Cold Corned Beef Platter

Monday March 19

Everything we had for dinner today had been made in previous days, not because they were "leftovers" per se, but because they take some time to come to their best.  And yes, that goes for the St. Patrick's Day corned beef as well.

Cole slaw especially needs to sit for a while to be properly limp. We’ve never been explicit about the recipe we use, but here's what we did this time.

Cole slaw

3/4 head of green cabbage, cored, shredded (ca. 6-7 cups)

kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon celery seeds

3/4 cup mayonnaise (or so - adjust on subsequent days)

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard (wholegrain is nice)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

sprinkle of paprika

1 large carrot, peeled and grated

1/2 green or red bell pepper, diced (optional)

Toss the cabbage with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and let it sit in a colander for at least 1 hour, up to 4 hours.  Press dry with a clean dishtowel.

Whisk the celery seeds, mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, and sugar together in a large bowl.  Add the cabbage, carrot, and pepper if any and toss.  Add extra mayonnaise if needed.  Chill for at least 1 hour or preferably 1 day before serving.

On that day, toss, taste, season with a driblet more vinegar and paprika to taste.

We also got some very cute fingerling potatoes at Findlay Market, so we prepped some roast potato salad.  We left the tiny fingerlings whole, as they were half the size of the ones in the recipe.  They roasted in about 25 minutes total.  We also changed the recipe and used sherry vinegar, and no eggs.  The tarragon gave it a unique flavor.

This made for a substantial platter, which we bolstered with some sliced cornichons and horseradish mustard.