Somedays, you need to have a party. And while there’s nothing wrong with using everyday recipes for your party foods, I always find parties to be a time when those around me will allow me lots of room for experimentation. So when it was time to gather the family to celebrate my return from the wilds of Wyoming (where my parents ran around a bit before picking me up from the lodge) and the birthday that had occurred during my time away, I decided that I wanted to modify the basic coleslaw recipe (link to Laura’s Favorite Sweet Pineapple Coleslaw recipe).
Ordinarily, I enjoy the way the acidity of the pineapple plays in the coleslaw, but I wanted this iteration to have a gentler fruit flavor. I also wanted to keep the texture of the carrots, but felt that their flavor and color wouldn’t quite be what I wanted. So I subbed in grated Gala apples for the carrots and halved red grapes for the pineapple. Finally, in modifying the dressing, I added some honey for sweetness and Dijon mustard for some pungency. Unfortunately, the most current grocery shopping in the house had been done by the non-Dijon eaters and even after scraping the jar clean, I didn’t manage to get enough to really impact the flavor of the dressing. Since I almost never hold to precise dressing measurements anyway, instead tasting and then adding a splash more of vinegar, or a extra drizzle of honey, it will be easy to increase the mustard (or not) the next time I mix up this particular variation.
Recipe:
1 head cabbage, grated or shredded
1 pound seedless black or red grapes, halved
3 medium Gala apples, grated, with juices
(dressing recipe below)
Dressing:
1 1/4 cups mayonnaise
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup honey
3 TBSP apple cider vinegar
Dijon mustard to taste (probably 1 – 3 TBSP)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Yummy, but now it is all gone and my mother wants more.
