Perfect summertime coleslaw

The blog post today is not about a super sexy recipe. Nor is it insanely unique, wildly impressive, or show-stoppingly beautiful. Nope, today, I write to you about coleslaw. That's it.

But let me ask you--why doesn't coleslaw deserve its own blog post?!? Is it not a delicious, crowd-pleasing favorite that appears at practically every family gathering? Is it not a simple, quick, and healthy salad that works as a perfect accompaniment to a classic BBQ?  Is it not a crisp, crunchy, multi-colored side dish that keeps you going back for more?

Yes, yes, and yes! It's all of those, and I'm sharing it with you all today.

If anything, I need more recipes like this on the blog. What's the chance you're gonna whip out the big guns to make my jaconde imprime?? Or my salted caramel apple cheesecake pie? While they're awesomely delicious desserts, it's likely you won't be pulling out your Kitchen Aid anytime soon for those.

But this coleslaw. Well, it's pretty damn close to perfect (for me anyways). It's the perfect balance between creamy and crunchy and vinegary. Just a tad bit of mayo gives it that perfect creamy feeling, but it isn't doused in it, which usually leads to a dense and bleh side dish. And the vinegar nicely brightens up the slaw, but doesn't turn it into a watery mess. And the cabbage is absolute perfection by standing up to the dressing and remaining crunchy, even days after making it. Add some radishes and carrots, and you not only have a beautiful salad, but one with an extra dimension of flavor.


So if you're going to be grilling out this summer, forget the pre-made glop from the grocery store and spend a few minutes to quickly throw together a batch of this homemade coleslaw. The effort will be minimal, but the payoff will be huge.

Yours in sharing a variety of home-made deliciousness, even those that might be (but shouldn't be!) considered mundane,
Jacqueline

Perfectly creamy and tangy coleslaw, adapted from About.com

Ingredients

6 cups shredded cabbage (by hand or pre-packaged)
1 carrot, shredded
1/2 to 1 bunch of radishes, shredded or julienned (optional)
2/3 cup mayonnaise, or less to taste
2 to 3 tablespoons vinegar
1 to 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar, to taste
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Directions
  1. Combine cabbage, carrots, and radishes into a large bowl.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayo, vinegar, sugar, celery salt. Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss to combine. Add more salt, to taste if necessary.
  3. Chill for at least 30 minutes. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Comments

  1. Sounds great. But I am also distracted by the carbs on the plate. Cornbread or polenta?

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's cornbread (and BBQ chicken)! Sadly the cornbread was just from a mix as we had it on hand, but next time I'll attempt it from scratch.

    ReplyDelete

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