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A lasting and enduring love affair: ranch dressing

Gifted Gourmet
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Jinmyo

Jinmyo

Posted
Posted
I recently made homemade green goddess and wow - it's a FABULOUS dressing and a far cry from what came out of the Seven Seas bottle. Made me wonder about homemade ranch... anybody got any good recipes??

I had to petition Google to discover what Green Goddes dressing was:

INGREDIENTS:

    * 1 cup mayonnaise

    * 1/2 cup sour cream

    * 3 tablespoons tarragon vinegar

    * 1 tablespoon lemon juice

    * 1/3 cup finely chopped parsley

    * 3 tablespoons finely minced onion

    * 3 tablespoons mashed anchovy fillets

    * 1 tablespoon chopped chives

    * 2 teaspoon chopped capers

    * 1 clove garlic, minced

    * 1/8 teaspoon salt

    * 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Doesn't sound too bad.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

scott123

scott123

Posted
Posted

A whopping 51 posts on ranch dressing and not ONE mentioning MSG? I'm flabbergasted! Commercial ranch dressing (and everything else 'ranch' flavored) is one of hundreds of potent MSG delivery vehicles.

Let's face it, humanity is hardwired to love umami.

viva

viva

Posted
Posted

Yet another use for ranch dressing...

I was eating some lovely skirt steak & poblano tacos tonight - needed something creamy but was out of sour cream - ranch dressing to the rescue.

It's like a universal condiment.

...wine can of their wits the wise beguile, make the sage frolic, and the serious smile. --Alexander Pope

Gifted Gourmet

Gifted Gourmet

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

and now, just when you thought it wouldn't die? The Contest!! :laugh:

the second annual Hidden Valley® Ranch Dressing Family Friendly Food Recipe Contest, coming to a State Fair near you. Create a crowd-pleasing appetizer, classic casserole, sizzling stir-fry or other family favorite using The Original Ranch® flavor of Hidden Valley®Dressing & Seasoning Mix and compete for cash and awards. Prizes will be given to the First, Second and Third place recipe creators at each participating fair.
and what prizes! Can they afford these magnificent gifts?? :hmmm:

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

Gifted Gourmet

Gifted Gourmet

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
I think viva's got a winner right there....

Her lovely skirt steak & poblano tacos+ Ranch dressing? Yeah, that might win!

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

viva

viva

Posted
Posted

I've got no problem with making money off ranch dressing. :raz:

...wine can of their wits the wise beguile, make the sage frolic, and the serious smile. --Alexander Pope

zilla369

zilla369

Posted
Posted
and now, just when you thought it wouldn't die? The Contest!! :laugh:
the second annual Hidden Valley® Ranch Dressing Family Friendly Food Recipe Contest, coming to a State Fair near you. Create a crowd-pleasing appetizer, classic casserole, sizzling stir-fry or other family favorite using The Original Ranch® flavor of Hidden Valley®Dressing & Seasoning Mix and compete for cash and awards. Prizes will be given to the First, Second and Third place recipe creators at each participating fair.
and what prizes! Can they afford these magnificent gifts?? :hmmm:

I judged a State Fair contest last year. I had my choice of the Pillsbury Pie Crust contest or the Hidden Valley contest.

I had to taste 37 pies by myself, then 18 of the other judges' picks. But I still didn't have to eat "Super Tostada Rancheros" or whatever. Ick.

Marsha Lynch aka "zilla369"

Has anyone ever actually seen a bandit making out?

Uh-huh: just as I thought. Stereotyping.

Gifted Gourmet

Gifted Gourmet

Posted
  • Topic Starter
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I've got no problem with making money off ranch dressing.   :raz:

and they have no problem making money off you either! :laugh:

The dry mix: they put into a packet a few spices and you add the buttermilk and mayo .. so, who is the winner here?? :rolleyes:

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

fiftydollars

fiftydollars

Posted
Posted
...something I often saw in Germany:  slice of white bread, completely soaked and saturated in some sort of meat drippings (usually sausage or bacon grease), and then fried in more grease, and served sometimes with more grease-based gravy over the top, but usually not.  And sometimes with meat on the side, but usually not.  Just basically grease fried in grease, with just enough dough to hold all that grease together.  Grease on grease in grease.

That actually sounds pretty tasty... could you get me the recipe?

bergerka

bergerka

Posted
Posted
Ranch dressing is an......abomination. :angry:

Cool Whip is an abomination. Ranch dressing is more on the order of McDonald's hot mustard sauce (also delicious on fries!).

