Baby Shower Broccoli Salad Recipe

Salad:
1 bunch broccoli, cut small
1 small red onion, chopped
1/2 lb. bacon, fried and crumbled
1/2 c. sunflower seeds
1 c. raisins
Dressing:
1 c. mayo
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. vinegar

Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl. Mix dressing ingredients until sugar is dissolved and pour over broccoli mixture. Toss well and serve immediately. Will keep 3 days in refrigerator. This recipe can be easily doubled to accomodate more guests.

Cherry Delight Salad

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can cherry pie filling
1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained
1 12 oz. pkg. Cool Whip
Optional: chopped nuts

Mix mild and pie filling. Stir in pineapple. fold in Cool Whip and nuts. Serve Chilled.

Caramel Apple Dip

This is delicious and perfect for fall showers!

1 tub cool whip
1 (8oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 jar caramel sauce
1 tsp. vanilla (opt)

Mix caramel sauce with softened cream cheese. Fold in cool whip and vanilla. Serve with apple slices, graham crackers, vanilla wafers and whatever you'd like to use for dippers.

Lemonade Punch

This is an easy punch recipe that can be easily adapted to other flavors such as raspberry or orange by changing the drink mix and sherbet flavor.

1 can frozen lemondade concentrate OR 1 pkg. lemonade drink mix
1 2-liter bottle of 7-up
1/2 gallon lemon sherbet

Mix lemonade according to directions. Pour lemonade along with 7-Up into punch bowl. Right before serving, add scoops of lemon sherbet to float in the punch.

*For one baby shower I hosted that had a pink and yellow theme, I made 2 batches of this, one lemonade and one pink lemonade with pink sherbet and put both punch bowls on the table.

Cucumber-Watercress Tea Sandwiches Recipe

These are thin, light and an elegant addition at a baby shower.

Ingredients:
32 thin slices peeled English (hothouse)
cucumber

4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room
temperature

8 thin slices white sandwich bread

1/2 cup watercress leaves, plus more for garnish

1/2 cup radish, onion or sunflower
sprouts (optional)

Coarse salt, preferably fleur de sel, to taste


Directions:
Using paper towels, pat the cut surfaces of the cucumber slices to remove any excess moisture. Lightly butter one side of each bread slice. Scatter the 1/2 cup watercress leaves evenly over all of the buttered bread slices. Layer the cucumber slices over the watercress leaves on 4 of the bread slices. Top the cucumber with some of the sprouts and a pinch of salt. Top with the remaining 4 bread slices, buttered side down.

Using a sharp knife, cut off the crusts from each sandwich and then slice the sandwiches in half, either straight down the middle or on the diagonal. If smaller portions are desired, cut each half in half again.

Arrange the sandwiches on separate plates of a tiered plate stand or on a cake stand or platter. Garnish each sandwich with a watercress leaf. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma, Entertaining, Edited by Chuck Williams (Oxmoor House, 2004).