Herbed Ranch Dressing

 

I’m not proud. I will gladly admit that I like ranch dressing. I also like a wedge salad. To me a wedge of iceberg lettuce, topped with ranch dressing, and a few crumbles of blue cheese (perhaps some crumbled bacon) is like heaven. I also like to keep ranch dressing on hand for crudités, crackers, and pretzels, because all of these things cry out for a dip. I like to tinker around with different recipes, and I think this quite possibly might be my favorite.

Herbed Ranch Dressing

½ c. Duke’s mayonnaise
½ c. sour cream
½ c. buttermilk
1 t. fresh lemon zest
1 t. dried minced onion
1½ t. dill weed
½ t. dried parsley
½ t. garlic powder

¼-½ t. Johnny’s Seasoning Salt
¼ t. freshly ground black pepper

  Place all ingredients into a medium bowl, and whisk until creamy. Refrigerate for at least eight hours or overnight to allow flavors to meld. This will keep in the refrigerator for 7 to 10 days. Before you ask, yes, you can use fresh herbs, but it will only keep for 3 to 4 days.

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Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

 

I have a confession to make. I will often use dry ranch mix to make ranch dressing. It’s quick, it’s easy, and let’s face it, when you want ranch, you want ranch! Unfortunately, I made the mistake of buying the spicy version of the ranch mix, and I didn’t like it at all. Because I wasn’t about to run out to correct my error I decided to make my own. Yes, this is a tiny bit of trouble, but the freshness is out of this world.

Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

½ c. Duke’s mayonnaise
½ c. sour cream
½ c. buttermilk
1 T. dried dill
1 T. dried minced onions
1 T. dried parsley
1 t. garlic powder
¼ t. Everything But the Bagel seasoning
¼ t. freshly ground black pepper
1/8 - 1/4 t. kosher salt
1 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Place all ingredients into a mini food processor, and process until combined. Failing that, place all ingredients into a medium mixing bowl, and whisk the heck out of it. Store in the refrigerator in a covered container for no longer than two weeks.

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Black Olive Vinaigrette

 

I have been on a bit of a black olive tear as you may have noticed from last week's Black Olive Fettuccine. It’s amazing the difference they make in everyday recipes. The same holds true for salad dressing, as I found out, when I turned my favorite recipe for simple vinaigrette into something extra special with the addition of black olives. This is tremendously good, and must be tried. There’s really no need to buy a can of sliced olives if you have some whole [pitted!] ones in the pantry. Just toss them into your mini processor and give them a pulse or two first before you throw in the rest of the ingredients.  You are going to love this! Black Olive Vinaigrette

 1 2.25-oz. can sliced black olives

1/3 c. cider vinegar

½ t. kosher salt

1½ t. sugar

¼ t. dry mustard

¼ t. freshly ground pepper

1 t. garlic salt

½ c. vegetable oil

 Place all ingredients into a mini food processor and pulse until blended.

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Olive Vinaigrette

 A couple of weeks ago I shared a copycat recipe for Olive Garden’s salad dressing. Today I was thinking about olives, and wondered how a simple vinaigrette would taste with the addition of chopped pimiento-stuffed olives. I must say that I quite like it. It has a bolder, zingier taste than does vinaigrette without. Next time I’m going to try a “dirty martini” version, and add a tablespoon of gin. Imagine how good that would be? Give this a try, and mix things up by adding olives stuffed with garlic, jalapeños, blue or feta cheeses, or try, black olives, or Kalamata olives. Be bold!

Olive Vinaigrette 

1/3 c. cider vinegar

1½ t. sugar

1 T. olive juice

¼ t. dry mustard

¼ t. freshly ground pepper

1 t. garlic salt

Few gratings freshly ground black pepper

½ c. vegetable oil

5 large or 10 small pimiento-stuffed olives

 Place all ingredients into a blender or mini food processor, and process until emulsified.

