Creamy Cole Slaw

Cole slaw is one of those things I've struggled with trying to make for a long time.  When I was 16, I worked in the kitchen at a camp in a small town near the North Carolina - South Carolina state lines.  The head chef was a woman in her 60's everyone called Mama Ruth.

Mostly I washed the dishes and did food prep like tear up the lettuce and cut tomatoes for salads, but eventually Mama Ruth trusted me enough to use shredder attachment Kitchen Aid stand mixer to shred cabbage and carrots for the coleslaw. Mama Ruth's cole slaw was delicious, as was all her food, but she used prepared cole slaw dressing and a little sugar rather than mix up a dressing from scratch. Unfortunately that left me ill prepared on how to make it myself.

For years my cole slaw was too sweet, too vinegary, salty...always "too" something.  Finally last summer just as the heat was starting to fade and cooler days were setting in, I got it right.  Right enough even, that my mother, who would rather have potato or macaroni salad went back for seconds when I served this to her one afternoon.  It seems I was missing a vital "secret ingredient" - a small bit of stone ground mustard.

Creamy Cole Slaw

6 cups shredded cabbage

1 cup grated carrot

1 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons stone ground mustard

1 teaspoon celery salt

salt and pepper

Combine mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, mustard, celery salt, salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Stir in cabbage and carrots.  Mix until well coated.  Refrigerate at least one hour to let flavors meld and cabbage slightly wilt before serving.