Curried Cole Slaw

Ingredients:
1 small head cabbage or half a large head (1 1/4 lbs)
1 carrot (4 oz) peeled
1/3 cup mayonnaise
3 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp poppy seeds
1/4 tsp Tabasco hot pepper sauce
1 tsp curry powder

1. Trim the cabbage, removing and discarding any damaged parts, and shred it on a slicer or by cutting it into thin slices with a sharp knife. (You should have 5-6 lightly packed cups.) Shred the carrot (1 lightly packed cup).

2. In a bowl large enough to hold the finished slaw, mix together the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt poppy seeds, Tabasco and curry powder. Add the cabbage and carrots, and mix well. Serve immediately or cover, refrigerate, and serve later. The cole slaw will keep, refrigerated, for up to one day.

So even though the recipe says to serve immediately, I'd recommend letting it sit, refrigerated, for a few hours first. I made this about 2 hours in advance and tasted it both right after mixing and just before serving, and I thought it the flavors had melded more and the cabbage had softened up a bit after having time to marinate.

Cheats & Changes:
We had guests joining us for dinner tonight, and I was a bit short on time today. So despite what I've said about wanting to work on my knife skills, I used a pre-packaged cole slaw mix for the cabbage and carrots. I almost always have a bag in the fridge to add to stir-frys, wraps, etc. It's very handy.

I also used "light" mayonnaise because I forgot that was all we had in the house (T & I have been trying to diet). Otherwise, I would have splurged and bought the full-fat variety, which of course always tastes better. I also ended up leaving out the poppy seeds (despite making a special trip to the store for them) because they were out of them in the bulk section and I just couldn't bring myself to spend the money on a big bottle when I only needed about 10 cents worth. Yeah, I'm weirdly cheap that way.

The Verdict:
Pretty tasty, although a bit salty, which is saying something coming from me, the original salt fiend. It wasn't overtly mayonnaise-y, and the curry powder added some nice heat, but it wasn't overpowering. In fact, most of my tasters tonight could not quite identify what seasoning was in the slaw until I told them.

T and our guests enjoyed this too and none of them are usually fans of cole slaw. I think the acidity of the vinegar cancelled out the mayonnaise, but in a good way. This dish is very easy to throw together (especially if you don't have to do any chopping) for a quick side/salad, but I'd reduce the salt by half. I might also reduce the vinegar and/or up the sugar by a wee bit next time as I thought it had a little too much tang as well.