Red Wine Vinaigrette

Looking for a good basic red wine vinaigrette for vegetable salads. I made it exactly as written, scaled down to half.

Verdict: This one is just what I was looking for.

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RECIPE: Red Wine Vinaigrette (Culinary Hill)

Avocado Salad with Carrot-Ginger Dressing

This sounded really good to me when it scrolled by, so I gave it a try!

Notes:

• Since the recipe is not very precise about how much of each ingredient to use I weighed mine out.
• 110 g carrot (95 g fully peeled/prepared)
  
• 17 g shallot (I would use even less next time, more like 10-12 g fully prepared)
  
• 15 g ginger
  

Verdict: I really liked it! I may use less shallot next time but I would definitely make it again. It's a fresh, bright tasting, and colorful addition to a salad.

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RECIPE: Avocado Salad with Carrot-Ginger Dressing

Greek Salad Dressing

This is another thing I make so infrequently that I always forget which recipe I used the last time I made it. I didn't take a photo of it but wanted to record that I tried this one.

Verdict: I must have liked it if I had it saved on my phone for this long!

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RECIPE: Greek Salad Dressing (food.com)

Japanese Style Creamy Sesame Dressing

One of the things I think I fell in love with the hardest about Japanese cooking when I lived there was sesame flavoring in sauces. This is one of my very favorite sesame based things. It's great on all manner of green vegetables, cooked or raw, and any salad with Asian style ingredients.

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RECIPE: Japanese Sesame Dressing (Just One Cookbook)

Basil Vinaigrette

I first had basil vinaigrette at a college dining hall, of all places. I couldn't quite figure out why I liked the dressing on their green salad so much but I was so impressed with it I had to ask the staff what it was because the menu didn't say. Basil vinaigrette, they told me. I should have known. I love basil.

I immediately went looking for a recipe and found this one. I don't normally have this much basil on hand, but went to the farmer's market to get some. The other time I unexpectedly had a lot left in my garden box at the end of the summer and picked it all to make this.

Notes:

• I like putting this on spring mix + cherry tomatoes + small fresh mozzarella balls for a caprese-inspired type of salad but it's great on just greens, too.
• Make sure to pick as much of the stem off the leaves as possible because it can give the dressing an unpleasantly bitter flavor.
• I have made this twice now and have used a slightly smaller amount of red onion instead of shallot in a pinch.
• It starts to oxidize after a bit so make sure to eat it within 3-5 days before it turns brown and gross.

Verdict: This turned out a bit thicker and more tart than the basil vinaigrette I was trying to recreate but it's still quite good. Debating adding more olive oil to it to make it a little looser, maybe decreasing the vinegar a little too.

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RECIPE: Basil Vinaigrette

 

Update: I also like this recipe from What's Gaby Cooking and it doesn't brown as easily. 

Chip Dip

Posting a recipe in honor of my grandmother because it is her birthday today and this recipe is one that I know from her. I realize it sounds low-key gross just looking at the ingredient list, and maybe it is, but for me nostalgia wins on this one. This takes me straight back to family reunion cookouts in her backyard on Independence Day weekend. The fact that I still like it as an adult is enough. It is a mix of slightly sweet, salty, creamy, and tangy flavors.

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RECIPE:

Chip Dip

from my grandmother

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/3 to ½ cup tomato ketchup, to taste

1/3 to ½ cup red French dressing (she is partial to Western brand), to taste

Beat all ingredients in a medium bowl with electric mixer until thoroughly blended. Serve with potato chips.

COOKING LIFE HAX: Ponzu + sesame oil dressing

I stumbled upon a life hack tonight for all my Asian salad dressing needs: drizzle ponzu (Kikkoman has the easiest one to find where I live) and toasted sesame oil over your salad and mix it, then eat. You don't even have to mix them together first before pouring on your salad. This goes especially well over something super simple like spring mix and tomatoes.