{"id":8339,"date":"2013-01-21T17:27:19","date_gmt":"2013-01-22T01:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/?p=8339"},"modified":"2013-10-20T09:49:47","modified_gmt":"2013-10-20T16:49:47","slug":"lettuce-talk-salad-dressings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/lettuce-talk-salad-dressings\/","title":{"rendered":"Lettuce Talk Salad Dressings"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 1947, while he was head chef at Hollywood’s famous\u00a0Brown Derby, Robert Kries brought his popular Italian salad dressing to the commercial market. \u00a0Called Good Seasons, it consisted of two packets of dried herbs with spices and a glass cruet marked with failure proof measurement levels for oil, vinegar and water. For the first time, American cooks had a mix for reliably tasty homemade vinaigrette.<\/p>\n

Following in the wake of Good Seasons, the commercial salad dressing market exploded into what has become a multi-billion part of American food, offering Asian, Mexican, French, Italian, Greek, Spanish, Caribbean, Middle Eastern, East Indian, Tex-Mex, Bayou, gluten free, raspberry, blackberry and barbecue flavored and diet varieties. Commercial, ready-to-eat salad dressings are the everyday option of most American households.<\/p>\n

While I understand their obvious convenience, my problems with bottled dressings<\/a> are cost and blatant, in-your-face flavors that obliterate the delicate tastes of salad greens. Reading the ingredient declarations can be scary too.<\/p>\n

Salad is a part of almost every dinner I cook. My go-to vinaigrette<\/a>, put together directly onto the greens is a combination of fresh lemon juice, Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and extra virgin olive oil. Simple and inexpensive, it never out-flavors the greens.<\/p>\n

I also love variety and salads that complement entrees, so when I want a particular flavor theme (did I really write that word?) I turn to the Pantry<\/a> for help. Following are six easy to make examples that use ingredients from my pantry or are being used for the other parts of the meal. None of the vinaigrettes will overpower the tastes of fresh greens.<\/p>\n

I make these dressings in small bowls instead of putting them together directly on the greens. That way I can correct seasonings and get the flavor blend I want for the particular greens in the salads.<\/p>\n

All of the \u201crecipes\u201d are proportioned for two servings. The measurements reflect my taste preferences, so be sure to taste and correct as you prepare them.<\/p>\n

Hints<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Add fresh nuts, seeds, cheeses and additional fresh herbs to the greens rather than to the dressings.<\/li>\n
  2. Bottled lemon and lime juices taste quite different from their fresh counterparts. While fresh, juicy lemons are almost always available in supermarkets, that is not the case with limes. So when limes are good, I buy them in quantity, juice and freeze the juice for later use. That may seem a little Polly Pantry, but I love the flavor of lime juice and cook with it often enough to make it worthwhile<\/li>\n
  3. Extra virgin olive oil has a definite flavor that doesn\u2019t work in some dressings.<\/li>\n
  4. Cumin tastes much richer if it\u2019s toasted. I buy whole cumin seeds by the ounce, toast them on top of the stove in a small non-stick skillet, then grind (in small coffee grinder used only for spices) and store it in a spice jar. It\u2019s cheaper and much tastier than plain ground cumin.<\/li>\n
  5. For these dressings, whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl, taste and correct seasoning, pour over prepared greens and serve immediately. Or double the recipe and save some (refrigerated) for another day.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \"From<\/a>

    From bottom left: Greek, Provencal and Tarragon Vinaigrettes<\/p><\/div>\n

    Greek<\/strong>
    \nIf you have fresh oregano and mint, add some to the salad greens.
    \n\u00bd tbs. Fresh lemon juice
    \n\u00bd tsp. Minced fresh garlic, blanched or \u00bd tsp. garlic paste
    \n\u00bc tsp. Dried oregano or 1 tsp. finely chopped fresh oregano
    \n\u00bd tsp. Dried mint or 1 tsp. finely chopped fresh mint
    \n1 tsp. Capers, drained + \u00bd tsp. caper brine
    \n2 tbs. + 1 tsp. Extra virgin olive oil (If you have Greek olive oil, use it.)
    \nFreshly ground pepper to taste
    \n\u00bc cup Crumbled Feta cheese to sprinkle over the greens<\/p>\n

