Sweet Hot Mustard Slaw – It’S All About The “Cassage”

Sweet Hot Mustard Slaw – It’S All About The “Cassage”

I’m not particularly picky about my coleslaws, and as long as they’re properly made, I enjoy a wide variety of flavors and combinations, but this mustard slaw may be my fav. The combo of hot and sweet has a proven track record in palate pleasing, and that’s especially true when we’re talking about a cold salad.

Of course, how sweet, and how hot will be up to your personal tastes, as well as what you’re going to serve this with. If I’m going to toss this next too some spicy grilled sausages, then I will tone down the punch, whereas if I’m topping a sweet, smoky pulled pork sandwich, I might be a little more aggressive, like I was here.

Regardless of what exactly you put in yours, the key here is salting, and massaging your cut cabbage first (aka “cassage”). This not only draws out water, which actually sweetens up the flavor, but it also produces a flexible, yet still crunchy texture, which I think is lacking in many other “chop and mix” recipes.

I realize we’ve done coleslaws where we skip this step, which is fine if you slice your cabbage thin, and serve it relatively quickly, but for what I refer to as “real” coleslaw, the extra ten minutes is well worth it. Plus, once preserved in this way, your coleslaw will not only last days, but maybe get even better.

By the time I’d topped my soon to premiere boneless baby back rib sandwich, this slaw had been in the fridge for almost two days, and had developed even more flavor, while still retaining it’s raw crispness. So, stay tuned for that video, but in the meantime, I really do hope you give this great, hot and sweet mustard slaw a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

1 pound cabbage, cut in 1/2 inch slices

1 tablespoon kosher salt

For the dressing:

1/4 cup mayo

2 tablespoons Dijon

1 tablespoon grain mustard

1 to 2 tablespoons honey, or to taste

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste

fresh chives to garnish

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Chicken Noodle Salad – Making Friends With Cold Spaghetti

Chicken Noodle Salad – Making Friends With Cold Spaghetti

The great American philosopher, Homer Simpson, once said, “You don’t make friends with salad.” This cold, spicy, and addictively delicious chicken noodle salad might be the exception. You bring a big bowl of this to the next big cookout, and you’re going to make all sorts of friends. The only people who might not be huge fans are the folks who brought regular pasta salads, in which case the best you can hope for is frenemies.

While I also love more traditional pasta salads, there’s just something extra special about this combination of tastes, and textures, as well as the always exciting aspect of spicy food served cold. Besides that, this recipe is a perfect catchall for all those summer vegetables we're supposed to be eating more of. No matter what you add, if you can make this ahead, it will always come out a little better, since the noodles and chicken will have time to soak up all that flavorful dressing.

As I mentioned, this salad usually gets made because you have some possibly dry leftover grilled chicken around, or other meat for that matter, but if you do want to poach some like I did here, I would watch this video for the proper technique. Or, in a pinch, just pick up a rotisserie chicken from the store. Regardless of what you use, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 large portions:

8 ounces dry spaghetti, cooked al dente, rinsed in cold water, and drained

1 large cooked chicken breast, shredded

1 cup thinly grated carrots

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

4 green onions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup chopped roasted salted peanuts

1 cup packed mixture of chopped basil, mint, and cilantro

For the dressing (all amounts here are to taste, so add more if you want): 
3 garlic cloves, crushed 
1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar 
1 tablespoon brown sugar 
1 tablespoon soy sauce 
1 tablespoon fish sauce 
1 tablespoon sriracha 
1 tablespoon hoisin 
1 teaspoon sesame oil

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Firecracker Shrimp Roll With Crab Aioli - A Fourth Of July Po'boy

Firecracker Shrimp Roll With Crab Aioli - A Fourth Of July Po'boy

This isn’t the first time I’ve gotten a video idea from Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, but it is the first time I can’t seem to figure out which restaurant it came from. I wasn’t paying close attention, and just caught the end of the segment, but I do know they didn’t call it a firecracker shrimp roll with crab aioli, but rather a shrimp po’boy with crab mayo; just in case that helps someone I.D. this.

I decided to do an extra spicy version, and give it a 4th of July-friendly name, but the soul of the sandwich is the same, and features an insanely great combination of hot, crunchy shrimp, and cold crabby mayo. This was one of the best things I’ve had in a long time, and that’s after eating it barely warm, which is not recommended. For best results, be sure to enjoy this just as soon as it’s safe to eat, in all its crunchy glory.

The amounts below will make four giant portions, which you could easily stretch into six, but I’m a big fan of the time-honored po’boy sandwich tradition of overfilling. I remember eating a fried oyster po’boy in New Orleans one time, and being almost full by the time I’d eaten enough off the top to close the bun. Good times. But no matter how generous you decide to be, I really do hope you give this amazing firecracker shrimp roll a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 Firecracker Shrimp Rolls with Crab Aioli:

canola oil for pan frying

4 soft sandwich rolls, split and toasted

2 cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce

2 pounds raw, peeled, and deveined shrimp

For the soak:

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoon hot sauce

1 teaspoon chipotle pepper

2 teaspoons cayenne

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the breading:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup corn meal

2 teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoons kosher salt

For the crab aioli:

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup lump crabmeat

2 cloves finely crushed garlic

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon freshly chopped tarragon

salt and cayenne to taste