12 Second Coleslaw… in 42 seconds!

OK, I’ll admit it, this doesn’t look like a very exciting recipe, but that’s the point. Sure, the photo is boring. I didn’t even bother to Photoshop in some colorful veggies! When most people think of coleslaw they think of that bowl of soggy shredded cabbage sitting at the end of the picnic table. This is a completely different approach. This is fresh shredded cabbage prepared as a fast (12 seconds to add the ingredients, and 30 seconds to mix), crisp, low-cal, low-carb, slightly spicy, and delicious side dish that you should be eating as part of your regular veggie side-dish rotation. Do yourself a favor and find a grocery store in your town that carries the “angel hair” finely shredded cabbage, ready-to-mix in the bag. My 12 second coleslaw in 42 seconds claim only counts if you use the pre-shredded bag. By the way, I have no problem taking an extra 5 minutes and shredding my own cabbage, but I rarely can use a whole head and so I don’t like to buy those giant heads unless I’m making this for a large group.

There are 2 keys to this super-slaw; the very small amount of highly-seasoned dressing (it really doesn’t look like enough but you’ll see that it is), and the fact that I don’t toss the cabbage and the dressing together until I’m ready to eat. As soon as any dressing hits shredded cabbage, water starts to be pulled out of the leaves, which causes most traditionally made coleslaws to go limp and soggy. By mixing just before you eat, you will experience the true essence of fresh coleslaw; sweet, crunchy and refreshing. I served this under a spicy Jerked Chicken (aka Jerky Chicken), and it was perfect!

Ingredients:
10 oz. bag of Angel Hair Shredded Cabbage
2 tbl Seasoned Rice Vinegar
2 tbl Thousand Island Dressing
1 tsp hot sauce of your choice
pinch of salt
*I didn’t because I only had 12 seconds, but you can certainly add ANY finely shredded raw vegetables to this coleslaw and yours won’t look as boring as mine.

Spring Greens in a Cucumber Vase (pronounced “vaahhzzzz”) - When a plain old salad bowl just won’t do!

Today I’m showing one of those very simple restaurant tricks that anyone could do at home, but don’t. The next time your doing a dinner party and want to “fancy-up” the salad course, try this easy technique. You can do this with a large vegetable peeler if you have to, but I hope that by now you’ve purchased one of those cheap Japanese-style vegetable slicers you see me using in so many of my clips. They really are an incredibly versatile tool and EVERY professional kitchen has one somewhere.

If you have room in your fridge, you can form the “vases” ahead of time and keep them cold until you are ready to serve. By the way, as I mention in the clip, the Salmon Cakes and Tarragon Aioli that I show at the end of the video are a little tease for a couple of demo’s coming up this week. So stay tuned for those. Enjoy!

Crispy Skin Salmon on Warm Potato Mushroom Salad with Cherry Tomato Citronette

This dish shows off the importance of contrasting textures and temperatures when assembling a dish. The hot, crisp skinned salmon tops a warm, soft, earthy mushroom and potato salad; both are surrounded by a cool, tangy tomato citronette (vinaigrette made with citrus instead of vinegar). You’ll be amazed how delicious the skin of the salmon gets when cooked this crisp! It also has a high concentration of the healthy oils that salmon is renowned for.

NOTE: cooking time for the salmon was 5 minutes on the skin side, and then 2 minutes on the other. This gave me a nice medium doneness (a bit pink in the middle).

Ingredients:
2 Boneless Wild Salmon Fillet (4-5 Oz. Each) SKIN ON!!!
8 Oz Cooked Yukon Gold Potato
2 Cups Mushrooms
1 Clove Garlic
1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes
1 Tsp Herb Mustard
Olive Oil
1 Lemon
Salt and Pepper
Cayenne

Crunchy Asian Slaw – low fat, low carb, high flavor!

This slaw is fast to make, and very versatile as a base for almost any grilled meat or fish. Also, this dish is easily customized by adding any number of your favorite Asian ingredients. Try and find the daikon sprouts I used, as they will add a unique and peppery touch. Make sure you watch the Salmon Mango Bango recipe that we used to top this slaw. It is a really nice combo!

The Japanese vegetable slicer I used on the carrots is a great gadget to have around. You’ll see me use it for many things. They are relatively inexpensive and last a very long time. I prefer them over the way-to-expensive French metal versions.