Sicilian Dressing

This was taught to me in the mid 1970s by a Sicilian woman (mother of my girlfriend at the time) who I spent 2-1/2 years with, learning to cook Italian food Sicilian style.

Equal parts Red Wine Vinegar and Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Garlic Powder, Oregano, Brown Sugar, and Red Pepper Flakes - all to taste

Mix the dry ingredients in the vinegar and, once the sugar has dissolved, add the olive oil. Best to make in a shaker bottle.

Mine is similar to Fawnridge's but less oil to vinegar, no sugar, and lots of mixed herbs. Variation: Instead of garlic and red pepper, ginger and ground mustard seed.

I like to combine various vinegars, and here is what I most often make for a vinaigrette when I have fresh herbs, such as now:

Herb Vinaigrette Salad
Dressing

This dressing must be made
using fresh herbs only. Never
substitute dried herbs here—omit any herbs if you do not have fresh.

3 tbsp Dijon mustard
6 cloves garlic
1-2 shallots, depending on
size (optional)
1/3 cup chopped fresh
sweet basil
3 tbsp chopped fresh
oregano
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
(stems removed)
1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar,
aged eight years (should be sweet)
2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar,
medium quality
2 tbsp white Balsamic
vinegar
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1-2 tbsp white wine
vinegar
2 tsp salt
2-3 tsp freshly ground
black pepper
2/3 cup extra virgin olive
oil, or to taste

Peel and coarsely chop
garlic, and shallots, if desired, and put into blender with the mustard and
herbs. Pulse a few times to chop the
garlic and herbs, and add vinegars, salt, and pepper. Blend until all ingredients are very finely chopped or
puréed. Add the olive oil a bit at a
time and blend until smooth. If
possible, pour the olive oil through a small hole in the top of the blender
while blending. Adjust vinegars, salt,
pepper, and oil to taste, remembering that the flavor will change after the
garlic and herbs have had time to marinate in the vinegar and oil. If desired, add 2-3 tsp of water to make the
dressing a bit thinner and easier to pour.
Store in a jar in the refrigerator.
Keeps for at least two weeks, although the herb flavors will diminish
over time.

Yield:
approx. 1-2/3 cups

I also always make Ranch Dressing rather than buy it:

Ranch Salad Dressing II

3-4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup fresh dill, minced (large stems removed)
1/2 cup Italian parsley (large stems removed and
finely chopped)
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
2 cups mayonnaise (Best Foods or Hellmann’s), or a
combination of mayo and sour cream

Put garlic in a mortar with the salt, and grind with
a pestle until it is a paste. This can
be done on a chopping board with the flat side of a knife if you do not have a mortar
and pestle. Add the black pepper and
dill, and grind these in the mortar as well.

Then combine with the rest of the ingredients in a bowl
and stir together by hand. Chill one
hour and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
Best to chill overnight before serving.
If it is too thick, you can thin it with a few drops of water or
buttermilk. It does keep as long if
milk is added.

Yield: approx. 18 oz.

I make Sensation salad dressing or Caesar to dress romaine salads. For spinach or mixed baby greens I drizzle with EVOO and either balsamic or pomegranate balsamic, sprinkling with crumbled goat cheese or feta.

Sensation Salad Dressing

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2-3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons finely minced garlic

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

fresh ground pepper

Combine all in bowl whisking well.

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Caesar Salad Dressing

1 small garlic clove, minced

2 teaspoons anchovy paste

1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Combine in food processor. Add cheese near the end.

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Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette

This is one I haven't made in years, because I don't make the jelly anymore. I thought about it because dh had it on his salad at a restaurant the other night. It's nice on a mix of baby greens.

1 tablespoon hot pepper jelly

2 tablespoons cane vinegar or white balsamic

5-6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Combine jelly and vinegar. Slowly add the olive oil while whisking rapidly.

Here's one, courtesy of For the Love of Cooking. It is one of my favorites and everyone asks me for the recipe.

Fran's Simple Vinaigrette

1/2 cup canola oil
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper to taste (lots of pepper)

Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly before tossing on your favorite salad. Enjoy.

My favorite is just mixing about half a cup of plain yogurt with a squirt of spicy brown mustard and honey to taste. Creamy honey mustard dressing and it's good on green salads or fruit.

Annie

Yum yum! Thanks so much! Plan to try each one but without any hot sauce as cannot bear any heat. Thanks again.

My current fave is simply salt & pepper, parmesan cheese & lemon or lime juice - applied directly to the salad & tossed to mix.

Dressings. Gotta be the heart and soul of the cooks kitchen. I use all the ingredients posted above and so much more as we all do.

Once you find a two minute vinaigrette that suits your taste, skies the limit.

I make my basic 'dressing' once, most often twice a week. In a pint ball jar.

shy 1/4 cup oil

full 1/4 cup vinegar+2tbsp

heaping tbsp mustard

Shake. Ball jars have measurement notches so i just wing it and look that i have a bit more vinegar than oil. I use our always stocked olive oil, Braggs AC vinegar and my mustard, (like a GreyPopon).

I've been out of town for a month and came home to a bare fridge. The first thing i made...simple vinaigrette. Soaked some mustard seed and garbanzos. That was Tuesday. Wed i made a batch of hot wasabi mustard in the small blender jar...after dumping the jar still has a lot of mustard so i add some of my basic dressing for a spicy mustard vinaigrette. Without cleaning the jar yet i made some humus. Finally did some grocery shopping for basic staples. Wed night i marinated some flounder filets in a bit of the basic dressing with lemon, garlic and dill, chives from the deck herb garden. (all thats growing so far).