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Romesco Sauce

I am generally not one to ramble on, but I need to give you a little background here. Last week, feeling nostalgic, I decided to replicate the meal that I had on our honeymoon in Nassau some 27 years ago, blackened grouper. So I got myself some grouper, and then realized that I don’t know anything about cooking fish. I searched for a recipe, and while I did come up with one for blackened grouper (which is nothing more than putting blackened seasoning on both sides of the grouper and then baking, broiling, or grilling it), I discovered Romesco Sauce for the first time. 

 Where has this been all my life? If you are wondering what Romesco Sauce is, let me tell you that it is of Spanish and Portuguese origin. The base ingredients include roasted red peppers, nuts, garlic, bread (yes, bread!), olive oil, and vinegar. It is then processed into a paste wherein it will become one of your favorite sauces in the world! Not only is it tangy, spicy, and delicious, but it is so versatile. I have used it on its own, in pasta salad, as a topper for tomato soup, stirred into ranch dressing, blended into cream cheese as a spread, and recently in egg salad; it makes everything better! I also added a tablespoon to my recipe for Cheesy Garlic Bread, and it was magnificent! 

In case you’re wondering, I ruined the grouper. It was overdone, tough, and rubbery, but hey, I found the sauce!

Romesco Sauce

Slightly adapted from Gourmet Magazine, June 2000

 1/3 c. whole blanched almonds, toasted

1 slice firm white sandwich bread, torn into pieces

2 large garlic cloves

½ t. dried hot red pepper flakes*

½ c. coarsely chopped Melissa’s roasted red peppers

2 T. red-wine vinegar

½ t. salt, or to taste

¼ c. extra-virgin olive oil

 Finely grind almonds, bread, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a food processor. Add roasted peppers, vinegar, and salt, then purée, adding oil in a slow stream. Season with black pepper.

*Use less, if desired.

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Mayfair Salad Dressing

Saint Louis magazine recently published an article by St. Louis Food guru, Helen Fletcher, about the legendary Mayfair Salad and Dressing, the creation of the original Mayfair Hotel in St. Louis. It was one of the original recipes from the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair Exhibition.

The hotel used to sell the dressing by the pint. I well remember my mother, and members of her gourmet group, making the trek to the city in order to stock up. When the recipe was finally published, my mother started making her own. In my estimation, this is one of the best salad dressings around. I tend to vary slightly from the original because I am not a particular fan of anchovies. To me, replacing them with a small amount of anchovy paste makes this dressing absolute perfection.

 The recipe for both my version of the dressing and salad are below. A Mayfair Salad is truly delicious and makes a wonderful light meal. My favorite way to enjoy the dressing, however, is tossed with a bowl of freshly torn, crisp leaves of Romaine lettuce, wedges of hard-boiled egg, and about 2 tablespoons of Italian breadcrumbs. Delicious!

 Mayfair Salad Dressing

  ½ c. coarsely chopped celery

1 small clove garlic

1 small coarsely chopped Melissa’s shallot

½ - 1 t. anchovy paste

2 T. Dijon mustard

½ t. freshly ground black pepper

1 T. fresh lemon juice

¾ c. Duke’s mayonnaise

 Place all ingredients into a mini food processor or mini ninja blender. Using the processor gives some texture, using the blender will make it perfectly smooth. It’s your choice. Process to purée. Refrigerate for one hour before using. This makes a little bit less than 2 cups; the recipe can be doubled.

Original Mayfair Salad

 Romaine lettuce

Ham, julienne

Swiss Cheese, julienne

Croutons

Mayfair Dressing

 There are no amounts. Use as much or little as desired. 

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Something Blue Cheese and Creamy

This wonderful recipe, from Abrams’ recently released Colu Cooks; Easy Fancy Food by Colu Henry is, as the author indicates, halfway between a dip and a dressing. She advises us to use it any way we please. Personally, she says, she likes putting it on top of fried chicken or onto an iceberg wedge salad with bacon and thinly sliced quick pickled shallots. Me? I thought it was absolutely brilliant on top of a salad of organic kale, baby spinach, and chard. Whatever way you use it, this is a must make.

