Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Salad Dressing Recipes

Cucumber Salad with Onions and Fresh Dill

I prefer to eat salads over everything else, hence I somewhat fancy myself to be a salad and salad dressing guru of sorts. If it's a salad - you name it, I've made it or I've ordered it at a restaurant.

I think my salad obsession started as I grew up with a garden in our backyard, eating fresh produce as a result.

Our garden was chock full of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, lettuces, radishes, sweet peppers, blackberries and strawberries, and rhubarb.

I miss having a garden. I planted one last year. It reminded me of being "back in the day". Being a big lover of salads, I believe a good one is indicative of it's fresh ingredients and it's great dressing.

Making salad dressing from scratch is my preference and something that I do so often that I can practically do it in my sleep. And I love to make homemade salad dressings because it's easy and cost effective.

The main reason that I make my own dressings is because the finished product is far better than salad dressing sold at the grocery store. Making your own salad dressings, you can tailor it to your individual tastes and control your fat and calorie content, too.

I experiment all the time - making my famous Balsamic salad dressing as a vinaigrette and the next time making it as a creamy style dressing, which is unusual. Sometimes I add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard or a handful of chopped chives. I like to "mix it up", making my salad dressings different all the time so that I won't get bored.

I have to confess upfront... I don't measure most of my ingredients, I'm sorry. I make several of my dressings by sight and taste.

Homemade salad dressings are great for fresh vegetables or chip dips or - I bet you didn't think of this - as flavorful sandwich spreads; I use the creamy ones, like Creamy Peppercorn, Green Goddess or Buttermilk Ranch (which has overrun it's course and has become my least favorite salad dressing).

All the salad dressings are delicious on pasta or in potato salad if you want to serve a potato salad truly different. Some salad dressings, typically the vinaigrette's, make wonderful marinades for chicken and fish.

What's great for me as a caterer and salad lover is, I can make salad dressings in bulk - ahead of time, and store them in the refrigerator - as a "go to" item that's ready and waiting, anytime I need it.

As a caterer, what are my top two salad dressing requests?

I'd have to say, my Country French Vinaigrette and my top secret recipe for delicious and fool proof Balsamic Vinaigrette dressings.

Country French Vinaigrette

My recipe is a variation of classic french vinegar and oil dressing, but it's lighter which I think is perfect for today's salads. It's laden with French herbs and it's not too tangy. It can be lightly thickened by adding crushed brown mustard. My basic recipe for 1 cup of dressing is:

Country French Vinaigrette
(Printable Recipe)

1 to 2 tbsp. Country French herb base (see below)
2 tbsp. water
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Mix 1 to 2 tbsp. Country French herb base in 2 tbsp water, let stand 5 minutes. Whisk in 1/3 cup red wine vinegar and 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, refrigerate.

I apologize. If you cook a lot, you know how it goes. I've been making this salad dressing for so long - I "eyeball" the ingredients and pretty much get it right, taste-wise, every time.
The ingredients that I use for my Country French herb base are: sugar, brown mustard, salt, garlic, black pepper, lemon and lemon juice, onion, French tarragon, white pepper, chives, thyme and cracked rosemary.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Our homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette salad dressing recipe is one that we unfortunately don't give away. One day we'll add it to a cookbook of frequently requested recipes. You'll be the first to know when I publish it. Promise.

Green Goddess Dressing

My recipe is salt-free, but you can salt to taste if you'd like (try 1/2 tsp per cup). I squeeze and use fresh lemon juice in place of salt. This old-style dressing is somewhat like a mild, sweet, herb-filled creamy Italian dressing - heavy on the basil and dill. This dressing is wonderful served with crudites or fresh vegetable dip, or served with baked or fried fish as an alternative to tartar sauce.

Green Goddess Dressing
(Printable Recipe)

1 tbsp. Green Goddess herbs (see below)
2 tbsp. water
2/3 to 3/4 cup mayonnaise (you could use low-fat mayonnaise)
1 tbsp. white vinegar

To make one cup of dressing, mix 1 rounded tbsp. of Green Goddess herbs with 2 tbsp. water and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk with 2/3 to 3/4 cup of mayonnaise and 1 tbsp. vinegar. This dressing will be thick (which will be nice to use as a dip), thin it with 1 to 2 tbsp. water if desired. Store in the refrigerator.

The herbs I use to make Green Goddess dressing are: green onion, a little sugar, dried basil, celery flakes, minced garlic and dill weed.

Here's a summertime family favorite recipe is that takes only 15 minutes of prep time, serves 6 to 8 people and needs no cooking time...

Aunt Mabel's Cucumber and Onion Salad
(Printable Recipe)

4 cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 to 2 sweet onions, thinly sliced into rings
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. garlic salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Add dill if you'd like

Combine the cucumbers and onions in a serving bowl and stir to combine. In a covered container, combine the apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, garlic salt and pepper. Shake well. Pour the dressing over the cucumbers and onions and stir to combine. Serve immediately.

Something good can come out of a tanked economic situation like we're in. Grow your own food. Do something good for your health, eat more naturally and save yourself money during these difficult times. I think there's something therapeutic about having a garden. I encourage you to plant one.

If you have children, growing a garden is a wonderful way for them to learn that you have to do a little something to have food to eat - that you don't necessarily just go to a grocery store to buy it.
Get back to the basics.

Getting back to the basics of life by doing things like gardening isn't so bad. If we remain open and get back to the basics, we'll be reminded of "the good old days" and wonderful things will happen.