Recently the Brew Angels, the home brew club my husband Troy and I belong to, had a BBQ potluck meeting. Knowing there was sausage and ribs on the menu, my mind wandered to vegetables and then to the pea salad I had at Skates on the Bay many years ago. I went online looking for recipes. Someone had blogged about the Broadway Pea Salad at Skates, but the recipe that was posted by the blogger wasn’t my favorite. I looked further and found a recipe from Clinkerdagger’s in Spokane. This was the one I chose to modify a bit. I am always a bit hesitant about taking anything with mayonnaise in it to a potluck, but I kept it in the ice chest right until the meat was served.

Mind you, peas have never been my favorite. In fact, at the Thanksgiving kid’s table, they were a chosen form of ammunition! There was just something about this salad that I liked. Maybe because the peas weren’t thoroughly cooked, or was it the bacon? Here is the final recipe below that I ended up making, it paired well with the ribs and beer!

But wait, most important of all, what was on tap at the BBQ?? Bohemian lager, Cocoa Porter (chick beer), Chocolately and creamy, APA – American Pale Ale, IPA – India Pale ale, Bourbon, Barrel ESB – Extra Strong Bitters, American Strong Ale , Black IPA, American Brown, English IPA. And don’t forget the 21st Amendment Watermelon Wheat in cans!

Broadway Pea Salad

– 8 servings
(Modified from Clinkerdagger’s Broadway Pea Salad)

Dressing

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream 
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt

(I made the whole amount of dressing, but only used half)

Water chestnuts, bacon, and red onion really add flavor to this recipe

Salad Ingredients

• 3.5 pounds frozen baby peas, thawed but not cooked (see note)
• 5 ounces water chestnuts, sliced and cut in half
• 8 ounces bacon, some fat trimmed off, cooked crisp and broken into pieces
• 1/4 cup finely diced red onion

Blend together mayonnaise, sour cream, pepper and salt. Combine baby peas, water chestnuts, bacon and red onions with dressing until ingredients are well coated.

Refrigerate at least 24 hours before serving. Stir twice each day to redistribute dressing.

Slowly thaw the peas at room temperature

Note: Peas must be naturally thawed. Slow thawing under refrigeration is best. Room temperature is acceptable, but do not place in water. Place the thawed peas on paper-towel lined pans and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to purge the remaining excess moisture from the peas. If peas are not thoroughly thawed or have been thawed in water and not properly drained, they will dilute the dressing.

Susie Calhoun, a Brew Angel