Something Blue Cheese and Creamy

From Colu Cooks

1 c. full fat yogurt
¼ c. mayonnaise
¼ c. sour cream
4 oz. blue cheese, crumbled
2 T. thinly sliced green onion
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a bowl, whisk together the yogurt, mayonnaise, sour cream, blue cheese, and green onions until well combined. Season to taste with lemon juice, a pinch of salt and a few aggressive turns of coarse black pepper. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking as needed.

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 Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of Colu Cooks; Easy Fancy Food from Abrams Books as a member of their Abrams Dinner Party 2021-2022.

The BEST Balsamic Vinaigrette

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I don’t know about you, but I stopped buying salad dressing years ago. I love making my own because it gives me the control over the ingredients, I can make it as often as I like so it’s always fresh, and during this time of the year, when fresh fruits and vegetables are plentiful, I am enjoying a lot of salads. If you like balsamic vinaigrette as much as I do, I think you will find this recipe to be one of the best.

 

The BEST Balsamic Vinaigrette

½ c. olive oil
¼ c. Balsamic vinegar
1 t. sugar
1 t. Dijon mustard
1 t. fresh orange juice (trust me)
1 small Melissa’s shallot, minced
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/8 - ¼ t. kosher salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper

Place all ingredients into a ninja blender, or other high speed blender, and blend until emulsified, 20 - 30 seconds. Store in the refrigerator for up to one week. Gets better with age.

 

Everything but the Bagel Salad Dressing

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There are two spice blends that I am absolutely obsessed with; I buy both in the biggest jars possible, and replenish them quite often. The first is Montreal Steak Seasoning, an excellent combination of ingredients that true, works wonderfully well on steaks, but also enhances everything that it comes into contact with from scrambled eggs to soups to salads to vegetables to casseroles, you name it. I have a similar love for the Everything But the Bagel Seasoning. My favorite way to use it is indeed, on top of a schmear of cream cheese on a bagel, but it works well in many other things including dips (hot and cold), spreads, vegetables, baked potatoes, and in the salad dressing below. There’s nothing better than homemade salad dressing, don’t buy the bottle version...EVER! The latter contains all kinds of terrifying ingredients to allow it to last a long time, unopened, on your shelf, or opened in the fridge. Invest in a little ninja chopper and use it for making dressing. It’s a snap to throw your fresh ingredients into this little blender, and it emulsifies like a dream. And once this chopper emulsifies, that dressing never separates.

Everything but the Bagel Salad Dressing

Adapted from EverydayIrene

 ¼ c. Dijon mustard

3 T. raw honey

¼ c. apple cider vinegar

¼ c. olive oil

1 T. Everything Bagel Seasoning

1 - 2 t. freshly squeezed lemon juice

 

 Place all ingredients into the work bowl of a mini food processor or ninja blender. (I have this one and love it.) Blend for 20 to 30 seconds. Your delicious fresh dressing is ready to be used. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

 

 

 

Green Goddess Salad Dressing

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There’s no doubt about it, it’s a crazy world. I’m not sure if it’s the current state of affairs that has caused me to become seriously nostalgic for the 70s or what, but I have found myself digging out recipes that my mother used to make, and re-creating them for me to enjoy. There’s such comfort in these old favorites; with every bite I'm transported back to the dinner table with my mom and dad, and, oh, how I miss those days.

I was in the mood for a wedge salad with Green Goddess Dressing, and found this in my mother’s recipe box. It is just as good as I remember it. If you’ve never tried it, you must. Do not eliminate the anchovy paste, that’s where it gets its flavor.

Green Goddess Salad Dressing

1/2 c. mayonnaise

3 scallions, chopped

1/2 c. fresh basil leaves, torn

2 T. fresh lemon juice

1 garlic clove, smashed

1 t. anchovy paste

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. freshly ground pepper

1/2 c. sour cream 

Place above ingredients into the work bowl of a blender or small food processor. Process until creamy. Use immediately,or refrigerate for up to three days.

