Cabbage Patch Goodness

 Coleslaw, a salad, primarily using shredded cabbage, served cold and a frequent side dish at picnics and barbeques.  Researching its origin began with dissecting the name and finding out what it actually meant.  At first, I began with Cole’s Law, and wondered who the heck was this Cole guy, and what Law did he generate about a cabbage salad?  Now, now, do not be rolling those eyes at me; just doing a little tongue-in-cheek joking around with this.

Cole is Greek, meaning "victorious people" while in England, and taken from the Old English word “cola”, means "swarthy, black coal."  No filibustering, about salad, in any courts or political arenas.  Time to trace the true origins of coleslaw, and the Greeks must have been referring to the Romans, for this was a very victorious culture. 

The Roman period in the Netherlands began in the year 19 BC, when two or three legions established a camp in Nijmegen. The southern region remained under Roman rule for approximately 450 years, all the while influencing culture, cuisine and lifestyle.  In Rome, a common dish, served at meals, consisted of cabbage, vinegar, eggs and spices.  Since the Romans were guarding the Rhine, and cabbage happens to like growing along river banks, it made sense to introduce it to the populace living there.

Between the 1600s and 1800s, many Dutch immigrated to the New World (America) to escape religious persecution; settlements mainly in New York and Pennsylvania.  The word “coleslaw” is an English translation of the Dutch “koolsla”, with “kool” referring to “cole”, and “sla” meaning “salad”.  Which now brings us back to the name origin of “cole”, but in Dutch, it refers to cole crops such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, Chinese cabbage, and kohlrabi.  Cole crops are cool season vegetables that grow best at temperatures between 60F and 68F.  World languages can be so fascinating, with one word having so many different meanings, dependent on where, and the cultural lifestyle.

An original coleslaw recipe can be traced back to 1770, in the cookbook, The Sensible Cook: Dutch Foodways in the Old and New World (Translated and edited by Peter G. Rose). The recipe is credited to his Dutch landlady who mixed thin strips of cabbage with melted butter, vinegar and oil; frying the cabbage and still creating a creamy concoction.  Sort of reminds me of the Irish dish, Colcannon, made with mashed potatoes, fried cabbage strips and crispy bacon.   

Today, coleslaw has grown as a simple salad. Dressings can be a vinaigrette, or sour cream or mayonnaise based.  Other shredded vegetables are added, not just a mixture of white with purple cabbage, but with carrots, bell peppers or hot peppers.  While is it often looked at as a mere side dish, it makes a creamy, crunchy topping for sandwiches such as fried fish or shredded pork barbecue.

 

 

Now the weekend will be here before you know it, so here is my homemade recipe for coleslaw, for your dining pleasure.

 

Coleslaw Dressing

 Ingredient

2 cups mayonnaise

2 and ½ Tbsp. sugar

2 Tbsp.  lemon juice

3 Tbsp. white vinegar

½ tsp. ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon salt

½ tsp. celery seed

Preparation:

Whisk all ingredients together in bowl until smooth and creamy.

 

 

To Make Coleslaw

In a large bowl containing 1 lb. shredded white cabbage (or ½ lb. white plus ½ lb. purple) plus ½ cup shredded carrot, pour dressing over; toss until all vegetables are coated.

 

Makes 8 servings of Coleslaw.

 

Oh, before I forget, all the while I was writing it out as cole slaw, Merriam-Webster dictionary has schooled me, the proper spelling is coleslaw; all one word.  The more you know…

Mary Cokenour

The Delicatessen - Palaces of Eatery.

Beginning in the 1840’s, Germans began immigrating to the United States; they brought with them many of their preserved, pickled and canned foods, and their family recipes. Delicatessen (also known as “deli”) is a combination of words which roughly translates into “delicacies to eat” or “to eat delicious things”. Within these palaces of eatery, authentic German and/or Americanized versions of foods were offered.  Varieties of sausages (or “wieners”), beef frankfurters, sauerkraut, hamburgers, meat loaf, liverwurst, cold cuts, noodle dishes, dill pickles, herring in cream sauce, lager beer, seltzer water, pretzels (hard and crunchy or the big, doughy New York-style soft pretzels), potato salad, muenster cheese, rolls, pastries, rye and pumpernickel breads.

During the 1890’s to 1920’s, Eastern Europeans of Jewish descent started to flock to the United States, bringing not only their language (Yiddish) and religion, but their own foods and recipes. Kosher and kosher-style delicatessens were established and New Yorkers were introduced to bagels, bialys, smoked salmon and white fish, Matzo and Matzo ball soup, pastrami, corned beef, tongue, borscht, chopped liver, pickled herring and potato pancakes.