:biggrin:

Basil endive parmesan shrimp live

Lobster hamster worchester muenster

Caviar radicchio snow pea scampi

Roquefort meat squirt blue beef red alert

Pork hocs side flank cantaloupe sheep shanks

Provolone flatbread goat's head soup

Gruyere cheese angelhair please

And a vichyssoise and a cabbage and a crawfish claws.

--"Johnny Saucep'n," by Moxy Früvous

rooftop1000

rooftop1000

Posted
Posted

Uh oh 2 admissions here ....i like ranch dressing not on salad though just as a dip and I love the avocado ranch dip at Chile's i hide it when they take the app plate away so I can put it on my quesadilla :rolleyes:

tracey

The great thing about barbeque is that when you get hungry 3 hours later....you can lick your fingers

Maxine

Avoid cutting yourself while slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop away.

"It is the government's fault, they've eaten everything."

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jsolomon

jsolomon

Posted
Posted
  Ranch dressing/dip tastes good and serves as a great reminder of my college days.  That's why I like it.  It has nothing whatsoever to do with my eating habits and I think it would be a mistake to turn this thread into a semi-spurious indictment of the eating habits of either Americans or any other country's occupants. 

Yes, but no one has mentioned what my mother does... she makes Hidden Valley Ranch with Miracle Whip.

Talk about processed, spamtastic, capitalist food. But, it reminds me of home.

Of course, now, she's on a reduced-fat miracle whip and light hidden valley ranch kick which is, well, disgusting.

I always attempt to have the ratio of my intelligence to weight ratio be greater than one. But, I am from the midwest. I am sure you can now understand my life's conundrum.

bergerka

bergerka

Posted
Posted
Yes, but no one has mentioned what my mother does... she makes Hidden Valley Ranch with Miracle Whip.

Talk about processed, spamtastic, capitalist food.  But, it reminds me of home.

Of course, now, she's on a reduced-fat miracle whip and light hidden valley ranch kick which is, well, disgusting.

...LIGHT RANCH?

dude, that's like fat-free oreos or Mcdonald's selling health foods. WHAT THE HELL IS THE POINT???? :angry::angry: If I want ranch, I want FAT AND SALT AND TRANS FATS, now now NOW NOW NOW.

Ok, I feel much better now. I will stop yelling.

K, who did not have ranch dressing on her bacon cheeseburger at lunchtime.

Basil endive parmesan shrimp live

Lobster hamster worchester muenster

Caviar radicchio snow pea scampi

Roquefort meat squirt blue beef red alert

Pork hocs side flank cantaloupe sheep shanks

Provolone flatbread goat's head soup

Gruyere cheese angelhair please

And a vichyssoise and a cabbage and a crawfish claws.

--"Johnny Saucep'n," by Moxy Früvous

BarbaraY

BarbaraY

Posted
Posted

A confession. :biggrin: Today we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch. I ordered the house special salad which was to be served with an avocado dressing. The propieter came over said they were out of avocado dressing but I could have Ranch or thousand Island.

What could I do? These people are neighbors and friends. I opted for Ranch. :biggrin:

viva

viva

Posted
Posted (edited)

This thread is like HBO's Taxicab Confessions, but for eGulleteers.

Condiment Confessions: The Ranch Dressing Affair.

(ETA for bergerka that if the mayo at the restaurant were crap, ranch probably would have been perfect on that bacon cheeseburger. In fact, there's really no bar food that ranch dressing can't accompany - fries, check. pizza crust, check. wings, check. onion rings, check. jalapeno poppers, check. It's unhealthy crap anyway, what the hell.)

Edited by viva (log)

...wine can of their wits the wise beguile, make the sage frolic, and the serious smile. --Alexander Pope

bergerka

bergerka

Posted
Posted
This thread is like HBO's Taxicab Confessions, but for eGulleteers. 

Condiment Confessions:  The Ranch Dressing Affair.

(ETA for bergerka that if the mayo at the restaurant were crap, ranch probably would have been perfect on that bacon cheeseburger.  In fact, there's really no bar food that ranch dressing can't accompany - fries, check.  pizza crust, check.  wings, check.  onion rings, check.  jalapeno poppers, check.  It's unhealthy crap anyway, what the hell.)

