Best Coleslaw, zPtato Salp recipes revealed. (Southern Scrapbook).

In the fine tradition of Southern cooking, amateur chefs from across the South gathered at the University of Mississippi campus in Oxford in October for the first Coleslaw and Potato Salad Invitational, sponsored by the Southern Food Alliance.

The Alliance solicited family recipes from across the United States as part of its fifth annual Southern Foodways Symposium.

Winning recipes were sampled, voted on by attendees, and announced at the conference.

Elizabeth Karmel, curator of the invitational, said that after much debate, the entries were whittled down to two women "who took their traditional family recipes and updated them. to fit new Southern tastes."

Carolyn Goldsby Kolb of New Orleans won in the coleslaw division, while Vivian Blair Hobbs of Oxford was honored for her "Shout-Hallelujah Potato Salad."

Each winner was presented with a pitmaster's dozen of Niman Ranch Meats' prime swine, valued at more than $1,000.

The winner's recipes are as follows:

CAROLYN GOLDSBY KOLB'S LOVE-BUG COLESLAW

Great for a picnic on the grounds, cemetery cleaning or reunion


SLAW:
1 small head of cabbage, grated on the big side of a hand grater
3 scraped carrots, grated the same way

DRESSING:
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons creole (Zatarain's) mustard
1 tablespoon whole celery seeds
1 teaspoon grated onion (on the fine side of the grater)
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon salt or more to taste if needed

Put all the dressing ingredients in a jar, close the lid, and shake until the sugar is dissolved. Put the carrots and cabbage in a salad bowl, and mix in the dressing. Can be served cold or at room temperature.

VIVIAN BLAIR HOBBS' SHOUT HALLELUJAH POTATO SALAD


1 5-pound bag petite gold potatoes
4 stalks celery, chopped
6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1 4-ounce jar diced pimentos (drained, then topped with about
  4 fat drops of Louisiana hot sauce)
2 teaspoons celery salt
1/4 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 cup sweet salad pickle cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
1/4 cup prepared yellow mustard (don't go fancy or creole
  or grainy)
1 or 2 seeded and minced jalapeno peppers
Big 1/2 cup chopped red onion
Big 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Ground black pepper
Salt to taste
Smoked hot paprika for garnish

Boil potatoes, skin on, for about 20 minutes or until a sharp knife easily pierces. Dump into sink, and peel with your fingers under running water (as if peeling a hardboiled egg). In a chilled bowl, chop cooled potatoes and eggs. Plop all other ingredients except paprika. Don't stir. Dive in with your hands, mashing some of the potatoes to bond the intact golden chunks. Salt to taste, and shape into a pretty mound with a spoon or spatula. Dust the mound's top with the smoked hot paprika. Cover and chill. Serves about 15 hungry souls.