Tom's Coleslaw

This was one of the first recipes we posted on The Three-Headed Chef blog.  We were making it for dinner one night along with some fish tacos.  We were so excited about writing down ingredients and directions, and taking photos . . . that we totally forgot to put the coleslaw out for dinner!  (There might have been some wine involved, I can't remember).  The next day we were looking at our photos and noticed there was no coleslaw out in the final pics!  Oh well, we still had fun (and lots of coleslaw leftovers!)

Chopping the cabbage.

Ingredients, ready to be mixed.

The finished slaw.

Ingredients: 

½ head cabbage (for 4-6 people, use whole head and double recipe for larger crowd)

    ½ medium onion, diced

    3 strips bacon, sautéed until crispy, then crumbled (reserve the bacon drippings!)

    5 tbl. mayonnaise (can use low-fat or substitute plain yogurt if you’re counting calories)

    1 tsp. sugar

    ¼ tsp. ground black pepper

    3 tsp. red wine vinegar

    2 tsp. bacon drippings

    1 medium carrot, grated on the largest grate (not too fine)

    2 tsp. caraway seed
   1/3 cup thinly sliced almonds
   1/2 tbl. butter

Directions:

·         Finely slice the cabbage, then chop in half (do not use food processor – makes too mashy).  We use our own home-grown Savoy cabbage.  Makes great slaw, and easier to grow than regular if you like to garden.

·         Combine the sliced cabbage, grated carrot, diced onion, and crumbled bacon in a large bowl.  

·         In a separate bowl combine mayonnaise, sugar, caraway seed, black pepper, red wine vinegar, and bacon drippings.  

·         Combine the contents of both bowls, mix well and chill at least one hour before serving.
*  melt butter in a skillet, add the sliced almonds and cook over medium-low until almonds are lightly browned.  Then gently add almonds to the coleslaw before serving. 

Chef’s notes: it’s hard to give exact measurements when you’re used to just “winging it”.  Feel free to play and season to taste.  Try other ingredients if you like, but this is my favorite way to make coleslaw. 

                                                                                                                    Tom