This is my fav Blue Cheese dressing recipe, and I modify it for all the creamy dressings I make. If I had to use a "rule of thumb", it would be equal parts Sour Cream and Hellmans, and thin with buttermilk (or regular milk or cream) to taste, then add whatever herbs or seasonings to give you the flavor you want.

Hope this helps!

Alexa

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Connie's Blue Cheese

1 lg clove garlic
1 Tbsp Worcestershire
3 Tbsp onion or scallion
1 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
16 oz Sour Cream
16 oz Hellman's
1 1/2 tsp sugar (or to taste)
FGWP to taste
3/4 - 1lb great quality blue cheese

Whiz the first 4 ingredients in a mini chopper or blender. Stir the mixture into the sour cream and mayo. Add sugar and white pepper. Crumble in blue cheese.

Thanks - I assume you can sub yogurt for sour cream although honestly I have sour cream around a lot more than plain yogurt.

What is FGWP?

So instead of Blue Cheese what would add to make it "ranch"?

FGWP - Fresh Ground White pepper but you can use black if that is what you have... I just like the white better since it doesn;t leave black specks in the dressing.

And as far as herbs for a Ranch flavor - I would think you can add anything you like! I might start with some combinaiton of garlic powder, onion powder, chopped fresh chives, chopped fresh dill, chopped fresh parsley and add or subtract to your personal taste.

Alexa

I don't have a basic recipe for you, but when I read your description of how you like to cook it made me think of Mark Bittman's cookbook "How to Cook Everything". I took a copy out of the library and really enjoyed it - he does exactly what you describe: he gives you a basic recipe or guideline, then lists variations for ideas. This is the book that finally got me over my fear of dried bean cookery, I can't recommend it highly enough :-)

Becky

I don't care much for commercial salad dressings. These are the ones I depend on, though I try others also.

Come Back Salad Dressing (prepare night before)
Yield: 2 cups

1 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup chili sauce
¼ cup ketchup
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
½ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons minced onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
Add all ingredients in a jar. Cover and shake. Refrigerate overnight before using.

Lindac's Blue Cheese Salad Dressing
Serves 6 to 8
4 oz Maytag blue cheese, crumbled
1 cup of mayonnaise ( I use Best Foods)
3 oz ( about 1/3 cup) milk or cream
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp dried parsley
1 ½ Tablespoons lemon juice
1 ½ Tablespoons cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon fresh grated onion
2 Tsp Lee and Perrins Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp horseradish
½ tsp garlic powder

Mix gently so as to leave some lumps, and serve over a green salad or wedges of iceberg lettuce or on sliced tomatoes or cucumbers and onions or as a dip for raw vegetables.

Homemade Ranch Dressing
Yield: 8 servings

1 clove (to 2 Cloves) Garlic
Salt To Taste
¼ cups Italian Flat-leaf Parsley
2 Tablespoons Fresh Chives
1 cup (real) Mayonnaise
½ cups Sour Cream
Buttermilk (as Needed To Desired Consistency)
White Vinegar (optional, To Taste)
Worcestershire Sauce (optional, To Taste)
Fresh Dill (optional, To Taste)
Cayenne Pepper (optional, To Taste)
Paprika (optional, To Taste)
Fresh Oregano (optional, To Taste)
Tabasco (optional, To Taste)

Mince the garlic with a knife and then sprinkle about an 1/8 to ¼ teaspoons of salt on it and mash it into a paste with a fork. Chop the parsley, chives and any of the optional herbs very finely and add to the garlic.
In a bowl combine all ingredients, adding other optional ingredients as you wish, tasting frequently and adjusting seasonings as needed. Chill for a couple of hours before serving, thin with milk or buttermilk if desired.
From The Pioneer Woman, http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/homemade-ranch-dressing/

Vinegar Salad dressing
A flavorful, low-calorie dressing because it has no oil or mayonnaise
Yield: 1 Â 2 servings

¼ c. white vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp ketchup
¼ tsp garlic salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp Worchester sauce

Coleslaw dressing

1/3 c. mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 Tbsp vinegar
2 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp celery seed

Sir or shake in a bottle until sugar dissolves.

Coleslaw oil & vinegar dressing

2 Â 3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp vinegar
2 Tbsp oil
1 tsp salt

Sir or shake in a bottle until sugar dissolves.

Hey Boo, great minds think alike! Marys, I was going to suggest the same thing, that you seek out a cookbook that is heavy on the techniques and then ideas for improvising. Bittman's is one, I'm not sure about others, perhaps the Joy of Cooking? I don't have that one or use it. Oddly, I learned to improvise cook from a little obscure and fun, (and out of print) cookbook called "The Alice's Restuarant Cookbook" by the real Alice, Alice May Brock. The other one I got a lot of help from was "Laurel's Kitchen" but that is stricly veggie hippie food. Good food, but "healthy" lol! I have Bitterman's vegetarian cookbook, it is LOADED with improvisation tips. In fact, so many that I find it distracting, lol!

Oy vey, wrong Becky, sorry! My mind has gone to pot on names in my old age, and I hate that!