If you serve my son a burger, he will say to you: “I cannot imagine a burger without blue cheese.” And then, while shaking his head from side to side, he will say: “it is soooooooo good.” He captures my heart; I am equally a fan of the pungent, pervasive, personalitied blue.

And I always am on the search for a quality coleslaw to resurrect the bad reputation sliced cabbage has earned from summery picnics and potlucks. Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of a community table; but haven’t you met a pile of over mayo’d, unnaturally warm and soggy, out of a bag, well-worn slaw? Consider this: does the thought of coleslaw on the end of a fork make your cringe or lick you chops?

So imagine my trepidation when we went to dinner at a friend’s house and the beautifully marinated and grilled steak came plated with none other than coleslaw. Hold breath, insert fork, open mouth… seconds please? Maybe thirds? Oh, I forgot to take more the first time: uh, I didn’t believe coleslaw had redemptive value.

I am a believer, as blue cheese is my witness:

Blue Cheese Coleslaw
1 small head white/green cabbage
2/3 cup mayo
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 T whole grain mustard
2 tsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp celery salt
KS&CP (kosher salt & course pepper) to taste
2/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Slice Cabbage as thin as possible, removing cores. Blend mayo, mustards, salts, vinegar and pepper; stir dressing into cabbage, but do not drown it or heaven forbid: sog it (you can always add more dressing but you cannot take it out). Do not help promote the coleslaw stereotype. Add crumbled blue and parsley to blend. Will keep in fridge a few hours. You might want to tweak the amounts to your liking: I did.

Wow, deviation is good. I make pesto, and love my basil pesto, but now it will have to share the spotlight with cilantro pesto.

It has a surprising kick, compliments of stacks of cilantro happily blended with garlic and olive oil, and would be perfect added to a quesadilla or pulled pork sandwich. What I want to know is if you make this lively bugger of a pesto: what did you/would you add it to? What entree or dish will get a boost of flavor, a bit of personality, and in some cases a downright pesky attitude based on the addition of this—not so subtle but always welcome—condiment? Or is it a sauce? Shall I put it in a soup? Or mix it in pasta? Today for lunch: I put it on nachos!
Cilantro. This pesto recipe came from Harriett’s Tomato:

Cilantro Pesto
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 small peeled shallot
1/2 cup raw pine nuts
1 large bunch cilantro, washed
2 T sherry vinegar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
KS&CP (kosher salt & coarse pepper)

Food process: garlic and shallot, then pine nuts. Blend, then add cilantro and vinegar. When all is mixed well, add in olive oil, salt, pepper. Makes 1 1/4 cups, lasts at least a week in the fridge and my favorite: freezes beautifully in ice cube trays.

More Cilantro: