Please suggest a salad dressing

12 years ago

It's post-Thing-Two's-wedding, so we are going to be eating a lot of salad dinners! Every calorie was worth it, but it's fun to have lost 15 pounds each over the summer, so we're going to try to keep it off.

Tonight, following my first trip to Costco (!), I have a bag of very hearty salad greens (kale, cabbage, I forget what else), to which I plan to add blueberries, figs, maybe a few nuts (plain or spiced), maybe some of the last of the avocados my brother-in-law brought from his garden. I've also got a smoked fish, but I think I will serve that separately.

What kind of dressing do you think would go nicely on that salad?

Thanks in advance for your great ideas!

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Comments (6)

plllog
12 years ago
If the last of the avocados are squishy or rock hard, why not make avocado dressing? Mash up an avocado with some wine or vinegar, and add aromatics and seasoning. Really easy and always a hit around here. The richness should go well with the fruit and the relative sweetness should be nice with the pungent greens.
blubird
12 years ago
Costco actually sells a very nice kale salad blend here in NJ which comes with dried cranberries and sunflower seeds to mix in, along with a very nice poppy seed dressing. It's a sweeter dressing which is in nice contrast to the stronger kale/cabbage taste. I adore smoked fish (my mother used to give me the whitefish head to play with as I ate as a child) but not sure it would go well with the poppy seed dressing.

Helene
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I have been out of town working all week with no time to respond here. Please understand my sensitivity regarding this matter. I make my living as a creative person, mostly doing visual art but am occasionally called on for my writing skills such as they are. I would be very upset if my efforts - visual or written - were presented as someone else's even if only by omission of attribution. To me it is just wrong. Pleading ignorance doesn't make it okay. Just because it's posted to the internet doesn't make it okay - anymore than taking someone's belongings because they left them unguarded in a car with an open window. Having opportunity does not grant permission. Many years ago I sat in the audience of a local design and advertising awards presentation and watched as my design work - a year's worth of my daily efforts - was presented on screen with no designer/illustrator credits given. I had resigned from my art director position with the design firm a few weeks prior to the show. I left on good terms and had even given a month's notice. I left because I couldn't work a 60 hour week any longer, I was exhausted. My heart broke as I watched my work receive award after award. Even the presenter commented that there were no credits to individuals (like the other entries). My former employer had no idea I was in the audience. She looked rather startled when she ran into me in the lobby after the show. I said nothing. At the same show a photographer had entered one of my pieces (her photo, my design) with no credit to me. Ironic because she had made a big stink about the design firm using her image without credit or royalties. The client had supplied us with a large number of transparencies without informing us that they didn't actually own rights to many of them. Our ignorance didn't make it right. A fee was negotiated and she was given printed credit on the finished piece. Yet she submitted that same printed piece as her own. Go figure. Another time I was asked by a friend and professional colleague to create a poster for an event. It was for the one-time performance of a master's thesis, an interesting adaptation of a Mozart opera. Most of the professional opera singers donated their time, as did the costume designer and others. I created the poster, promotional materials, and tickets. When I opened the program (written by my friend) I read the many credits and my name did not appear! I hadn't given myself a credit on the poster itself, either. I mentioned it to him. He looked horrified, poor fellow. I have a distinctly formed opinion about creative ownership. I can site many examples of my work being imitated, sometimes it's flattering. It feels a lot better to be acknowledged and appreciated. I do gratis work as well for friends, for fund-raisers. It isn't all about monetary gain. Eileen
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Here's one from Delia Smith Online that I use, all text from her website: Vinaigrette Dressing It has to be said that this is always going to be a matter of personal taste according to how much acidity you like and what your preferences are as to flavourings and so on. I seem to suffer from some kind of mental handicap with dressings, which roughly means that other people's salad dressings always seem to taste better than my own Â my husband's particularly. Here I have set out my favourite version of vinaigrette, but it's adaptable: you can use red or white wine vinegar, a different mustard or no mustard; if you like it sharper, use a higher ratio of vinegar, and if you want it less sharp use a higher ratio of oil. The following combination is my own personal favourite. Vinaigrette dressing is best made and used as fresh as possible, because once the oil is exposed to the air it loses some of its fragrance. If you want to prepare things ahead, proceed up to the vinegar stage and leave adding the oil till the last minute. Serves 4-6; halve the ingredients for 2-3 1 rounded teaspoon Maldon sea salt 1 clove garlic, peeled 1 rounded teaspoon mustard powder 1 dessertspoon balsamic vinegar 1 dessertspoon sherry vinegar 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil freshly milled black pepper You will also need a pestle and mortar. Begin by placing the salt in the mortar and crush it quite coarsely, then add the garlic and, as you begin to crush it and it comes into contact with the salt, it will quickly break down into a purÃ©e. Next add the mustard powder and really work it in, giving it about 20 seconds of circular movements to get it thoroughly blended. After that, add some freshly milled black pepper. Now add the vinegars and work these in in the same way, then add the oil, switch to a small whisk and give everything a really good, thorough whisking. Whisk again before dressing the salad. This recipe is taken from Delia Smith's Cookbook. ****************************************** And to make it into her NiÃ§oise dressing, add: 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs (chives, tarragon, parsley, basil, chervil or mint, for example); if using fresh oregano and thyme, use just 1/2 teaspoon each in the mix. Note from Sharon: Last time I made this dressing I used about 2 TBS flat leaf parsley chopped together with about 1 teas each of fresh mint and thyme from the garden. SharonCb
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Not sure if this is the type of dressing you are looking for, but I bet it wold be good over the salad you described..... Theother possibility is to use some Pina Colada concentrate (in the frozen juice concentrate section) and add it to a basic vinaigrette recipe. Good luck I hope you find what you are looking for it sounds really tasty! Alexa *************************************************** Pineapple Salad Dressing Rated: Submitted By: Shawn Nelson Prep Time: 15 Minutes Ready In: 15 Minutes Servings: 6 "Perk up an ordinary salad with this tangy mixture shared by Shawn Nelson of Evansville, Indiana. With sweetness from pineapple juice and a but of zip from cumin, her salad dressing is a refreshing change of pace." Ingredients: 1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice 1/4 cup white vinegar 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 garlic clove, minced mixed salad greens Directions: 1. In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the pineapple juice, vinegar, cumin and garlic; shake well. Serve with salad greens. Refrigerate leftovers; shake or stir before serving.
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lascatx
12 years ago
My favorite salad dressing this summer, especially on salads with fruit and meat or cheese, has been Trader Joe's Muscat Orange Champagne Vinegar. Nothing else. If you don't have a Trader Joe's you might look for something similar --a fruity, sweet, mild vinegar that doesn't need oil added.
lpinkmountain
12 years ago
I am lazy so rarely make my own dressings. Two kinds that always get me raves are poppyseed and honey mustard. Now there is poppyseed honey mustard I can get! Another kind that is good is blue cheese, goes well with fruits on salads. I also like avocado, but to get that I just mix avocado into the salad and make a standard vinegar and oil dressing, only use some kind of flavored balsamic, like raspberry, etc. which I have a few of.
bbstx
12 years ago
I am a finnicky salad eater because I don't like most salad dressings. I especially do not like extremely vinegary dressings. Here are my three favorites. The first 2 are a little sweet.

