I was asked by my man's father, Al, to recreate the pea salad his secretary had made for Christmas dinner every year, and was too old now to continue. It ended up being better than hers, and I made it at 3 separate holiday meals. The second one of which I accidently bought some Ragland's maple-smoked bacon bits and pieces.(I called the store, and they said it was Ragland's brand, as I had thrown the wrapper away, but can't find that brand name on the web) I was extremely pleasantly surprised with the taste. I suppose you could use apple-smoked bacon instead. Maybe the store gave me a wrong brand name, they just knew it was not their usual order. Al only knew some of the ingredients, and I got on some 1950's recipe sites, and put this together, and I figured I have come up with the perfect pea salad recipe,(much like David Allen Coe's perfect country and western song, You Don't Have To Call Me Darlin') and wanted to share it. I did the cooking and cleaning for my step-daughter's New Year's party, as the only old person there, and it converted one who never eats any veggies, and several who said they'd never known peas could be so good.
Al's Pea Salad
2 10 oz packages frozen peas
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese cubed 1/4 inch
1 3.8 dry weight can of sliced black olives
1 small onion-fine chop
4 oz pimentos/or one red bell pepper-fine chop
1/2 lb maple-smoked bacon-crispy fry, minced
4 hard boiled eggs-fine chop
Dressing
1 Part sour cream/1 part mayo/1 T milk to equal 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups, depending on how creamy you prefer it.
1/2 t salt
1/2 T pepper
Have peas frozen until you make it. Toss well all ingredients well except the sour cream/mayo mixture. You can use a mixer for this, or just stir real fast and hard.
Al's Pea Salad
2 10 oz packages frozen peas
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese cubed 1/4 inch
1 3.8 dry weight can of sliced black olives
1 small onion-fine chop
4 oz pimentos/or one red bell pepper-fine chop
1/2 lb maple-smoked bacon-crispy fry, minced
4 hard boiled eggs-fine chop
Dressing
1 Part sour cream/1 part mayo/1 T milk to equal 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups, depending on how creamy you prefer it.
1/2 t salt
1/2 T pepper
Have peas frozen until you make it. Toss well all ingredients well except the sour cream/mayo mixture. You can use a mixer for this, or just stir real fast and hard.