When it came to a smorgasbord, the delicatessen was the place to indulge. New York not only personified the concept of the “melting pot” with the variety of ethnic cultures and religions, but also with the food items available to the public. As the United States developed, these cultures moved across the states and introduced the concept of the deli to many an area. In the 1950’s, supermarkets were introduced around the country which offered many of the same items as found in the neighborhood deli. This caused many a deli to close its doors, since they could not compete with the lesser prices a supermarket could charge due to bulk purchasing; but not a complete death.

Growing up, and living in, New York for a good part of my life, I was fortunate enough to experience the neighborhood deli. I miss delis and their uniqueness; the familiarity of the workers behind the counter, the smells of meats and cheeses, the yeastiness of the breads and rolls; it was a complete feast for all the senses.  Now I have not even mentioned the Italian deli, and that would be an article unto itself, since it would be a lead into bakeries and pizzerias.

Big chain supermarkets have begun to understand this concept of food tastes and smells bringing communities together.  They are expanding their services to provide more ethnic based specialties; make-your-own-salad bars; hot soups to go; and the deli sections are, once again, making sandwiches to order.  Even the bakeries are offering more choices than bagged, sliced breads; artisan styles of sour dough, ciabatta, and French and Italian loaves, or more rustic styles with crusty outside, but chewy inside textures.  Basically, the more diverse the populace, the more choices there are for bringing back memories, trying for the first time, or mixing and matching for an adventurous dining experience.

I make a mean deli sandwich of my own and here is one of my husband’s favorites.  Warning!  Like a boa constrictor, make sure you can unhinge your jaw, as you will need to, this sandwich is a mega-mouthful.

Roy’s Fave Deli Sandwich

 Ingredients:

2 slices rye bread

4 Tbsp Thousand Island salad dressing

2 slices Swiss cheese

¼ lb. each sliced turkey breast, corned beef and pastrami

1/3 cup cole slaw

Pickle spear

½ cup each potato and macaroni salads

Preparation:

Spread 2 Tbsp of salad dressing on one side of each slice of bread; place one slice of cheese on each slice. Layer on the cold cuts, top with cole slaw, close up sandwich, cut in half; serve with pickle spear and salads.

Serves one.

Mary Cokenour

Smoky, Juicy Pork Barbecue from a Crock Pot?

While I do have two smokers, they're not the type of equipment that can be set up and forgotten about; specific temperatures, wood supplies, and maybe even water in a pan must be maintained.  So how would you get a good pork barbecue if you're not using a smoker?  Believe it or not, but it can be done simply in a crock pot; a piece of equipment that can be set up and walked away from until ready to eat.

While I have tried making pork barbecue with pork roast or tenderloin, Boston butt is the way to go whether using a smoker or not.  This section of pork comes from the upper part of the shoulder on the front leg of the pig; usually sold with the bone intact. Now unless you have plans for that bone, have your butcher take it out; why pay per pound for something you'll more than likely throw away?  Sometimes the butt is sold with the bone already out, but the cost is more; I was very, very lucky to find a nice 4 pounder without the bone and on sale. Think about it, I have 4 pounds of meat as compared to perhaps 3 to 3 and 1/2 pounds after the bone is removed; definitely a bargain!  By the way, it's a given that the meat might have to be cut apart here or there to get the bone cleanly out; you want those sections!  If in a package, you'll find them tied together into one big roast with butcher's twine; just remove the twine before cooking...well this recipe anyway.

I don't know about you, but most times I have found pork to be on the dry side.  To solve this problem, I will brine the meat before cooking it. This salt water soak will help to open up the meat fibers to allow the fat, as it melts, to flow into the meat and keep it moist and juicy. It also allows seasonings, and sauces if simmered in them, to do the same thing.  If there is a lot of extra fat hanging off the butt, it's alright to trim some of it off as there is plenty within the Boston butt itself.  Now when you're ready to begin the cooking process, set up a 6 quart crock pot (spray the inside with nonstick cooking spray) and set the temperature on low;  place the brined Boston butt inside.

I used my homemade barbecue sauce to make this pork barbecue, but use bottled if you're not up to making the homemade.  Make sure though that you do add onions!  Cover the meat with 6 cups of sauce; cover and cook for 6-8 hours.  The meat should be so tender, it simply comes apart with a fork.  With my crock pot (Hamilton Beach 3 in 1 with tall, round crock pots), the 4 pounds of pork only took 6 hours before perfection was achieved.  Depending on how your equipment works, it could be the same or longer; but you want it so tender that it shreds without effort.

