Barbecue with a Side of Coleslaw Love

So, is coleslaw a Southern thing?

I love coleslaw. I'm not sure if it is all the veggie burgers, brown rice, or Kashi cereal, but I am thinking all about coleslaw.

I used to eat coleslaw on my pizza. My mom would buy those cheap pizzas in the dairy case (Do they still sell those?) and make coleslaw for them. My sister and I used to refuse to eat pizza if it didn't have coleslaw on top. I remember getting coleslaw off of the salad bar at Pizza Hut to put on my pizza. I haven't done that for awhile, but it sure sounds good, right about now.

True story - four months pregnant with Frick. On a trip to visit relatives in central Pennsylvania, I made Farmer Brown stop at the Boyds Bear Barn in Gettysburg. (Farmer Brown was ecstatic the entire time. I just told him it was a barn, but I forgot to mention that it was stuffed with bears.)

I needed lunch, too. Willie B. Bacon's Feed Trough was selling those big, 3/4 inch hot dogs. I ordered mine with chili and slaw. It came served with chili and sauerkraut. It wasn't the same, but I ate it and Farmer Brown's too. Remember, I was pregnant. (Farmer Brown also ordered sausage gravy that was served over potatoes, not biscuits. What is with you people in Pennsylvania?)

Anyway, I prefer my barbecue with coleslaw. And as much as I like coleslaw, I can't make it to taste like anything but watery cabbage. So when I make barbecue, I buy a tub of coleslaw from Bob Evans - now that's Ohio people, and they know how to serve it.

I made barbecue last week, but forgot to stop and buy the required tub of slaw. So here's the recipe for barbecue, but you will need to get your own slaw. If you live in Pennsylvania, you're probably just out of luck.

Barbecue Beef

2 onions, chopped

1 c. celery, chopped

1/2 c. butter

1/4 c. vinegar

1/4 c. sugar

4 tsp. mustard

1 Tb. lemon juice

1 c. ketchup

3 tsp. wortershire sauce

4 c. cooked, chopped beef (I use leftovers from Babe the Big, Blue Ox)

salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion and celery in butter in large skillet. Add the rest of ingredients except the beef and simmer for 20 minutes. Add beef. Cook 15 - 20 minutes more. Can be eaten with coleslaw or not, but for Pete's sake, please toast those buns, especially the seeded ones.

Or if you are trying to cut back like me, toast your two pieces of cardboard.

If you haven't been digging on the Arnold's Sandwich Thins, they are really good. I prefer the multi-grain. The whole wheat is a little dry. They are a healthy replacement to the white, sesame-seeded buns I so desperately wanted. But if I am going to eat coleslaw, I have to cut back somewhere.