I hated coleslaw when I was young. There is a chicken fast food place in Memphis named Jack Pirtle that serves a sandwich that consists of a chicken fried steak with slaw on a bun. My parents loved it, but I would not touch it unless the slaw was left off. I would not even eat a barbecue sandwich with slaw (and barbecue is my all time favorite food!).
But now that I am older, I love cole slaw. Maybe it was just an acquired taste. Today, for playgroup, I made Asian Coleslaw. I took the easy way out, using packaged coleslaw mix. The rest of the recipe is easy. Just melt about two tablespoons of butter on a baking sheet and add one small package of sliced almonds and one crushed up package of ramen noodles (set the seasoning mix aside). Let that cook at 350 for about 5 minutes then add a handful of sesame seeds and let it bake for another minute. Slice up some green onions, throw in some diced tomatoes (I like to use the diced tomatoes in the jar) and mix it up well. For the sauce, combine one cup of vegetable oil, one cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of vinegar and the seasoning mix from the noodles. Right before you are to serve the slaw, warm the sauce in the microwave for a couple of minutes, the pour it over the slaw mix. Stir well and serve.
Another great coleslaw that is a little different is the Creamy Confetti Coleslaw. You can still use the packaged coleslaw mix. Add 8 ounces of cubed cheddar cheese and stir well. In a separate bowl, mix 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar, 1/3 cup of Equal (or a sugar substitute), and 1/4 teaspoon of celery seed. Stir well and add salt and pepper as desired.
Do you have a favorite slaw recipe that has some unusual additions?