Homemade Salad Dressings

[Anna N]

Thanks to all for your input.

I don't want to make a gallon or even close but I would like to make a bit of a selection for her such as oil and balsamic, oil and white wine, oil and rice wine - so she can experiment. I am going to go with the 2 week thing - as long as it's oil and vinegar only I think we can be pretty safe.

[memesuze]

I just made the HerbFarm Vinaigrette from Jerry Traunfeld. After using a handheld blender to emulsify the non-oil ingredients and then drizzling in the olive oil whilst blending, I followed his comments: if you're not using it within a few hours to store it tightly covered in the refrigerator, keeping for several weeks. Even with a tablespoon of shallots, I think this won't last a few weeks only because I'll be using it every night on the greens....

memesuze

[Pontormo]

This is being started for selfish reasons, in part because I could not find an equally generalized topic while conducting a search.

It wasn't until college that I learned people made their own salad dressings. We always poured Wishbone on our iceberg lettuce, cucumbers and the hot-house tomatoes that were packed three or four in a little green plastic crate.

Now, my vinaigrettes are quite good and they're usually all that I make unless I crave Caesar salad or simply decide to follow the Italian custom of pouring vinegar and olive oil directly on the greens. I am pretty confident when it comes to using citrus juice as the acidic flavor for oil-based dressings, such as cilantro-lime.

Trying to use up an opened container of (light) sour cream tonight, I failed to make a decent dressing. So, please set me right.

Any ideas are welcome, especially from those of you have special tricks or formulas.

Just nothing with dried dillweed or catsup, please. Ich bin eine Snob.

Originally I wrote "Not Vinaigrettes" in the title to reflect my own interest in finding a good dressing made with sour cream or something other than vinegar and oil. However, this thread might prove more useful without the stipulation.

[Marlene]

Dressings that come to mind using sour cream, include creamy garlic, blue cheese, and I use sour cream in my creamy coleslaw dressings. Blue cheese is of course, wonderful on iceberg lettuce!

[oceanfish]

I have sometimes made a "ranch" dressing with buttermilk (low-fat to boot). Martha Stewart is one source for this.

[ChefCrash]

Blue Cheese dressing:

1 c mayo

1 c sour cream

1/2 c crumbled bluecheese

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Mix and thin with buttermilk or milk

1000 Island:

Mix together:

Equal parts: finely chopped onions and dill relish

mayo

Tabasco to taste.

At this point you have a great Tartar sauce.

Add (ya I know) catsup to taste and you'll have 1000 island.

If you really hate catsup, add chilli sauce instead.

[irodguy]

Make your standard ish balsamic vinagrette, add crumbled feta and very thinly sliced red onion, sweeten with maple syrup, quite yummy always a crowd pleaser.

[Della]

Great topic!!!!! I would love a good RANCH dressing recipe..........you kmpw the kind they serve in the pizza parlors........YUM!!!!

There are a couple of really good "Branch" dressings in Jerry Traunfeld's new cookbook "The Herbal Kitchen".

Here is one I like- but I do think it needs to be slightly thicker........

1/4 cup dill sprigs

1/4 cup parsley sprigs

1 tsp thyme leaves

1/4 medium shallot (I use a whole small to medium shallot)

1 tbls fresh lemon juice

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Splash tabasco or other hot sauce (i put in a least 10 dashes of tabasco)

1 1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup canola oil (the 2nd time I made this I did a little less on the oil)

3/4 cup buttermilk

3 tbls powdered buttermilk

Puree in blender until smooth - Frefiderate for at least an hour to thicken.

Substitutions: Instead of dill and thyme - use 1/4 cup basil leaves and 1 tbls marjoram leaves ( I LOVE THIS ONE) or you can sub in 2 tbls tarragon leaves (I haven't tried this as my tarragon refused to grow this year).

I know there seem to be a lot of ingrediants but this I really like this dressing. It does make a lot but it keeps for a couple weeks. The only thing is that I would like it a little thicker........but using less oil helped.

If anyone has the perfect ranch dressing......post please!!!!