2 teaspoons salt
1 scant teaspoon Tabasco
1/2 cup Splenda
1 cup oil
1/2 cup tarragon vinegar
Combine and shake well.
I use any kind of relatively neutral oil, including olive oil. I rarely have tarragon vinegar. I use almost any kind of vinegar. My favorite is Perel's Spicy Pecan vinegar.

The other one I make often is Sweet and Sour Dressing.

Yield 2 1/2 cups

1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar (or Splenda)
1/2 cup wine vinegar
3 tsp soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and shake well.

This dressing is from The Kitchn, but it is quite similar to one I have made

4 ounces (about 1 heaping cup) blue cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, use a fork to mash together the cheese and sour cream until it forms a chunky paste about the consistency of cottage cheese (I don't mash my blue cheese.). Stir in the buttermilk, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
gellchom
Original Author
12 years ago
d'oh!

Helene, that's exactly what I bought, and sure enough, it had 2 packets of dressing in the bag. I don't usually like prepared dressings, but I went ahead and used one of the packets tonight with half the salad. It was pretty good, but for the other half, I might have to try one of bbstx's suggestions -- they all sound so good!

Thank you all. If anyone has any other favorite dressing ideas and recipes, I'd love to hear them.

Please suggest a salad dressing

Comments (6)

plllog

blubird

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Please suggest a salad dressing

Comments (6)

plllog

blubird

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lascatx

lpinkmountain

bbstx

gellchomOriginal Author

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gellchom
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