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I started making my own salad dressings a few years ago when I opened the fridge one day and realized there were at least ten half-empty bottles of dressing languishing on the bottom shelf. I have a real commitment problem when it comes to salad dressing. I buy a new dressing every other time I hit the grocery store because I am seduced by the sexy packaging of just about every product in the condiment aisle and because I apparently suffer from some sort of amnesia that prevents me from remembering that I already have bottles upon bottles waiting forlornly in my fridge. I bring home my newest salad companion, pour it lavishly all over my salads for a few days and then promptly forget about it by the time my next shopping trip rolls around on the weekend. So the end result is the aforementioned army of salad dressing bottles sitting in my fridge that will never be used up before their expiration dates, which is wasteful to say the least. I’m really trying to be less wasteful and more creative in the kitchen so I’ve started whisking together my own dressings, making just enough for a few salads at a time. This minimizes waste, ensures freshness and allows me to switch up my dressings on a whim.
I prefer dressings of the vinaigrette persuasion because I like my salad dressed sharply with the tang of vinegar and the smoothness of olive oil. My house vinaigrette recipe uses white balsamic vinegar, a personal favorite because of its great balance between acidity and sweetness. White balsamic vinegar is much paler than traditional balsamic vinegar and has a lighter taster that marries well with all kind of salads. I love regular balsamic vinegar but sometimes it’s a bit too much for more delicate salads. This house vinaigrette tastes great as is but it’s also the perfect base for all kinds of herbs and seasonings so you can add a pinch of this or a dash of that to enhance whatever style of meal you’re making.
HOUSE VINAIGRETTE
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 garlic clove, crushed
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Allow to sit for for a few minutes to allow the garlic to infuse its flavor.
Remove garlic and whisk thoroughly before serving.
Makes scant 1/2 cup of dressing. Enough for 2 to 4 salads, depending on how wet you like your salad.
Flavoring Suggestions:
Italian Vinaigrette: Add 1 teaspoon dried basil and a pinch of thyme or oregano
Spanish Vinaigrette: Instead of white balsamic vinegar use sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar. Add 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika and 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin.
French Vinaigrette: Increase sugar to 1/2 teaspoon. Add 1 teaspoon herbes de provence or 1 teaspoon tarragon and 1/4 teaspoon ground fennel.
Garlic Vinaigrette: Omit crushed garlic. Instead whisk in 1/2 to 1 teaspoon garlic paste, created by mashing a garlic clove with 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt until very smooth. Add 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley.
P.S. – Check out the beautiful yellow mixing bowl and mini whisk in the picture. My BFF Emily picked it up for me at a little place called Mark Klammer Pottery in upstate New York last year. This set has become my go-to tool for mixing up salad dressing in a flash. The heart shaped design is gorgeous and ingenious! The design is ergonomic so you can easily cradle the bowl with one hand by placing your thumb in the curved indent at the top of the heart, while whisking with the other. The little spout formed by the point of the heart allows you to serve and pour the dressing right out of the mixing bowl. Love it!
We celebrated my son’s 10th birthday a couple weekends ago. In between trying to wrap my head around the fact that my baby boy had reached the double digits and preparing the house for company, I tried to convince said baby boy that German potato salad would be a great dish to serve with his favorite Garlic Burgers. He did not agree. He might be only ten years old but he is very opinionated about food and made it very clear that potato salad of any kind was not acceptable. I tried to change his mind by pointing out that German potato salad has bacon in it (which he loves) but he did not give in. Although, he did suggest that we fry up some bacon to put on the burgers, a thought which I did seriously entertain. But then I went grocery shopping for the party and forgot to buy the bacon so that was that and no one had any bacon for their burgers. We finally agreed upon a marinated broccoli salad. I sort of couldn’t believe it. Given a choice between a potato salad with BACON and broccoli, my kid chose the broccoli. What can I say? Best. Kid. Ever.
This recipe makes enough for 10 because it was created for a party but you can cut the ingredients in half to serve 4 or 5 people if you want. This salad keeps incredibly well in the fridge so you might want to make a full recipe and eat the leftovers throughout the week. The broccoli only gets better the longer it marinates in the vinaigrette.
BROCCOLI SALAD with WHOLE GRAIN DIJON & DILL VINAIGRETTE
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon whole grain Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons dill
2 pounds broccoli florets
1 cucumber, seeded and chopped
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
12 ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
1 romaine heart, shredded
1/2 cup coarsely chopped parsley
2 lemons
Whisk together oil, vinegar, salt, garlic, mustard and dill in a small bowl.
Blanch broccoli florets in boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and shock in an ice bath to preserve color and to stop cooking. Drain again.
Combine the broccoli, cucumber, red onion and red peppers in a large bowl. Toss with the vinaigrette. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.
Right before serving, place the shredded lettuce and parsley in a large serving platter. Pour the marinated vegetables over the lettuce.
Zest the two lemons and add the zest to the salad.
Juice the lemons and pour the juice over the salad.
If desired, toss gently before serving.
Serves 10.
If I had to choose only one beverage to drink for the rest of my days then I would choose champagne. I swoon for the effervescent headiness of all those tiny bubbles dancing around in my mouth. Most people drink champagne only on special occasions but how many truly special occasions do you celebrate in a year? Maybe five? Six? However many you can count, why limit yourself to champagne toasts at only the most celebratory events? Let’s have bubbly every day! We’re grown-ups so who can stop us? I’m in if you’re in.
Here’s my take on the classic root beer float, updated and made elegant with champagne, sorbet and fresh berries.
CHAMPAGNE FLOAT
1 bottle dry champagne
2 pints of peach, mango or lemon sorbet
1 pint of blueberries, strawberries or blackberries
6 champagne glasses (the ones shaped like a saucer, not a flute)
Use an ice cream scoop to place a generously sized ball of sorbet into each champagne glass.
Divide the berries equally between the glasses. If the strawberries are large then cut them into halves or quarters.
Pour in enough champagne to almost reach the top of the glass.
Serve immediately.
Serves 6
Chinese Five Spice is a really handy item to keep in your pantry because its warm, sweet and spicy flavor enhances both savory and dessert dishes. Five Spice’s composition of cassia cinnamon, star anise, fennel, cloves and ginger (or sometimes Szechuan peppercorns in place of ginger) is based on the traditional Chinese philosophy of balancing yin and yang in food because those spices represent the full spectrum of flavor- sweet, sour, salty, bitter, spicy. Personally, I don’t pick up on the salty, sour or bitter flavors that are supposedly present in Five Spice but who am I to argue with ancient Chinese philosophy? All I know is that it tastes fantastic, especially when mixed with a little citrus and fresh ginger to brighten the flavor.
I often pair this marinade with flank steak or london broil but it also works well with chicken and pork. For best results, marinate about two pounds of meat (that’s usually enough for four people with some left over) for at least 24 hours to really allow the flavors to penetrate. Or, instead of a marinade, use this recipe as a glaze and brush onto pan-seared or grilled salmon or tuna toward the end of the cooking time.
GINGER FIVE SPICE MARINADE
Whisk together:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup orange marmalade
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or sesame oil
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
2 teaspoons Chinese Five Spice
If you’re using the recipe as a glaze, use only 1 teaspoon of oil and cut the remaining ingredients in half because you won’t need as much.
Revel & Feast 