As I have stated to pretty much
anyone who will listen is the fact that my Grand had a huge influence on my
love for food. Watching her cook from a very young age I was enamoured from the
start. One of the many things that comprised a Grand meal was, no matter what,
there was a salad on the table. In our house it was part of the family style
dining, served with the meal not before hand. That was just the way that Grand
rolled. The table would be littered with all manners of bottled salad dressings
each specific to those who were eating: French for my grandfather, Thousand
Island for my mom, Ranch for me and oil and vinegar for Grand. As I started to
cook more and more I realized that made from scratch was better than what was
bought in a bottle so I started making my own salad dressings.
I started with a very simple vinaigrette,
and then started to play with what I put in it. I would attempt to balance
and or compliment what I was dressing. Someone, I can’t remember who, told me
that to make a very basic vinaigrette you used 2 parts oil to 1 part acid. I
have found that this is a really good rule of thumb. That being said, making
your own allows you to play and tailor your dressings to what you like best. I
prefer a little more acid in my dressings so that is what I do. I have not
included actual measurements in any of the recipes that follow as I make pretty
much all of them to taste and add whatever I think might be missing. This is
part of the fun of cooking, a little taste and adjustment to make something a
little bit better. So here are three of my favorite homemade dressings. Play
with them as much as you like.
Simple Vinaigrette
to the tune of “What I Got” by Sublime
2 parts
olive oil
1 part
vinegar, I tend to lean towards apple cider or a wine vinegar but you can used
whatever you like
Garlic crushed
or minced, basically as fine as you can get it
A bit of
decent mustard
Salt to taste
I combine
all of the ingredients in a jar or a measuring cup and then blast them with my
stick blender and I am done. If you don’t have a stick blender, combine them in
a jar put on the lid and shake the living heck out of them. There you go, you
just made salad dressing.
Caesar Salad
Dressing to the tune of “Squeeze Box” by The Who
I make this
a lot when I am having friends over for a meal and it always is a hit it seems.
I believe that what makes it great is that it includes an ingredient that
everyone thinks that they don’t like, anchovies. Please at least try it with
the anchovies before you omit them. The thing that I do omit mainly due to the
paranoia instilled in me by my wonderful and cautious mother is the raw egg
yolk that is used in the traditional recipe. I sub in a little bit of mayonnaise
to add that richness to the dressing.
2 parts vegetable
oil
1 part
lemon juice, preferably fresh squeezed
A couple of
anchovy fillets
Worcestershire
sauce
Some mayonnaise
Roasted garlic
Grated parmesan
cheese
Salt to
taste
Roast your
garlic in a 400 degree oven until it is soft.
Throw all
of your ingredients into a jar or a measuring cup and blend with a stick
blender. If you don’t have a blender pulverize your ingredients with a knife
and then use the shake the heck out of it method mentioned above. You have now
made Caesar Salad dressing.
Coleslaw
Dressing to the tune of “Beautiful Mess” by Jason Mraz
2 parts
vegetable oil
1 part
vinegar
Grainy mustard
Sour cream
A little
bit of milk
A dash of
sugar
Salt to
taste
Combine and
then blend or shake the heck out of it.
You can add
whatever you want to these basic recipes, they are a great place to start.
Enjoy my lovely people.
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