Spicy Jalapeño Ranch Dressing

I always consider Memorial Day to be the official start of summer.(Don’t get me started on the stifling, sub-tropical, record-breaking temperatures that we’ve had here…ALL MONTH! Just don't.) I like a bit of zing during the summertime, so created this Spicy Jalapeño Ranch Dressing to drizzle on salads, crudités, grilled corn on the cob, well, pretty much everything! I’m giving it to you today, because you’re going to need it for the recipe that I’m going to share with you tomorrow. I always find it best to make my own homemade Ranch Dressing from my special mix (see below), but if you prefer not to do that, and use the packet (I will not judge), you can just add the taco seasoning, and pickled jalapeño. You’re going to love this one, let me know how you use it.

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day, everyone!

Spicy Jalapeño Ranch Dressing

2 cups Ranch Dressing, prepared with 

Ranch Dressing Mix (see below)

1 Melissa’s pickled jalapeño, seeded and quartered

1 teaspoon “Ultimate” Taco Seasoning

Place dressing, jalapeño, and taco seasoning into a blender. Blend until creamy. 

Ranch Dressing Mix

8 tablespoons dried parsley flakes

1 teaspoon dried dill weed

5-1/2 tablespoons instant minced onion

4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Stir ingredients together and store in a cool, dry pace. To prepare, combine 2 tablespoons of the mix with 1-cup buttermilk and 1 cup mayonnaise. This will keep for six months.

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This post is linked to:

Cooking & Crafting with J&J

Amaze Me Monday

Busy Mondays

Merry Monday

Over the Moon

Celebrate Your Story

Inspire Me Tuesday

O My Heartsie Girls Wonderful Wednesday

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Pistachio Vinaigrette

Last month, Lennie, a good friend of Jim's and mine, took me to dinner at one of my favorite places. It was something I was kind of dreading because this had always been Jim and my place. It was where we went to celebrate almost every birthday I had while we were married. (If you read this blog regularly, you know that Lennie is a widower, and our good baseball buddy who would come over a couple of times a week for dinner and to watch the game). As it turned out, despite my trepidation, it was a lovely evening; we had a delicious meal, and enjoyed each other's company. I'm glad that he took me, it was a very sweet thing to do, and now that I've broken the ice, it'll be easier to go back to my favorite place. My point in telling you all of this is that we ordered a salad as a first course, and it came dressed with pistachio vinaigrette. It was sensational! Ever since that evening I have been searching for a recipe for pistachio vinaigrette that is as good as the one we had that night.

I found a variety of them and, after a bit of experimentation, came up with what I think is the apex of pistachio vinaigrette dressings. It is wonderful on a salad of nothing more than spring lettuce. If you want to get fancy, add some very thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms, paper-thin slices of red onion, and be sure to top off your salad, no matter what you do, with chopped pistachios. This is easy enough for every day, but fancy enough for company. If you can't get pistachio oil locally (an absolute must for this dressing), you can get it here. I highly recommend the purchase; it makes a world of difference. 

Pistachio Vinaigrette

4 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons pistachio oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons crushed pistachios
2 tablespoons minced chives
Salt and Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 Blend together the first four ingredients. (I used a bullet blender because nothing emulsifies a salad dressing like a bullet blender.) Stir in the pistachios, chives, and salt and pepper to taste. This recipe can be doubled, tripled, quadrupled, well, you get the picture. It's delicious, so trust me you're going to want to make as much as possible.

PRINT RECIPE

This post is linked to:

What’s for Dinner Sunday

Happiness is Homemade Sunday

Dishing It & Digging It

Cooking & Crafting with J&J

Amaze Me Monday

Busy Mondays

Art of Homemaking Monday
Celebrate Your Story

Inspire Me Tuesday

Tuesdays with a Twist

The Scoop

 Homestead Wednesday

Friday at the Fire Station
Foodie Friday & Everything Else

Create, Bake, Grow and Gather
 Share It One More Time
A Bouquet of Talent

Paula's No Rules Weekend Blog Party

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