By First week of March in Tulsa. Brayden is seventy-five weeks old. The Singh-family Holi gathering is Saturday March 11. The cafe-menu Kentucky-coleslaw addition is part of the spring-menu rollout Mama is preparing for April. The week has been a steady-prep stretch.
Kentucky coleslaw is the regional variant that uses a bourbon-vinegar-and-honey dressing rather than the mayonnaise-and-vinegar base of standard American coleslaw. The dressing is bourbon (cooked off to remove the alcohol), apple-cider-vinegar, honey, brown sugar, a small amount of Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, celery seed. The cabbage is the same shredded green-and-purple-cabbage-with-carrot mix as standard coleslaw, but the dressing transforms the dish into a Kentucky-Southern-leaning side.
The technique question on a bourbon-vinegar dressing is the bourbon-cook-off. The bourbon needs to be reduced in a small saucepan over medium heat for about three minutes until the alcohol has cooked off and the remaining liquid is about two-thirds the original volume. The cooked-bourbon brings the caramel-and-oak flavor without the alcoholic bite. Skip the cook-off and the dressing tastes raw.
Sunday I made a test batch. Dustin had two helpings. Brayden had a small portion of plain shredded cabbage (no dressing yet). The recipe is going to Mama Wednesday for the cafe’s test-rollout.
Mama and Cody have continued to run the small Sapulpa-cafe at its small steady-state pace. The breakfast rush moves through. The lunch-plate-special rotates daily. The Friday-regional-special slot keeps the small adventurous-element alive. Cody’s pop-up Tuesday continues to sell out within an hour of the Friday-menu-post.
The technique-detail I always lean on: the temperature of the cooking-surface matters more than the temperature in the recipe. A hot pan with cold ingredients fails. A medium pan with room-temperature ingredients succeeds. Let the small ingredients come to the small kitchen-temperature before the small cooking starts.
The small recipe-development-process for the catering business has been the small parallel-track to the small home-cooking-blog. The small catering-recipes are scaled-up versions of the small home-recipes. The small home-recipes are scaled-down test-versions of the small catering-recipes. The small two-tracks feed each other.
The small cookbook online-store has been operating at its small steady-trickle pace. The small one-to-two-sales-per-week rhythm has held since the launch. The small revenue is the small additional-income that supplements the small catering-revenue and Dustin’s small shop-income.
Kentucky Coleslaw
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 1 hr 15 min (includes chilling) | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 medium head green cabbage, finely shredded (about 8 cups)
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 1/4 cup finely diced white onion
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon celery seed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Prep the vegetables. Finely shred the cabbage using a sharp knife or mandoline. Shred the carrots and finely dice the onion. Combine all three in a large mixing bowl.
- Make the dressing. In a separate bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, sugar, celery seed, salt, and black pepper until smooth and fully combined.
- Dress the slaw. Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss thoroughly until every strand is evenly coated. Taste and adjust salt or sugar as needed.
- Chill before serving. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. This allows the flavors to meld and the cabbage to soften slightly while staying crisp.
- Serve. Give the coleslaw a good stir before bringing it to the table. It holds well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 215 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 19g | Carbs: 11g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 290mg