Fennel Red Onion Cole Slaw

This cole slaw recipe is a real winner. So much so that I almost didn't post it... A secret weapon, the perfect foil for any kind of BBQ affair.

Here's what you need:

• 1 large fennel bulb, sliced thin on a mandoline
• 1 large head of green or red cabbage, sliced thin on a mandoline
• 1 large red onion, sliced thin on a mandolin
• 1 large apple or pear, sliced thin on a mandolin (optional, but I love this addition)

Dressing:

• 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon or citrus (lime, tangerine was awesome!)
• 2 tbsp sugar
• dash of salt, dash of black pepper
• 2 tbsp of chopped fresh fronds of the fennel
• 1/2 tsp of garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp of dried mustard

Prep:
In a very large bowl, make the dressing using all the ingredients listed above. Whisk well.

Dump all of the veggies in the large bowl and with your clean, washed hands, mix the slaw thoroughly. You can use some large utensils but I gave up and found that I got better coverage and could feel the dressing coat the ingredients if I used my hands.

This was so freaking delicious. I have a massive "patch" of fennel in my garden and much to my delight, it continues to put up fennel "pups" or babies next to the main parent bulb. I carefully cut back the largest bulb and leave the baby bulbs to mature. And on the process goes.

I really didn't know you could continue your fennel crop by harvesting this way so that's been quite a cool discovery. And I always save the fennel fronds for soup by chopping and freezing them if I don't have a need for the fresh green parts. It's a very light, lovely fennel flavor that behaves like an herb and marries beautifully with potatoes and pasta. I use it in potato or pasta salads and in soups.

We had a ton of the slaw to start, but funny enough, it's almost gone.  We paired it with our beautiful smoked brisket and let me tell you, it is a money maker!!

We've made sliders with the brisket all week and it just doesn't get old. I even eat huge bowls of this slaw, it's that good. Super balanced sweet/sour foil to the fatty, juicy brisket but you can serve it on your favorite pulled pork, bbq chicken or beef sandwiches.

Braised Cabbage with Beer, Red Onion and Pork Belly

Nothing feels more like comfort food to me than braised cabbage.

I grew up with cabbage as a child and my mother, my grandmother braised it in bacon drippings and beef or chicken stock, which is one of my favorite ways of preparing it.

So simple, my puppy could make it:

• Cabbage wedges
• Sliced Red or Yellow Onions
• Bacon, Pork Belly or smoked hamhocks
• 1 bottle of your favorite beer or apple cider
• Salt, pepper to taste

No need to slice and dice... just cut big wedges of cabbage, slice some onions if you feel up to it and toss in either ham hocks, slices of pork belly or diced bacon. Drench the rest with some of your favorite beer and you are good to go.

Don't have beer on hand? How about some apple cider? No apple cider, try chicken stock or beef stock. We had a root beer but preferring a less sweet version, we opted for the half drunk bottles of Pilsners leftover from the night before. So what if it's flat? By the way, a root beer would be the perfect foil if we had a red cabbage but since we have the most monstrous head of green cabbage I've ever seen, we opted for a lighter liquid and chose to use the leftover beer we had on hand.

Bake:
Bake at 350 F for about 45 minutes to an hour, adding more liquid at the half hour mark if it looks like it is cooking out too quickly. I use a large Creuset, uncovered, to bake this dish or one of my large stainless stockpots if doing it on the stove.

If baking, just pop it in the oven, set the time for 30 minutes just to check on it and keep baking for the full 45 minutes to an hour if you prefer your cabbage more or less tender. The flavors really develop the longer it braises so keep an eye on it so the liquid doesn't cook out and it begins to burn instead of caramelizing.

If braising it stove top, you can cover it and simmer on low for the first 30 minutes and uncover it the rest of the way to reduce down if you like more of the caramelized flavors like I do.  To me though, baking is the easiest way and if I bake it, I can usually get in my evening swim while it braises away!