

Cinnamon sugar: 3 tablespoons white sugar and 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, combined

1. Preheat oven to 425. In a large bowl, combine peaches, nuts (if using), sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly and pour into a 2-quart baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes.

2. Prepare the topping while the fruit is baking. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugars, baking powder and salt. Blend in butter with fingertips or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal.

3. Stir in the boiling water until just combined (do not over-mix). The crumbs will puff up into a thick doughy topping. Drop spoonfuls of topping over the baked peaches. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the top. Bake until topping is golden, about 15 minutes. Lift some to check underneath to make sure it is done.

4. Serve warm from the oven or at room temperature. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream, if you wish.