Serving Up {Salad}: Sarah's Salad

In Salt Lake City there is a historic building on Temple Square called The Lion House.  It was built originally as a home but is now used as a reception center and is a very popular one at that.  In fact, here's a little trivia, my husband and I had our wedding there!  The food at the Lion House is very well known and there have been multiple recipe books published over the years.  My favorite Lion House recipe book is the original which is no longer in print, and which can fetch up to $100 for an original "new" copy.  I grew up using my mom's copy and when my grandmother passed away, her copy was one of the few things that I requested.

While I haven't made my way through the entire cookbook, this salad is one recipe that I have made many times.  I think that the recipe is a bit dated by the mere fact that it calls for iceberg lettuce.  Get over it though.  It really is a yummy salad and because it is written to be made ahead of time and refrigerated overnight, it is a great recipe when you want to prepare ahead of time.

SARAH'S SALAD     
(recipe from The Lion House Cookbook)

printable version

1 head of iceberg lettuce
5 strips of bacon, cooked & crumbled
1/2 pkg. (10-ounce) frozen petite peas, thawed by running under hot water
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
3/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese
2/3 cups diced green onion
1/4 cup mayonnaise (Best Foods)
1/4 cup salad dressing (like Miracle Whip)

Wash and drain lettuce; allow to dry thoroughly.  Tear into bite sized pieces and place in salad bowl.  Sprinkle lettuce with sugar, salt and pepper.   Layer the peas, cheese, and onion.  Combine the mayo and miracle whip and place that as the top layer.  DO NOT TOSS!  Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to serve (preferably overnight).
Prior to serving toss the salad gently and top with bacon.