Ohhhhh...man...I forgot about jalapeno poppers and also fried cheese finger thingies - why would anyone ever eat them with marinara when you could have RANCH? Now I need bar food. With ranch dressing.

need it bad.

damn.

K, who just walked 4.5 miles fast in a vain attempt to burn off the damned cheeseburger, forget the bacon.

Basil endive parmesan shrimp live

Lobster hamster worchester muenster

Caviar radicchio snow pea scampi

Roquefort meat squirt blue beef red alert

Pork hocs side flank cantaloupe sheep shanks

Provolone flatbread goat's head soup

Gruyere cheese angelhair please

And a vichyssoise and a cabbage and a crawfish claws.

--"Johnny Saucep'n," by Moxy Früvous

Carrot Top

Carrot Top

Posted
Posted

Well okay. If you all are going this far, then I might as well tell you.

It is possible to eat pepperoni, melted cheese AND marinara AND bread. . .with ranch dressing.

Yes it is. My daughter has a friend at school who dips her pizza. . .in ranch.

viva

viva

Posted
Posted

I defy anyone to come up with an item on a typical bar menu that would not go well with "...and a side of ranch".

And bergerka, I just innocently e-mailed my friend. who I can always count on for a pizza/wings/ranch/beer lunch.... "Oh, are you in town? Do you want to do lunch this week? I've missed seeing you." Well yeah that, and I want to sate the cravings brought on by this thread.

...wine can of their wits the wise beguile, make the sage frolic, and the serious smile. --Alexander Pope

Kris

Kris

Posted
Posted
...And some years back, I read an interview of some Soviet bigwig that had defected.  He said something akin to, "You people in the West think it's the lure of your cars and televisions and other consumer products.  But it's not.  It's your supermarkets that bring us to our knees."

And I know just what he means. 

I, too, have been brought to tears walking through a Safeway or Piggly Wiggly right after having returned from living in some foreign country or another.

It's all here.  Whether or not you choose the "Fruit Loops and Kraft Singles," or something more "complex and varied" is up to you.  It's here and available to all if you want it.

Something that most certainly cannot be said for the majority of countries on this planet.

This is a very interesting observation that you make, because although I haven't traveled all over the world, I think American supermarket do have an allure to foreigners who come here.

I live in a neighborhood that is increasingly populated by Russian (& former Soviet bloc) immigrants as well as a large percentage of Chinese immigrants. I've observed whole families - from the grandparents, to the parents to the kids shopping together, marveling at the variety and quantity of items on the supermarket shelves. My mother and I have seen it many times over the years and it never fails to elicit a chuckle from us, since it's something that we as native born Americans take for granted.

Gifted Gourmet

Gifted Gourmet

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
...something I often saw in Germany:  slice of white bread, completely soaked and saturated in some sort of meat drippings (usually sausage or bacon grease), and then fried in more grease, and served sometimes with more grease-based gravy over the top, but usually not.  And sometimes with meat on the side, but usually not.  Just basically grease fried in grease, with just enough dough to hold all that grease together.  Grease on grease in grease.

That actually sounds pretty tasty... could you get me the recipe?

That is the recipe! :laugh:

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

Jaymes

Jaymes

Posted
Posted
...something I often saw in Germany:  slice of white bread, completely soaked and saturated in some sort of meat drippings (usually sausage or bacon grease), and then fried in more grease, and served sometimes with more grease-based gravy over the top, but usually not.  And sometimes with meat on the side, but usually not.  Just basically grease fried in grease, with just enough dough to hold all that grease together.  Grease on grease in grease.
That actually sounds pretty tasty... could you get me the recipe?

Um, yeah. I did, actually, in this thread. Twice. There...

And here:

Yep. Nothing wrong with eating a cup of bacon grease.

Never saw it in a restaurant, though. It was more a 'just folks' type of thing.

But don't fret. You can fix it for yourself. It's quite easy. Here's what you do: Get an empty tin can and keep it handy on the counter right beside your stove. Pour your sausage and/or bacon drippings into it every morning until you've got at least a cupful. On serving day, heat the fat until it's liquid. Slice off one or two good chunks of white bread. Let them soak in the warm fat until they're completely saturated. Then pour more fat into your skillet and when it's sizzling hot, add the bread and fry it until it's nice and crispy on both sides. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and you've got it.

Get back with me, will you, and let me know how you liked it?

Pretty self-explanatory.

Oh, and get back with me, will you, and let me know how you liked it?

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

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