Detour: Salad Dressing

I think I was around the age of 12 when I was introduced to salads. I don't know how it happened, but I was at a restaurant with my family and it suddenly dawned on me to order a salad. Ever since, me and salads have been best pals. I order them out regularly, I take them for lunches, I make them for dinner. But I haven't been brave enough to make my own dressing until the last year or two.

I happened upon this recipe a few months ago and bookmarked it for further use. Finally, I made a mason jar of creamy dressing last week. It was an inspiration. So simple and so delicious.

I've since made it three times... in only 7 days. Its that good. While its not part of How to Cook Everything or the project this blog is dedicated to, I feel it my duty to pass it along to the public. Try it. Today.

Since I'm not one to measure when making things like dressing, I've included my eyeball measurements. They are probably not accurate, but I just made a jar and it turned out good.

Creamy Salad Dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise (about 1/4 a mason jar)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (heaping, I love things tangy)
1-2 gloves garlic, minched (or more... I used 4, but they were small)
2 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice (or 1 juice lemon)
3 tablespoons water
salt
freshly ground pepper

Put in a mason jar and shake vigorously.

Originally stumbled upon here.



Pictured here with pork tenderloin, risotto, and braised leeks.

Vinaigrette p. 199-200

The basics of vinaigrette are these: oil. vinegar. salt. pepper. You can use different oils, different vinegars, and whatever other mixins you have on hand.

The other night I added whocestershire sauce, parmesean cheese, and honey as well as a smashed garlic clove.

Simple, yet delicious.

The beauty of vinaigrettes is that you can use whatever you have and whatever your tastes prefer. I had thought about added some fresh yogurt, but I when I went to fetch it from the fridge, discovered it wasn't fresh. Mark Bittman lists more than 20 different things you can add to your vinaigrette to spice it up. I had a hard timed editing the items I wanted to add to our dressing.

The proportions for this vinaigrette make enough for about 6 salads.

Spicy No-Mayo Coleslaw p. 206

I made this dish to take to a potluck. I'm not a huge coleslaw person, mainly because I don't like mass produced salads, especially containing mayo, which coleslaw usually is. There has only been one coleslaw to capture my heart, and its also a spicy vinegar based coleslaw. (For anyone reading this in the Memphis area, I've found it available at Easy Way.)

This recipe calls for 6 cups of shredded cabbage. I'm not sure how much I ended up with, but after I shredded one cabbage head the largest serving bowl I had was full. I sorta tweaked this recipe by combining the main recipe with the mexican style. Opting out of the bell pepper and adding in the cilantro, carrots, and lime juice as well as everything else in the original recipe (except parsley).



I would have liked there to be more dressing, but it was a fresh, easy salad and side dish to provide. Perfect for taking to a potluck or party.

Chicken Salad p. 222-223

We had some left over chicken and decided to make some chicken salad. We were torn between the traditional chicken salad with mayo or the header chicken salad in the book, Chicken salad with olive oil and fresh herbs. Bryan suggested a taste test, so I made small batches of each one.



For the Olive Oil and Herb Chicken Salad I added lemon juice, olive oil, fresh parsley, and salt and pepper to my shredded chicken.

For the Traditional chicken salad, I mixed in some mayo, Dijon mustard, parsley and a few chopped pecans.



We liked both versions. Bryan favored the traditional and I favored the olive oil and herbs. I would recommend and remake either recipe.

Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette p. 201

Ingredients: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, honey.

Combine all ingredients in the blender. Serve.
I just love homemade dressings. It makes me feel oh so talented and put together. I don’t know why. Maybe its because my mother never did it, and I just love out doing my mother. Sorry, Mom.

We had roasted garlic on hand from a Pioneer Woman recipe and as I was forbidden from ever eating roasted garlic on its own ever again (apparently it causes bad breathe and when consumed in large portions causes other digestive issues). So I decided I’d go ahead and make the vinaigrette to go with my chicken escabeche. It was delicious and easy and I had all the ingredients on hand, which really makes me happy.

Corn Salad with Avocado p. 207

Brief description: Fresh corn kernels browned slightly, tossed with red onion, tomato, avocado, chili powder, lime juice, and cilantro.

I made this dish to go on a picnic dinner, along with the carrot salad. The recipe calls for bell pepper, but I left it out since Bryan doesn’t like it, but I did add tomato and half a red onion to his chagrin.

I browned the corn the night before due to timing issues. I added in the onion and chili powdered, stirred, and left it out to cool before refrigerating. This was really good because it softened the onions some. The day of the picnic, I added the rest of the ingredients, so that they would be fresh.

The dish turned out perfectly and Bryan even said it was good despite the onion and tomato. I fell in love with this dish and will probably make it 3 more times at least throughout the summer, starting today.


(Sorry for the poor quality photo)

Carrot Salad with Cumin p. 188

Brief Description: Julienne or cut the carrots, toss with orange juice, lemon juice, olive oil, and cumin.

My dual food processor/blender does not come with a julienne attachment. So I just grated a whole ton of carrots. It’s more difficult than it sounds. Anyways, it turned out great. I took this dish on a picnic dinner and it was perfect for a hot evening. Crunchy, refreshing, with an interesting taste.


(Please ignore the messy countertop.)

Mixed Vegetables with Peanut Sauce p. 212

Brief description: Mix cooked, cube potatoes with green beans, carrots, cabbage, and peanut sauce. Serve over lettuce, garnish with boiled egg and cucumbers.

This recipe I made because of our game Cookbook Roulette. When I’m out of ideas or cravings for what to make for dinner, I have Bryan pick a number, we turn to that page, and then whatever is on or near that page, we make! It’s a fun game and has led us to make things we normally wouldn’t have. Like this one.

I have to confess a short cut though. On a whim a few weeks before I bought a peanut dressing. It was okay, but not the kind of thing I would normally choose put on a salad. So I used the dressing instead of making the Peanut Sauce on p. 55. But I will make it eventually. I just didn’t feel like making it that particular day when I had something similar on hand. Its call good stewardship.

The night I made this two of Bryan’s friends came over for a few minutes and I offered to fix them a plate. They agreed and seemed to like it. Everyone thought it “felt” extremely healthy, so I guess that’s good. We didn’t have enough to have leftovers since we served 4. But it was a good meal, different from our norm.