I serve up my pork barbecue sandwiches two ways; first off, large potato buns for both; the first way is simply with barbecue sauce on top.  The second, and our very favorite way, is with cole slaw layered on top. 

Homemade Cole Slaw

Ingredients:

4 cups shredded white cabbage
1 cup shredded red cabbage
1 cup shredded carrots
2 cups Miracle Whip salad dressing
1 and 1/2 tablespoons ground black pepper

Preparation:

Put all ingredients into large bowl and mix thoroughly.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour before serving. 
 
Makes 8-10 servings.

Taste the cole slaw after refrigeration to see if it needs salt; no one I have ever served it to has ever done so though.  They like the savory taste the ground black pepper gives to the vegetables.

In case you have a good amount of barbecue sauce left over after the pork is all gone; put it into a plastic bowl and into the freezer for about an hour.  Any fat in the sauce will solidify at the top and you can scoop it off to throw away.  Then seal the container, label it, and keep it in the freezer until you need barbecue sauce again; cooking it with the pork didn't ruin the flavor, only enhanced it.

There you have it, smoky, juicy pork barbecue simply made in the kitchen with a crock pot; and a bonus recipe for homemade cole slaw.  Enjoy!

Mary Cokenour

MD Ranch Cookhouse is Now Home to the FROZEN Cowboy.

MD Ranch Cookhouse - OUT OF BUSINESS as of September 2014

380 South Main
Monticello, Utah, 84535

(435) 587-3299

Website: Still None


If you abhor freshly cooked, flavorly seasoned food, then MD Ranch Cookhouse is now the go to place for you. Husband and wife owners, Dan and Sally believe that the best cooked food must be frozen, not fresh. While Dan does come into the restaurant, you'll find him in a side room mostly playing card games with friends. Sally is an absentee owner which speaks volumes of, "I don't care, this is just a hobby."













They also do not believe in spending money on advertising; there is a small ad in the weekly local paper and that is it. Otherwise it is word of mouth or seeing the place as you drive past (hint, keep on driving). There is a small gift shop inside selling generic "Made in China" items; guess the idea of selling wares of local artisans is too novel an idea for this duo. What is very disappointing is that when I spoke with Dan in April 2011 (my first review), he had such awesome plans for the development of MD. What happened to the enthusiasim Dan?

Chris is a friend of Dan's who manages the kitchen area; Chris has lots of enthusiasim, but little experience in the culinary arts. He manages two new cooks, one with 8 years experience in restaurant services, the other with very little experience. Basically the blind leading the blind with the staff yelling from the roof top, "give us training and professional kitchen tools and equipment to work with!" The entire kitchen, and thank you Chris for the tour, needs to be revamped with more professional kitchen equipment and better space utility and organization. Definitely better deep fryers, walk-in freezer (there is none, only an upright) and a standard home refrigerator. There is a grill area with both a flat top and barbecue style grill; one stove/oven and for some strange reason, these are constantly being turned down in temperature instead of maintaining a standard high temperature. No wonder everything is deep fried, the oven is hardly ever ready for use! MD opens at 11am, the kitchen staff usually arrives at 10:30am for preparation; a half hour to turn on the equipment basically, but very little fresh food prep work. Chris is a nice guy, but excuses of "it takes too long to prep this or that" is just that, an excuse.

Oh, before I forget, there was one beautifully shining star at MD Ranch Cookhouse, our waitress Brittany. She is perky, with lots of attitude that just makes you smile and laugh. If you do go to MD, make sure to ask for her as your server.



So lets get to the food; so I have to admit that Corn Nuggets, although frozen and deep fried, is a favorite of mine. The outside is crispy and golden brown; the inside has tender corn and creamy sauce; just absolutely yummy. Give me a basket of those and a salad and I'm a happy camper.

Now although there is a meat processing plant within the town limits, seems that MD rather pay for cheap frozen, than fresh cut meat and poultry. As for seasoning, the consensus is that the locals don't like seasoned food, they prefer very bland. Well I live in this town and can tell you that those old timers with dry as dust taste buds may like it bland, but not everyone, including tourists. During the spring, summer and fall months, the bulk of income should be made. During the winter months, when there are only the locals to rely on, there is the option of closing for the season, or catering to those locals who enjoy good, fresh and flavorful food. The others who like it bland? Let them go to the local gas station for overcooked coffee and stale donuts, just the way they like it.




