Ok, I’ll say it again, I love good coleslaw. I may even make it my new mission in life to go around the area and hand out a couple decent coleslaw recipes to restaurant chefs/cooks who apparently haven’t a clue how to prepare coleslaw as a culinary delight rather than a raw cabbage fright!

What the heck is preventing these otherwise excellent cooks from lifting the common green cabbage to the lofty position it so richly deserves? My guess. They don’t like coleslaw themselves. And who can truly blame them. So much of the coleslaw served commercially is merely grated cruciferous veggies tossed with a bit of mayonnaise and nary another ingredient. It seems to be served on every fish and chips platter merely to add a little color to an otherwise boring looking serving of brown fried fish and brown French fried potatoes. (BTW – I love fish and chips, so no offense to that beloved twosome!)

So my challenge to restaurant cooks in my area is going to be – dare to be different! Make your coleslaw delicious. Raise the bar for the other restaurants in the area. Rejoice when customers tell you that the coleslaw they just ate was the best they ever tasted and that they can hardly wait to come back for more! Make coleslaw worthy of being served with fabulous fish and dreamy fries.

Ok, I’ll get down off my high horse now, and get on with this recipe. (Sometimes I just can’t help myself. But good grief – how hard is it to make a decent coleslaw?)

Anyway – this is another recipe for great coleslaw. (Several already on this site.) Hope you enjoy it. (Based on a recipe from Epicurious.) I’m off to ask Mr. C. to make me a martini! Its’ got to be 5:00 somewhere………   

• 2/3 c. mayonnaise
• 2 T. distilled white vinegar
• 2-3 tsp. prepared white horseradish (start with 2 teaspoons)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• ½ tsp. celery seeds
• 3 T. minced dill pickle
• 2 T. pickle brine
• ¼ c. minced red onion
• ½ small green cabbage, finely shredded
• ½ red cabbage, finely shredded
• 2 lg. carrots, grated (I pat the grated carrots as dry as possible with paper towels before combining with the other ingredients.)

Whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar, horseradish, sugar, salt, pepper, celery seeds, minced dill pickle, pickle brine, and red onion. Taste and adjust seasoning. (Can be made ahead. If making ahead, don’t add the red onion until you add the dressing to the cabbage, etc.)

Combine the green cabbage, red cabbage, and grated carrots. Toss with enough dressing to moisten all the veggies. Refrigerate until ready to serve. (Can be held in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving.)