Pants on Fire

Listen.  I am not about to call myself a liar here.  When I'm busy shouting this or that bit of information from the rooftops, I mean it.  At least at that moment.  However, as I was whipping up a little something for dinner last night, I realized that I smelled smoke.  Coming from behind me!  Holy smokes!  My pants were on fire!

Just kidding.  They weren't.  But, if you'll happen to have read a recent post of mine regarding coleslaw, wherein I make a few somewhat long-winded and rather vehement claims...well, suffice it to say, that I caught myself out yesterday evening.  I was not sticking to my tried-and-true coleslaw.  In defense of myself though, I had no other option!  The slow roasted pork shoulder was slowly roasting away in the oven.  The dough for rolls had just gone into the bread machine. When, to my dismay, I realized there was only red cabbage in my veg drawer.  Uh-oh.  Can't really have pulled pork sandwiches without a slaw of some sort, can we?  (No, we can't.)  So, I dug around a bit, pulled out a fennel bulb, and a braeburn apple, and decided to hell with it.  I'm going to prove myself a teensy, weensy bit of a liar.

Just smell those house-fit pants, smoking away...Yowza.

Also, let me just say:  this coleslaw does still fall within my parameters of what constitutes a good slaw.  Crazy (and subjective) as those parameters may be.  That being the simple combination of salty, sweet, creamy, and tart.  The crunch of the bright purple cabbage, mated with the tart apples, and the anise-flavored fennel...it works.  I used light brown sugar in the dressing, because I figured it would pair nicely with those apples.  And, as I was reaching for the cider vinegar, which would be aptly suited, my eyes fell on Monica's homemade tarragon-infused vinegar.  Oh, that's the ticket.  If you don't happen to have tarragon vinegar in your pantry, or a Monica of your very own, white wine or apple cider vinegar will do just fine. 

Here you go:

Fennel, Apple, and Red Cabbage Slaw - serves 8, as a side

Ingredients
1 small, or half a large, head red cabbage, cored, and thinly sliced
1 tart apple, thinly sliced
1 fennel bulb, stalk and fronds removed, and thinly sliced

Dressing Ingredients
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbs light brown sugar
3 Tbs tarragon vinegar, or cider, or white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients together. 

Spoon the dressing over the fruit and veg, in a large bowl, and toss to combine.  Allow to hang out, in the fridge, for at least an hour or two before serving.  This will keep for up to two days.

Yum.  Nothing wrong with mixing things up.

Now to put this fire out...