Festive Coleslaw

Our families had a recent get together not too long ago. About a week prior we were all talking food and deciding what people should bring to the party. It was a fourth of July party and I could already tell my father-in-law was getting excited when he was talking about making ribs. He gave me the raise of the eyebrow and a wink of the eye type of excitement. When he said he was making ribs, there was not a whole lot of discussion after that.  Personally, when I heard ribs, I suddenly began thinking of side dishes, and my immediate reaction was coleslaw. Well, that and mac and cheese, barbecue sauce, and baked beans. I blurted that out with my excitement and it is as though we all got excited for the party. Sure, I had to whip up a few side dishes but if you know me, it’s no big deal, and I love making food for people.

As I would normally bust out my standard coleslaw recipe, well, I actually have a few coleslaw recipe ideas depending on my mood and more importantly what I am serving it with, I decided to go with a classic slaw but jazzing it up a bit. In my case, a few extra ingredients, a different vinegar, and ultimately a festive coleslaw.

Lets get started.

Ingredients for the dressing:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp agave nectar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 1/2 tbsp champagne vinegar
• 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
• salt, to taste

Ingredients for the slaw:

• 8 cups of shredded cabbage
• 1 large carrot, shredded
• 1 small red onion, minced
• 1 cup of snow peas, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, diced

Start by making the dressing. Add all of the dressing ingredients into a small mixing bowl and whisk it all together. Give it a taste and adjust any vinegar, salt, or pepper to your liking.

To another large bowl, add in the slaw ingredients and give it a good mix making sure everything is well blended.

Add the dressing to the slaw and mix it very well. Cover with some plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least four hours.

When you are ready to serve, give it another good stir. The end result is a coleslaw that is not only light in terms of dressing, but it is tangy, and has this perfect crunch from all of the cabbage, bell pepper, carrots, peas. The simple additions of the dark green vegetables really bring this coleslaw to life and it goes perfect with any thing on the grill, including delicious ribs. I hope you enjoy.