The Reuben Burger can be either a quarter or half pound burger with grilled corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing. While the burger meat was cooked to order, it was unseasoned and depended on the other items to give it flavor. The buns are large, fluffy and toasted; while the sides are usually fries, potato chips or cole slaw, we were lucky to be able to try sweet potato fries. Unhappily the fries came out unseasoned, but once MD's seasoning salt was put on them; delicious.



The Wild West Chicken Sandwich; the West would certainly have been lost with this sandwich. If you order it with the breaded chicken breast, expect a round, pressed chicken patty as you would find in the freezer section of your supermarket. I ordered the grilled chicken which is frozen, precooked chicken; it is steamed (why, I have no clue) to order and while warm on the outside, was cold in the center. I refused to eat it as I did not want to get sick and did bring it to everyone's attention. The thick cut bacon would make any lover of bacon break down and cry; the meat was hard as a rock and easily pulled away from the undercooked fat. The barbecue sauce is house made (surprise, surprise) and is very good; they should bottle and sell it in their gift shop. I had the cole slaw as a side and while house made (another surprise), it needed a twang to it, like more vinegar; however it was fresh and that counted highly.


Ok bacon lovers, here is a photo of thick cut bacon I made this morning in my own kitchen. In a 12 inch skillet, high heat, I was able to cook 6-7 pieces in each batch; each batch took only 8 minutes to fry up to delicious crispiness.



Dan, Sally and Chris; before you make any plans to remodel the MD Ranch Cookhouse; remodel the kitchen and most especially...THE FOOD! Fresh is best; frozen has its place, but not as your main source. Good luck; you're going to need tons of it.

Mary Cokenour

NOTE: The information I have written in this blog post is either from personal experience having a meal at MD Ranch Cook House, or from speaking with current and former employees.  If the employees themselves are stating that major changes, especially in food quality and handling, are needed, than there is accuracy in the statements.

We finally have a barbeque joint in Southeastern Utah!!!

Fattboyz Grillin'164 North Grayson Parkway (previously the Peace Tree Cafe)
Blanding, Utah, 84511

(435)678-3777

Facebook Link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fattboyz-Grillin/135856886470228

When I was planning to move to Utah, one aspect that excited me, hey....all the barbeque places I can visit. Wrong!!! The closest one was two hours away in Durango, Colorado (Serious Texas BBQ - good place too); there used to be one in Cortez, Colorado, only one hour away, but it closed down.

Reed Sampson must have been just as disappointed as I was, fore when he decided to open up a food place, he went barbeque! Thank you Reed!!!

The menu offers a good variety; it's posted on Fattboyz' Facebook page, and we decided to try a few items. Hint, hint Reed, offer a sampler platter on the menu; a little bit of most everything for one price. We'd pay good money for that. So lets get started with the low-down:

Ribs - done on site, meaty, juicy....drool. Nuff' said.

Burgers - meaty, juicy, we loved the charbroiled flavor.

Beef BBQ sandwich - thick, meaty (am I getting redundant?) and just plain ole delicious.

BBQ sauce - hit the Bullseye; nothing wrong with Bullseye, I use it in a pinch, and KC Masterpiece too, but I do wonder if Reed doctors it up a bit...but he won't tell.

That's just the main menu items we tried; now the sides:

Mac n' Cheese - oh yes, it's cheesy and gooey, just the way mac n' cheese should be.

Beans - while they were a nice enhancement to the meat, I found them to be a little plain, but that's me. I would have liked to see them swimming in bbq sauce, diced onions, maybe a little chile pepper thrown in.

Potato salad - good flavor, potatoes were just right; not firm, but not too mushy.

Now I hear tell that the cole slaw is homemade, so next time we stop in, I intend on trying the pulled pork sandwich with cole slaw...is there any other way to eat it?

So, all in all, this place is the bomb diggety, and if you live in the area, or are just visiting, go to Fattboyz Grillin!!!

Oh Reed, in case you want a homemade macaroni salad recipe, check out my "Amish Macaroni Salad" on the Jan 16, 2011 post entitled "A salad isn't a salad...yes it is".

...and here's my recipe for homemade baked lima beans. If you use either or both recipes, just give me credit on your Facebook page, and list a link to this blog...appreciate it.

Baked Lima Beans

Ingredients:
1 (40.5 oz) can Butter beans (lima beans)
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles, mild
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (16 oz) bottle hickory smoked, brown sugar barbeque sauce
6-8 strips thick cut bacon, roughly chopped

Preparation:
Preheat oven at 350F. Spray a 2 quart casserole with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients; spoon into the casserole dish. Bake for 2 hours.

Serves 8.

Mary Cokenour