Edited September 23, 2006 by Della (log)

[Syrah]

I make a herby salsa verde dressing that is delicious. I like it on crisp green beans with avocado.

Salsa Verde

2 cups Italian parsley

2 cups basil leaves

1/4 cup mint leaves

3 cloves garlic

2 Tbs Dijon mustard

5 anchovy fillets (optional)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbs red wine vinegar

Blitz in a food processor or chop fine and combine.

[Franci]

Then try this one

30 ml white wine vinegar

30 ml sour cream (or creme fraiche)

85 ml corn oil and 85 ml walnut oil

chives, chervil, tarragon and parsley chopped (parsley a little more than the other herbs)

salt and pepper

Careful because this kind of dressing can break easily. If it happens just use very little sour cream and incorporate the broken sauce (like for mayo)

Edited September 23, 2006 by Franci (log)

[deltadoc]

Try this, we really like it:

Peppercream Dressing

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. kosher salt

1/2 tbsp. cracked pepper

1/2 tbsp. garlic powder

2 tbsp. soy sauce

1/4 c. red wine vinegar

2 tbsp. lemon juice

1/4 c. finely minced onion

1/2 tbsp. finely minced parsley

1/2 c. buttermilk

3/4 c. salad dressing

3/4 c. mayonnaise

1 1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

Combine sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder and soy sauce. To

this mixture add vinegar, lemon juice, onion and parsley. Blend

together, then add buttermilk, salad dressing, mayonnaise and

Parmesan.

doc

[Megan Blocker]

Pontormo, I've never taken the measurements down, but I've made a tangy, Thousand-Island-esque dressing with sour cream, Sriracha, tomato paste, cornichons, and a touch of red wine vinegar. Add some salt and black pepper, and it's great on an iceberg wedge...

[ludja]

click (This is good...)

The link gives a version of the Chez Panisse Green Goddess Dressing from the Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook.

I sometimes omit the cilantro if I don't have any at home, but I definately like to have the tarragon, basil and parsley in there. The egg yolk and avocado add a nice richness to the dressing.

Makes 1 1/2 cups

1 small shallot, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp. white wine vinegar

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 tsp. fresh lime juice

1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

1/2 cup. extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 ripe avocado, mashed, just before use in dressing

3 tbsp. chopped parsley

1 tbsp. chopped tarragon

1 tbsp. chopped basil

1 tbsp. chopped cilantro

1 tbsp. chopped chives

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine shallot with garlic, vinegar and lemon and lime juices and let macerate while assembling the other part of the dressing.

Constantly whisk the egg yolk while slowly adding in half of the oil. Add in a Tbs or so of the shallot/vinegar mix and then whisk this mixture into the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil. Add mashed avocado and then finally whisk in the rest of the shallot/vinegar mixture and the chopped herbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper and adjust tartness if needed.

Edited September 23, 2006 by ludja (log)

[Megan Blocker]

Ooooh, I love Green Goddess...great as a dip, too, when everything's left a bit chunkier.

[snowangel]

Such great ideas everyone! Do favours please, and put your own recipes into RecipeGullet. All too soon, this wonderful topic will, because of all of your other great ideas, find it's way into page 5 or page 10 or page 150. Save us some searching for that recipe that you have to have Right Now!

[maggiethecat]

Such great ideas everyone!  Do favours please, and put your own recipes into RecipeGullet.  All too soon, this wonderful topic will, because of all of your other great ideas, find it's way into page 5 or page 10 or page 150.  Save us some searching for that recipe that you have to have Right Now!

←

What she said! I know it might seem like an extra step to enter the recipe at Recipe Gullet first, them return to describe its wonders and post a link... But! that's how these wonderful recipes don't get lost.

I adore Green Goddess too, and don't make it often enough. Je suis un peu snob, mais j'adore un peu de ketchup dans Vinaigrette des Milles Iles.

[UnConundrum]

You can find my recipe for Red French Dressing that I adapted from a web site that isn't available anymore HERE

Somewhere I have a great recipe for a PA Dutch sweet and sould dressing that I used to love. I'll try to find it and add to ROR.

