Joan’s recipe for Coleslaw appeared in the genius book “My Way of Life” and is a little bit vague.  This to my mind is always a sign that the person writing the recipe really knows what they are doing. 

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I am someone who likes to have every little detail spelled out – including how much salt and pepper to add and what kind of herbs and spices, all with exact measurements if possible.  This is NOT how Joan rolls with her coleslaw.  Luckily one of the invitees to my Joan Crawford Virtual Reality Dinner Party was the lovely Lucy Brookes who really knows her way around a cabbage.

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Lucy’s version of Joan’s coleslaw was yummy.  She’s a “taste and add, taste and add” type cook and she decided a whole chili would balance out the pineapple.  She was right.  Joan used a “magic mixture of spices and herbs” that she bought from a restaurant in Hollywood, the Cock ‘n Bull.  Alas, the Cock ‘n Bull no longer exists so we had to invent our own mixture of spices and herbs .  Lucy dry fried some caraway seeds and put in a pinch of celery salt and (I think) some cayenne pepper?  We were fairly merry on Joan Crawford Cosmo Cocktails and celebratory fizz by this point so I can’t be more specific…

I did warn Lucy though, that I thought that the cayenne pepper probably dated from the time we lived together in Walthamstow.  That’s got to be over 6 years ago now.  I must stop hoarding! But look how lovely my spice cupboard is these days… (trying to distract you from thinking badly of me…)

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I loved this coleslaw.  It’s the day after my party now, and I’ve just eaten a great big bowl of it as a restorative.  Delicious, healthy and fiery.  I might need a cold Pepsi!

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