    Provencal<\/strong>
    \n\u00bd tbs. White wine vinegar (You can substitute red wine or Balsamic vinegar, not Balsamic glaze, but the dressing will have a brownish color.)
    \n\u00bd tsp. Herbs de Provence blend or Bouquet Garni, rubbed and slightly crushed in your palm
    \n\u00bc tsp. Dijon mustard
    \n\u00bc tsp. Granulated sugar or \u00bd tsp. honey
    \n1\/8 tsp. Sea Salt
    \nFreshly ground pepper to taste
    \n2 tbs. + 1 tsp. Extra virgin olive oil (If you have French oil, use it.)<\/p>\n

    Tarragon<\/strong>
    \nIf you have fresh tarragon, add some to the salad greens. You also might add sliced almonds if you have them.
    \n2 tsp. Sherry vinegar (or 1 \u00bd tsp. white wine vinegar + \u00bd tsp. medium dry sherry)
    \n\u00bc tsp. Dijon mustard
    \n1 tsp. Dried or 2 tsp. fresh, chopped tarragon
    \n\u00bd tsp. Fresh lemon juice
    \nSalt and Pepper to taste
    \n2 tbs. + 1 tsp. Extra virgin olive oil (If you have Spanish olive oil, use it.)<\/p>\n

    Asian<\/strong>
    \n\u00bd tbs. Soy Sauce
    \n\u00bd tbs. Rice Vinegar
    \n\u00bc tsp. Granulated sugar
    \n1 tsp. Pureed or fresh grated Ginger
    \n1 tsp. Toasted Sesame Oil
    \n\u00bd tsp. Toasted sesame seeds plus some to sprinkle over dressed greens
    \nIf the finished dressing is less volume than you need, add 1 tsp. water<\/p>\n

    Vietnamese<\/strong>
    \nAdd fresh cilantro and thinly sliced Anaheim or Poblano chili pepper to the salad greens.
    \n1 tbs. Fish Sauce
    \n1 tbs. Unseasoned rice vinegar
    \n1 tsp. Pureed or fresh grated Ginger
    \n\u00bd tsp. Fresh lime juice
    \n\u00bc tsp. Granulated Sugar
    \n\u00bd tsp. Minced fresh garlic, blanched or \u00bd tsp. garlic paste
    \n1\/8 tsp. Chinese Chili Paste
    \n1\/8 tsp. Toasted Sesame Oil<\/p>\n

    Mexican<\/strong>
    \nAdd fresh cilantro, thinly sliced fresh Anaheim or Poblano chili pepper and toasted Pepitas to the salad greens.
    \n1\/2 tbs. Fresh lime juice
    \n1 tsp. Green Tabasco Sauce
    \n\u00bc tsp. Ground toasted Cumin
    \n\u00bc tsp. Ground mild red chili (Anaheim rather than Jalape\u00f1o)
    \n3 tbs. Olive oil<\/p>\n

    \"From<\/a>

    From bottom: Asian Vinaigrette with sesame seeds; Vietnamese Vinaigrette with sliced Poblano Chili and Mexican Vinaigrette with Cilantro<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    In 1947, while he was head chef at Hollywood’s famous\u00a0Brown Derby, Robert Kries brought his popular Italian salad dressing to the commercial market. \u00a0Called Good Seasons, it consisted of two packets of dried herbs with spices and a glass cruet … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,370],"tags":[39,435,15,35,26,272,223,29,76,155],"class_list":["post-8339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-by-heidi-rabel","category-salads-dressings","tag-basics","tag-cook-and-eat","tag-fresh-food","tag-heidis-hints","tag-home-cooking","tag-last-minute-dinner","tag-pantry","tag-recipes","tag-salad","tag-salad-dressing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8339"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8339"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9690,"href":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8339\/revisions\/9690"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freshbynorthwest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}