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My mother in law is from West Virginia, and I guess slaw is a big thing down there. Her absolute favorite dressing for it is Marzetti's slaw dressing. It's a company from Columbus, Ohio, and all of their stuff is good. I have no idea if it is available outside of Ohio, but if it is, their HM dressing is excellent. My only problem with it is it is pricey.

I use one head of cabbage, grated on the grater on the taco cheese size holes(the food processor is way too messy, and the cabbage is too finely grated). Don't bother coring it, b.c. it's easier to hold onto if you grate it around the core. After I put it in a bowl, I salt and sugar the cabbage. That seems to bring the cabbage juice out (I use about 2 T sugar) and then I pour over 3 T cider vinegar. On top of that I grate one large carrot on the next smallest holes of the grater. While that is stewing, so to speak, I mix together 1/3 c mayo and 1/3c salad dressing (the Miracle variety), a swirl or two of prepared mustard, onion powder, white pepper, chopped parsley, and I think that's it. Oh, chives if I have them. Stir and taste. I usually have my mother in law taste, because she is the pro. Obviously Marzetti's is much easier.

MY favorite recipe is more of a Yankee version, with a lot more veggies, and a warm vinaigrette, but the southern thing works better on hot dogs or with fried fish.

Curious, is Marzetti's available outside of Ohio?

Definitely the recipe in Veganomicon. Beats all.

I use a buttermilk recipe. I don't have a recipe per se.
Ina has one that is good. I found it over at Deb's Smitten Kitchen.
A great blog by the way.
http://smittenkitchen.com/2006/11/not-your-mamas-coleslaw/

Personally, I'm not too thrilled with Marzetti's. Your slaw comes out tasting the same all the time and it has a chemical aftertaste to me. And you're right - it's pricey. Depending on my menu, I like to vary my slaw recipe. For my July 4th pulled pork BBQ, I used a recipe from Food Network courtesy of Tyler Florence. His recipes are always consistently delish. Search on FN's recipe box for The Ultimate Coleslaw. The only change I made was to add grated onion to taste.

I've given up grating my own cabbage. The bagged version is an acceptable swap, and you don't have all that leftover cabbage to deal with. If you choose to grate your own, do not use the core. It will impart a bitter taste and there's no way to cover it up.

I have another recipe that I use that I got from our local newspaper. I don't believe any author was credited. It's a pretty accurate knock off of Kentucky Fried Chicken's Slaw.

1/3 C sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/4 C milk
1/2 C mayo
!/4 C buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1 head of cabbage finely shredded

Mix all ingredients, then toss with cabbage. Allow to sit in fridge for about 2 hours before serving.

Again, put your own spin on it. I add minced onion, shredded sweet red pepper, maybe some shredded carrot or some purple cabbage for color. Anything goes :) Enjoy!

My Pennsylvania farm version is dressed with:
1/4 cup sweet cream
1 T. sugar
1 T. apple vinegar
salt and a good bit of pepper

The cabbage is shredded just before eating and everything should be cold. This amount of dressing is for about four servings.

For something completely nontraditional, dress you slaw with a mixture of lime juice, Thai or Vietnmese fish sauce, a little sugar (or sweetener) and a little red pepper. I think this is better with a little onion added to the cabbage, and if I have any cilantro I chop up just a little and put it in. Really, really low in calories, and the amount of fire from the red pepper can be adjusted to taste. If I'm cooking for folks I don't know, I omit it.