Last night i juiced up some of the mustard vinaigrette with some thawed cherry toms, a dollop of plain yogurt, grated parm to have with steaks on a side salad.

Added a chopped apple, black olives, celery, cilantro, pepitas, toasted pecans, dried goji berries to that leftover dressing for a tuna salad. (todays lunch)

I just took out 3 small salmon steaks for tonight. I added some grated ginger, splash of soy, tsp toasted sesame oil, maple syrup,shallot, and a splash of a good wine vinegar for a marinade and the rest i'll use at the table to garnish...the third salmon steak i'll toss with some of the dressing and make some sandwiches with the leftover apple olive mix and some avocado slices. (to take tomorrow for a weekend trip)

It is Friday...i still have a pretty nude fridge, but i have 5 different dressings, lol.

I like the basic one as a starter. It has few ingredients, good on its own but easily adjusted...and has a much longer fridge life of two weeks-ish. Once other ingredients are added i'd give them 3-5 days depending. Fresh herbs loose their 'freshness' once blended. Dairy, garlic, ginger etc loose their perk. So i just make for that meal and/or smaller amounts and use within a couple days.

-Powdered buttermilk is handy. One tbsp makes a creamy dressing. A tbsp of almond or cashew butter is super for grain or pasta or rice noodles.

Like others, i have a variety of stocked vinegars and oils, (wow Lars!)...and have not bought a bottled product in 20yrs, probably more than that. We have dozens of them at work and none compare to fresh ( i have tasted them). I usually just splash some vinegar when in that situation.

Ball jars are perfect since it only fills about 1/3rd...lots of room for a good shake if hauling out the blender is a chore. My blender is handy and the smaller jar for the Blendtec is an easy clean. The base is built into my counter next to the sink but also goes into the dishwasher fine.

Here's an oldie but a goodie - I used to make this a lot - on the sweeter side...

Raspberry Dressing yield: approx. 3/4 cup

1 clove garlic, crushed or minced

1/3 cup vinegar, lemon, lime juice or a mixture

2 Tbsp. raspberry preserves

1/3 cup oil (your choice)

1/2-1 tsp. black pepper

pinch of salt

Blend all ingredients in blender until smooth. If you wish, you may strain out seeds from preserves before adding.

Especially good over bitter greens or spinach & topped w/ toasted nuts.

Other preserves may be substituted.

Any time I use fruit, other than apples, in a green salad, I like to use this ultra-simple one. I just do it by taste.

Fresh lime juice. Two or three small salads take 1/2 small lime; proportion it up from there. Add a quick, small sprinkle of lemon pepper (the acid will open up and mellow the black pepper).

Honey to taste. Stir till dissolved and dress the salad.

Especially good with fresh (unpickled) beets and goat cheese, or ripe peeled Fuyu persimmons and sliced kiwis.

I have nothing to contribute to this post, but I appreciate the variety of dressing recipes that will have to try. Recently I bought a bag of Dole's Chopped Salad and it included a sweet onion and citrus vinaigrette that I dearly loved. Didn't care much for the chopped salad because it was tough, but sure would like a recipe for the vinaigrette.

Found my recipe for the sweet onion and citrus vinaigrette on jessduke.com and she even states its like the Dole vinaigrette included with their chopped salad. Wonder if it could be canned.

Why can it? Make a double batch and it will keep for a couple of weeks in the refrig.

bcskye-

I didn't see a recipe on the link when I clicked on it, just some strange-looking "chick", but if the recipe contains oil, butter, cream, milk, or buttermilk, it's not advised for canning/preserving. As a certified canning instructor, I only suggest you use TESTED recipes (which you can find at the National Center for Home Food Preservation or in the Ball Blue Book, or you increase the potential for spoiling or bacteria growth using a common recipe NOT designed to be canned and heat-processed. I did, however, find a Ball recipe for Strawberry Vinaigrette Dressing that could be preserved (no oil or dairy products), at this link: http://www.freshpreserving.com/recipes/strawberry-vinaigrette-dressing

Personally, I wouldn't waste the time to prepare the recipe, jars, lids, rings, and the cost of the processing utilities, and heating up the kitchen it took to make a dressing and can it at home when you can make it fresh in the matter of a few minutes.

-Grainlady

Found the right URL - looks like an 'S' was left out...

http://www.jessdukes.com/sweet-onion-citrus-viniagrette/

Wow! That would be really really "bitey" with all that Dijon mustard.

Sorry I left out the 'S', ladies. That's what happens sometimes when you're old. I really was wishing I could can it in 8 oz. jars because there's just me and I'd like to have it ready made when I wanted it.

No, grainlady, I wouldn't use a non-tested or approved recipe to can. I'm a certified food preserver and know better than that. I will check out that Strawberry Vinaigrette recipe and put some up if I lie it.

Right now I'm not getting anything put up or put out. Too many other things going on. Had my faithful little 23 year old car in the shop yesterday for an estimate for repairs for the insurance company of the lady who hit me. Have a new freezer coming early next week so I'm cleaning out the old one and deciding what to do with it. John Deere called with the estimate for repairs on my tractor and hopefully I'll get it back next week. Throw in a couple of doctor appointments and a family reunion in Speedway the day before the 500 race, well things add up. Oh, and I have a smoke detector that is chirping up on the cathedral ceiling in the living room that is causing my dog to have a nervous breakdown. Can't get the garden planted because it still hasn't dried up and we have more storms coming in tonight. Maybe I should convert the garden into a rice paddy.

bcskye - remember ... you are not old.....you are older.