I’ll Have That with a Side of….. A Jeanne and Cassondra Food Fight, Continued

Posted by Jeanne Adams Jul 9 2012, 12:15 am in barbecue, Burgers, Cassondra Murray, Cassondra's blogs, coleslaw, hot dogs, Jeanne Adams, potato salad, potlucks, southern traditions, Summer food, summer traditions

So, last week we talked about burgers and dogs.  I’ve been thinking about that all weekend. 

Cassondra:  Not only have I been thinking about it, I had hot dogs for lunch today. *grin*

Jeanne:  Well….ugh.  (Snork!)  BACK to what I was trying to say… I made my husband fire up the grill, despite the 100+ degree heat, and make burgers.  When I proposed this sweat-dripping activity, his very first question (after the groan about the heat) was “What are we having for sides?”

Ahhhhh, NOW we’re talking!  Potato Salad.  Corn on the cob.  Fruit Salad. Cole Slaw.  Rolls.  Molded salads.  Next-to-Sex desserts.  Bovinder Pie (made with chocolate cookies and coffee ice cream…OMG!!!). And ohhhhh, W-A-T-E-R-M-E-L-O-N.

Now, I eat my summer fruit with salt.  Watermelon, honeydew, and cantelope alllll get cut up, sprinkled with a dash of salt and ooooohhhhhhh, yummy.  Cassondra, my Evil Twin, in most other things, believes that I’m insane for doing this. 

Cassondra:  Not entirely insane.  I salt watermelon and cantaloupe. Just every now and then, when I’m dehydrated and salt deficient.   Honeydew? NEVER!

Jeanne: Fine fine.  You’re nitpicking now. 

And of course, since I think she’s nuts (as she knows) for putting Mayo on a burger, I judge that all of  this makes us even.

Alas, we also have a disagreement about some of those sides.  We’re in complete harmony on the Corn on the Cob.  In fact, I think both of us would utter the same, famous three words when greeted with that luscious side:  Nom, Nom. Nom.

Grins.

Cassondra:  One word. Amen.  (Or is that two words?)

Jeanne:  One word, I think.  (But easily drawn out to two for emphasis, quite appropriate in the case of corn!!)  The point is that we find ourselves in conflict over the question of whether Cole Slaw or Potato Salad is the REAL summer side.  I maintain that Potato Salad has been around longer, and is more popular.  Cassondra says the opposite.

Cassondra:  Well….they’ve both been around longer than I have.  But my mom made coleslaw.  And hardly ever made potato salad.  And I’m really picky about potato salad.  Some of it is just…blech.  Some coleslaw too, to be fair, but I like an awful lot of it.  I think it’s the crunch.   Every summer meal should have some CRUNCH to it.

Jeanne:  Well okay, I concede the point about the need for crunch.  I’m just not sure it should come from coleslaw!  One thing we agree on, however, is pasta salad.

Cassondra:  A blight on the traditional southern potluck.

Jeanne:  SO true! We do both lament that it’s become popular in recent years to put together a pasta salad in addition to one of these treats.  Gets so you can’t swing a….drumstick…without hitting five bowls of pasta salad on the summer picnic buffet tables.  

Not that I object, but…seriously people, it isn’t a substitute, just an addition!

Cassondra:  Right.  And the thing is, that as disorganized as some of these things are…”Oh, everybody just bring something.”  (Former event coordinator cringes when she thinks about this uncoordinated trust of the universe to put a meal together)…..you end up with meat and six different pasta salads, and nothing freaking ELSE to eat. Lord save me from the carbohydrate overload.

Jeanne:  Hahaha!  Okay, true, but can I please make my point?  *crickets chirp*

Okay good.  I maintain that nothing, and I mean NOTHING beats good, old fashioned mayo-not-mustard Potato Salad made with redskin potatoes, a little onion, egg, salt, pepper, a dash of sweet pickle relish if you’re so inclined….Ohhhh yeah.

Cassondra: At least we agree on the mayo instead of mustard.  Mustard potato salad?  Ick.

Jeanne: Now THERE’s something we can “Amen!” over!  Ha!  If there’s a potato involved (sans mustard), I’m there.  Baked, scalloped, and made into that summertime delight, Potato Salad.  Hence my passion for the dish. 

Not so with Cole Slaw.  Oh, and BTW, that weird name?  Cole-Slaw/Coleslaw?  I looked it up.  It’s from the Dutch, Koolsla (kool = cabbage, sla = salad).  I heard some one call it “cold slaw” not too long ago and wanted to smack ‘em.  Hahahah!  I will confess that despite my love of word origins and the fun of figuring that out, I’m not a fan.  In fact, I’m not a fan of cabbage much at all.  I don’t like sauerkraut – another favorite hot dog topping, ugh! – nor do I like cabbage soup or anything of that nature.  I’m okay with spring rolls and egg rolls, but that’s deep fried food – a whoooooole ‘nother blog.  Grins.

Cassondra:  Did you grow up in the country or not?  You don’t like cabbage?  I mean, I know a LOT of people don’t like cabbage.  But it really does depend on how it’s fixed.  It’s a completely different animal cooked than it is raw.  But we’re talking about raw here.   And we’re not even gonna get into the bazillion different ways you can fix slaw. That’s what it was called when I was growing up. It wasn’t coleslaw. It was just slaw.

That’s where you get slawburgers from.  They’re burgers with slaw on ‘em.  Or Barbecue with slaw on it, like in that picture.  And yes, I did capitalize Barbecue. As it should be.  With slaw.

Burger or BBQ, either way, they’re yummy.

Cuz of the slaw.

Jeanne:  Hahahaha!  Oh, I know all about that, but I’m just not a fan.  And yes, I grew up in the country, and everyone in the family liked slaw but me!  Ha!! 

 So how about y’all, Banditas? 

Potato Salad or …slaw?

Mustard in your potato salad, or mayonaise?

Either, both, or neither?

Have you ever had molded Jello salad? 

Cassondra:  Jello salad?  Ahahahahaha!  Oh. You’re serious.  But jello salad?  Really?  That’s hospital food.   Isn’t it?  I can’t even look at it without flashing back to bad memories of the school cafeteria and those ugly, aqua-green lunch trays…..EWWWWWW!  (Somebody wake me when the flashback is over!)

Jeanne:  Ahem!  Buddies, have you ever made Jello salad?  What do you put in it?

Do you grill your corn, or boil it?

What other sides do you love?

What’s your favorite summer fruit and/or dessert?

And if you make baked beans, do they have bacon on ‘em?

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