Friday, July 09, 2010

The Snobber They Come, The Harder They Fall

So, if you're me, you go through your culinary life learning the tricks, the secrets, the refinements. The Best, Only Way to Do Things.
Hah.
There really is no best, only way.
Cole slaw, for example. I spent years slicing the finest, featheriest strands of cabbage. No irregular shapes, no chunks, it had to be like mermaid hair. This could only be done with a knife.
Of course, I derided the industrial cole slaw made at the Dixie Pig. Those pigs ran their vegetables through the Hobart, and you ended up with a fluffy, puffy pile of mayonnaisey salad. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Very low-brow.
As if the cooks at the Dixie Pig could spare the time to hand slice the cabbage. What a snob you are, Cookiecrumb!
And I confess this because the other day I was making cole slaw and needed the food processor to make bitsy bits of carrot and onion. Oh, what the hell, I thought, once it was set up. I tossed in cabbage chunks, too. And mayonnaise!
(Brief diversion: I used to struggle with my cole slaw dressing. Buttermilk? Honey? Listen, just use the mayonnaise.)
What resulted was a fluffy, puffy pile of mayonnaisey salad.
I really liked it. I've now made it this way twice.
This is the best, only way.

10 comments:

the sandwich life said...

god I love coleslaw....and I agree, I have given up on the highbrow recipes....although I do add just a tiny bit of sugar to mine....and fennel seed. Oh...I may have to go make coleslaw!

Ms Brown Mouse said...

I think you can get a thingy to put in your machine, that shreads feathers of cabbage rather than chunks :)
Sandwich Life - Fennel? OOoo yum!

Kalyn Denny said...

That's funny. My dad loves the coleslaw from KFC (which tastes overly sweet to me, but edible.) Definitely mayo is THE ingredient that makes me like coleslaw, no doubt about it!

Zoomie said...

Believe it or not, I have never made coleslaw. I'm not even sure I'd know how to begin. I do like it, especially on slaw dogs, but I rely on others to chop and season.

cookiecrumb said...

Sandwich: I have a few flavor ideas up my sleeve too. A bit of ginger, hardly enough to notice.

Mouse: I suspect I have the shredding thingy, but I was too impatient to use it the other day (I'm afraid I don't know how, and I've only had the Cuisinart for 29 years.) Thanks for the pep talk.

Kalyn: Cranky and I had cole slaw from a restaurant yesterday, and it was perfectly fine, but not the way I'D have made it. There were celery seeds; nice.

Zoomie: I have a suspicion you are not relying on your husband to chop and season, so no homemade slaw for you!

Greg said...

My kids used to call it "cold slaw".Are you ready for a coleslaw throw down?

Nancy Ewart said...

I confess that I've used my "chopper machine" for years to do all the tedious labor. After all, I am Le Chef - I save my skill for the dressing. I use mayo but I also add a dash or two of Siracha because I like it hot! The ingredients for my coleslaw vary with the season as well - cabbage and onions, of course but I like to go with the seasonal flow.

cookiecrumb said...

Greg: I called it cold slaw when I was a kid, too. Didn't you?
Throw Down! Battle Slaw.

Nancy: We nearly threw out the Cuisinart the other day because it wouldn't turn on. I wondered if maybe I hadn't connected the lid tightly enough. Cranky fetched the machine out of the trash, and it still works. :)
Sriracha sounds very, very great.

wwwFlossDietDotCom said...

Rrecenly, invested in a hand-held slicer...I use it to cut the cabbage, then a kife to cut it across + grated carrot, radish and chopped onion covered in low calorie dressing: 1/4 cup rice vinegar,2T lite mayo and little Stevia sweetener... Great mild flavors... all you can eat without guilt!

cookiecrumb said...

Floss: I'm still not sure how best to cut it if you don't use a Cuisinart. Ah. I haven't figured out the cutting disks. I must examine your cutting device; you mean something like a mandoline?