I love menus.
Ralph thinks that I am extremely gullible. When we dine out, my favorite part of the evening is reading what the kitchen has to offer. Next is the lovely anticipation of seeing how the written word materializes on my plate. There was a time when restaurants used descriptors like ‘homemade’ or ‘old-fashioned’ to excite our palates. Those words today are a clear signal that the talent in the kitchen might be a little pedestrian. Don’t get me wrong – I love a good, ‘old fashioned’ turkey dinner but I want it prepared by my mom!
Last night I prepared Buffalo-style chicken wings served with coleslaw. As I stood slicing the cabbage, I started to elevate the lowly cabbage salad to an exciting ‘new’ vegetable sensation. White Cabbage Chiffonade in Apple Cider Cream was my first try. It sounded a little too phoo-phoo for me to have created it. My style is more rustic. Hand-cut Cabbage Slaw with Just-pulled Carrot Thinnings in a creamy apple vinaigrette. Clearly, if I was writing my own menu it would be a bit of a read. People would probably be full before they even ordered!
This salad is delicious and absolutely effortless to prepare. It is critical that you slice your own cabbage. No offence to the pre-packaged ‘coleslaw mix’ but it just doesn’t cut it…hee hee. Local cabbage is available and fabulous. The carrot thinnings that you see in my photo were pulled two minutes before I took the shot. If you do not have a veggie garden, head to your local farmer’s market. Carrots are in abundance.
I serve this salad with fried chicken or hot wings to balance the health quota of our meal. As much as I would love to serve french fries, my nutrition metre won’t allow it.
White Cabbage Chiffonade in Apple Cider Cream Vinaigrette
serves 2
1/4 large firm white cabbage, core removed and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
In a large bowl, combine vinegar, honey, sour cream and salt.
Add sliced cabbage and toss well.
Allow salad to marinate for at least one hour before serving at room temperature.
Now that I look at my recipe, I could describe my coleslaw as ‘Hand-cut Cabbage Slaw with Just-pulled Carrot Thinnings in a creamy Apple and Wild Flower Honey Vinaigrette’
Yikes, you really have to know when to stop.
Thanks for reading.
