Easy Coleslaw

[arthur_p_dent]

  After years of playing around with various recipes for coleslaw dressing, I’ve finally found one that’s just what I’ve been looking for. This is taken from dinnerthendessert.com, and to spare you all the pop-up ads I’ll just type the recipe out (it’s very short and simple).

Easy Coleslaw

14 ounce package of coleslaw mix 

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon white vinegar 
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients.
Add coleslaw mix and stir well to combine.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

The recipe doesn’t need to be tweaked in any way, although I would think any variety of salt would be fine. For coleslaw I do prefer a pre-packaged mix rather than cutting up fresh cabbage - much less work (who wants to spend 10-15 minutes trying to cut up cabbages and carrots to just the right size, when you can just open a bag?).

The sweet spot for fridge time is 18-24 hours. This really does need to be made the night before - the vinegar and lemon juice need time to draw some of the moisture out of the veggies and soften them up a little. The other side of the coin here is that once it gets into day 2, it starts to get a bit soupy. Solution - only dress as much of the veggies as you plan to eat the next day. The dressing in its own will keep in the fridge for several days, which allows you to make smaller portions and still have them turn out great. Also, all of the ingredients divide nicely by 2, so halfing the recipe is no problem.

Enjoy  =]

Copycat O.G. Alfredo Sauce

[arthur_p_dent]

Here’s another recipe I’ve had on my list to try, taken from spaceshipsandlaserbeams.com (where do people come up with their website names?). There’s 2 things you need if you’re going to copy the O.G.’s Alfredo - garlic and salt. Recipes I’ve used in the past have tended to fall short on one or both of these, so I continue to look. 

Copycat O.G. Alfredo Sauce

16 ounce package fettuccine 

6 tablespoons salted butter
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup shredded parmesan 
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Fresh parsley finely chopped

1) Cook pasta per package instructions, drain and set aside
2) In a large skillet over medium heat, add butter and let it melt. Add minced garlic and garlic powder. Whisk together to combine.
3) Sprinkle the flour over the butter and garlic mixture. Whisk together and then slowly add the heavy cream and milk while whisking. Let sauce begin to boil and then reduce heat to low and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
4) Add Parmesan cheese and whisk together.
5) Add the cooked and drained fettuccine. Use tongs to toss the noodles in the sauce. 
6) Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.

So is it an O.G. copycat? Nope - not nearly salty enough. In fact, the instructions don’t even tell you what to do with the small amount of salt listed in the ingredients. But even though it fails as a copycat, I actually enjoyed it a lot (I don’t really like salty foods).

Modifications:
1) I used 1 tablespoon of Penzies minced garlic (soaked in water to rehydrate it) in place of the minced fresh garlic and garlic powder. in a recipe like this the dehydrated garlic is just as good as fresh.
2) No parsley. Ever. Sure, restaurants need to dress up Alfredo somehow - it’s basically just a bowl of beige. But I have better things to spend money on than garnishes.

Important items missing from the instructions:
1) Don’t let the garlic cook for too long (30 seconds max). It will burn easily and create off flavours. 
2) Cook the flour for about 60 seconds (keep whisking lightly) before adding the liquids. This will cook off the ‘nutty’ flavour of the raw flour.

Options:
Alfredo lends itself nicely to all kinds of optional/additional ingredients. Veggies, such as peas, broccoli, asparagus, or mushrooms. Meats, such as grilled chicken, sausage, or sliced steak. Even change up the type of noodle, and try farfalle, rotini, or capellini.

Final notes:
The full recipe will feed 4-5, and if you add other items that count will go up quickly. Alfredo sauce is notoriously difficult to reheat, since the sauce tends to break (loses its emulsification), so I try to avoid having leftovers whenever possible. The recipe looks like it can be halfed easily enough, for smaller households.

Enjoy  =]