Forget store bought - do it yourself

By EdieK

Ingredients

• You'll marvel at the difference homemade makes in easy dressings
• Susan Schwart Z
• Postmedia News
• Wednesday, July 09, 2014
• Here are some recipes from Louise Pickford's lovely new volume, The Perfectly Dressed Salad (Ryland Peters Small). The book features more than 50 dressings, including vinaigrettes, herbed, fruity, infused and warm.

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from www2.canada.com

Preparation

Step 1

Blue cheese

Makes 1 scant cup (250 mL) This dressing is classic with chilled iceberg or romaine, but it works well with any green leaf salad featuring celery, apple, pear or mixed nuts, writes Pickford. She used St. Agur, which is milder than Gorgonzola or Roquefort, but recommends that you use the blue cheese you like best.

1/3 cup (80 mL) sour cream

1/4 cup (60 mL) creamy blue cheese

1 tbsp (15 mL) white wine vinegar

2 tsp (10 mL) just-boiled water

2 tbsp (30 mL) extra-virgin olive oil

1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh chives

Salt and pepper to taste Place the sour cream, cheese, vinegar, water and a little salt and pepper in a blender and blend until fairly smooth. Add the oil and blend some more. Stir in the chives, adjust seasoning to taste and serve.

Herbed Labneh

Makes 1 scant cup (250 mL) Labneh is a thickened yogurt popular in the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean, where it can often be found on a mezze platter. Thick Greek yogurt works, too.

This dressing is lovely with a salad of new potato, radicchio, smoked salmon and beets, Pickford writes.

1/2 cup (125 mL) labneh or thick Greek yogurt

2 tbsp (30 mL) extra-virgin olive oil

1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh herbs, such as coriander, mint and parsley

2 tsp (10 mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) clear honey

1/4 tsp (1 mL) smoked paprika

Salt and pepper to taste Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve.

Ranch dressing

Makes 1 scant cup (250 mL) Steve Henson developed what is known today as ranch dressing while working as a plumbing contractor in the remote Alaskan bush, according to Wikipedia. In 1954, he and his wife, Gayle, opened a dude ranch near Santa Barbara, Calif., Hidden Valley Ranch. The dressing became so popular with guests, Pickford writes, that they started to package and sell it for guests to take home - both the finished product and packets of seasoning to be mixed with buttermilk and mayonnaise. Before long, they were shipping the stuff all over the country. Although ranch dressing is popular in Canada and the United States and used as a dip as well as a dressing, Wikipedia reports, it is pretty well unknown elsewhere.

1 /2 cup (1 2 5 mL) buttermilk

2 /3 cup (160 mL) mayonnaise

1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh chives

1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh parsley

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp (5 mL) mild mustard

A few drops liquid red pepper, optional

Salt and pepper to taste Whisk all the ingredients together and season to taste. Excellent with a salad of grilled or broiled chicken and butter lettuce.

Green goddess

Makes 1 cup (250 mL) plus 1 tbsp (15 mL) This dressing, named for its lovely pale green, was probably developed at San Francisco's Palace Hotel in 1923, according to Wikipedia: The executive chef wanted to honour George Arliss and his hit play, The Green Goddess. It is a variation of a sauce by a chef to Louis XII. Use any combination of fresh herbs you like. Wonderful as a dressing for a summer salad featuring lettuce and cold crab or lobster.

2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped mixed fresh herbs, such as parsley, tarragon and chives

1 white anchovy filet in oil, drained and chopped

1 green onion, trimmed and chopped

1 small garlic clove, crushed

2 /3 cup (160 mL) mayonnaise

2 tbsp (30 mL) milk

1 tbsp (15 mL) white vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste Place ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve.

Caesar salad

Makes 3/4 cup (180 mL) There are as many versions of this dressing as there are people who make it. Pickford likes it to taste of anchovy, but recommends that you use as much or as little as you like.

1 egg

1 tbsp (15 mL) white wine vinegar

2 to 4 anchovy fillets in oil, drained and chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp (5 mL) Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup (125 mL) extravirgin olive oil

3 tbsp (45 mL) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste Boil the egg 3 minutes, then immediately plunge it into cold water. Shell egg and place in a blender. Add the vinegar, anchovies, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and a little salt and pepper and blend until frothy.

Gradually whisk in the oil in a steady stream until dressing has thickened. Stir in the Parmesan and adjust seasoning to taste.

Serve drizzled over a salad of romaine lettuce, croutons, anchovy and Parmesan - and add crispy fried bacon if you like.

© Edmonton Journal 2014