The Darling Dahlias and the Confederate Rose

Mildred Kilgore’s Southern Coleslaw

No Southern celebration would be complete without a big bowl of coleslaw. The word comes from the Dutch words, kool sla (cabbage salad, usually served hot). This recipe, which features a sharply sweet-sour dressing, is picnic-perfect, a vinegary foil to a platter of fried chicken or barbequed ribs. Celery seed was a favorite Southern flavoring, especially recommended for use with cabbage.





1 pound finely shredded cabbage


1 medium red onion, quartered and finely sliced

1 cup toasted pecans, chopped

DRESSING

1 cup sugar





1 teaspoon salt


1 1?2 teaspoons dry mustard

1 teaspoon celery seed





1 cup vinegar


2?3 cup vegetable oil

Combine shredded cabbage with sliced onion and pecans. Combine dressing ingredients and bring to a boil. Pour over cabbage and toss. Serve warm or chilled.





Resources

Blackman, Ann, Wild Rose: Rose O’Neale Greenhow, Civil War Spy. New York: Random House, 2005.

Farquhar, Michael, “‘Rebel Rose,’ A Spy of Grande Dame Proportions.” Washington Post, September 18, 2000.

Greenhow, Rose O’Neal, My Imprisonment and the First Year of Abolition Rule at Washington, London: Richard Bentley, 1863. Also available online at http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/greenhow/menu.html (Accessed July 22, 2011).

Ross, Ishbel, Rebel Rose. St. Simon’s Island, Georgia: Mockingbird Books, 1973.