The thermometer is climbing toward 90 so tonight the only heat source I’m turning on today will be outside on the grill. I’ve got some chicken thighs brining in the fridge, took a cue from Gordon and started my own dill pickles this morning, and picked up some cabbage for one of my favorite summer side dishes: coleslaw. This dish always make a great accompaniment to such Jewish deli classics as reubens or pastrami sandwiches. It also inspires a lot of controversy, namely… to mayonnaise or not to mayonnaise. Mayonnaise seems to be a long running debate among Jews in general. You often hear mayonnaise dismissed as goyisha food, but I have also heard that Jews invented it. This rumor seems to have originated from the fact the Hellmann’s (or Best Foods for us west coasters) brand mayonnaise was created at a NYC deli, and while I haven’t been able to confirm it, Hellmann sure sounds like a Jewish name. At any rate, despite my father’s protests, I am a mayo-on-the-coleslaw girl.
more after the jump
Jewish Food in the Hands of Heathens 