[The Old Foodie]

My family's favourite Asian style dressing

1/3 cup olive oil

2-4 teaspoon sesame oil

2 tab soy sauce

2 tab sweet chilli sauce (the Thai style seedy kind, but not hot)

1 clove garlic, crushed

¼ cup lime juice (lemon juice if you absolutely have to)

If you make a quantity ahead you need to top up the sesame oil as it loses its fragrance.

This is good on just about everything - rice, pasta salads, roasted veg, as well as basic tossed greens.

[sadistick]

Oh man, my family makes a multitude of great salad dressings, ranging from your classic ceaser, all the way to a wood oven smoked tomato dressing.

Heres our Herb dressing that is fantastic on some baby arugula and cherry tomatoes...BTW - I dont use measurements, but I like my dressings TART...not oily.

Juice a lemon or two - chop a couple cloves of garlic finely and let it mascerate in the lemon juice.

Get some Parsley, Sage, Thyme, Oregano, a bit of mint and chop it well, let that mascerate in the lemon juice as well for about 10 mins.

Salt - Pepper

Add good evoo to taste - I usually do a little less than half the amount of oil:juice ratio.

- -

Another great dressing is the mexican dressing, this uses lemons, limes, chillies, cilantro, all mascerated together.

a bit of good vinegar

oil.

avocado if you want to chill out the heat a bit and make it creamy.

tons more, ask if interested!

[Kayakado]

My current favorite is one from Jacque pepin's fast food my way cookbook. My mexican restaurant always includes a 1/2 cup of their fresh salsa in the bag when I take my leftovers home. I mix it with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and it makes a very tasty dressing.

[bushey]

I usually make my dressings in extremely small batches, since I bring lunhc almost every day and like to change up the dressings. So, I usually "wing it" in small tupperware-style containers.

Roughly equal parts of olive oile and seasoned rice vinegar is great on salads with feta cheese, apples, nuts, craisins, etc. I make balsamic vinaigrette my mixing together smidgeons of dijon mustard and balsamic vinegar, then I drizzle in some olive oil, add a small squeeze of honey or maple syrup, and few grinds of salt & pepper.

For roasted beet salads, I prefer using sherry vinegar and oilve oil, with a bit of honey. Raspberry vinegar would be a nice touch, too.

Happy concocting!

[Carrot Top]

With the vital and life-giving ingredients of a small carton of sour cream and some cloves of fresh garlic, the following user-friendly* Garlic Cream Dressing can be made:

1/2 C sour cream

1/3 C mayo

1/4 C half-and-half

3 large garlic cloves, chopped

2 T white wine vinegar

2 T olive oil or other gentle salad oil

1 and 1/2 tsp sugar (so sue me)

1/2 tsp salt

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Blend all together in a food processor or mini-blender till smooth.

Chill for about an hour to allow flavors to blend.

Serve on many things.

*NOT stranger-in-the street friendly. Must be shared with whomever one wants to speak to for a common bond.

[lemniscate]

I'm hoping someone may know a clone recipe for Girard's Champagne Dressing. It is my favorite dressing and I'd like to be able to make it at home for two reasons: the bottle is about 4 bucks retail (which I think it a bit pricey for the amount I use regularly) , and my local supermarket is almost always out of the Champagne due to its popularity. I've suggested they stock more, but deaf ears apparently. I've tried googling recipes for champagne vinegar vinaigrettes and nothing seems to come close to the original.

[thecuriousone]

My two favorites are the Green Goddess that came from Saveur and the remoulade dressing from Time-Life foods of the world, Lousiana cookbook. I've never tasted anything like it.

[dividend]

I've been experimenting with salad dressings lately. I made one this week that turned out pretty good:

1 cup plain yogurt

1 cup buttermilk

1 whole head of roasted garlic cloves

kosher salt

coarse black pepper

dried dill

Whiz it all together in a blender.

I've found a great way to jazz up a vinagraitte is to add fruit preserves or jam. My preferred ratio is 3:1:1 EVOO:vinegar:jam + salt and pepper. Balsamic and raspberry or strawberry, apple cider and apple, even lime juice and blueberry. These are great on main dish salads.