Stop buying salad dressing!

*Note from Candace*
I have been reviewing old posts and sharing them as it seems appropriate.  I ran across this one from May, 2009.  It is funny how consistent my message (mission) has been even from four years ago.  
This is where the Urban Kitchen house vinaigrette started.  It's fun to see how it has evolved.  To my favorite container option, I would add a squeeze bottle.  With the bottle, you not only have the salad dressing mixer but an easy way to deliver the dressing on to your greens.  As for vinegar choices, consider white and red balsamics as well as the others.

The point is:  don't be afraid to experiment, use fresh ingredients and once you make dressing for the first time, you'll never buy the bottled, preservative-laden stuff again! 
Warmest,
Candace
And as always...
If you like this post, SHARE it on Facebook, Twitter or with someone you think needs to see it! 
Come join the fun and take a class with us!  
Visit my website at Urban Kitchen on Cherry Street and check out the Class Calendar.

We all have our favorite bottled salad dressing...come on, admit it! Mine was (note the word, WAS) Seven Seas Creamy Italian. I ate enough of that dressing to float a boat - no pun intended. When I was in college, I would eat it on anything...well, not on chocolate, but that was about it. Nowadays, so many bottled dressings are filled with preservatives...so much so that you can hardly identify what it really is supposed to be. Then I started making my own dressings a number of years ago. It is not only fast but, once more, you can use your imagination and create so many different flavors. I am going to share my salad dressing "base" with you. Then sally forth (did I really say that?) and add different spices, herbs, ingredients to it...whatever you like or whatever seems to go best with what you're serving. Add fruit, fresh or dried. Add vegetables. I don't think meat would work but who knows...! Try it and let me know!!

Now, you will see a lot of chefs whisk the oil into the salad dressing ingredients. The reason for this is to create an "emulsion"...an emulsion is a mixture of one liquid with another that it ordinarily will not combine with...such as oil and water or, in this instance, vinegar. You add the oil very slowly and whisk the vinegar quickly so that it binds. This is, of course, the classic way of doing things but sometimes you have to throw classic out the window and get real. My favorite method for "emulsifying" my oil and vinegar is with a small screwtop jar and a little Dijon mustard. The flavor of Dijon has a way of blending into whatever type of dressing you're making or it can express itself, for instance, in a honey Dijon salad dressing. In any event, the mustard acts as an emulsifier and helps the process along...call it cheating if you like but it works like a champ. And, I think most people don't make dressing because of the idea of whisking things. So now no more excuses...get a half-pint Mason jar and go to it!

Candace's Salad Dressing Base (this is purely a jumping off point)

In a small jar with a tightly fitting lid (preferably screw top)
Add:
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 heaping tsp Dijon mustard
1 - 2 tsp dark brown sugar (depending on how sweet you like it - you can also leave it out completely)
1 tbsp minced shallot and/or 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
2 parts vinegar to 1 part oil (I like light and not oily dressings)
Place the top securely on the jar and shake it like crazy.

Now you've got salad dressing that is fresh, light, full of flavor and will last in your fridge for at least a week or more...actually, probably not that long because you'll use it so fast! A half-pint of dressing is enough for many, many salad greens but please, do not commit the Cardinal sin of over-dressing your greens. Let your greens shine through...they deserve their place in the spotlight...but that's another tip for another day.
Now just to get you started thinking...
For sweeteners: try honey, maple syrup, light brown sugar, light or dark corn syrup
For vinegars: try red wine, white wine, rice (unseasoned), raspberry, sherry, or champagne
The oil you use will depend on whether you want to taste it...flavorless canola, vegetable, or flavorful olive oils...I wouldn't recommend sesame except as a flavor enhancer in an Asian dressing.
You can use this same theory with mayonnaise-based dressings.
Don't be afraid to experiment...it's just food...it doesn't care!
The rest is up to you!

Are you keeping it personal?

I know, I'm asking crazy questions again!

But are you keeping your cooking personal?  And, by that, I mean, is your kitchen space personal to you, is your cooking the kind or the way you like to do it?  If it's not, then I bet you don't enjoy cooking (or at least, not as much as you could!).

Now, you're going to either say, huh? or, Candace, what are you talking about?  I don't know HOW to keep it personal!  Well...here are a couple of tips for keeping it easy and fun that will help simplify your life.  Remember, this isn't rocket science so don't make it that way!

But first, a little background...I'm all about making things easier for my students in my cooking classes.  My goal or maybe I should say, my mission is to show you how to make great food that will impress your family and friends and be as easy as possible to cook.  So, I try to show you sensible ways to have it going on in the cooking arena and not dazzle you with my fancy footwork.  That means that you take what we learned in class and do it at home.  So...keeping it personal is just an extension of what I teach in my cooking classes.

I don't emphasize recipes that need exact measurements (for me, that's most recipes, really).  I use ingredients that are not difficult to find but are not your run of the mill, ordinary meat and potatoes.  And, I show you techniques that will make your life easier.

Case in point, I get tons of questions about knives.  What knife should I get?  Frankly, I don't know.  You are the only one who knows what kind of knife you need.  So in class, I provide everyone with an inexpensive but very sharp knife to begin finding out what kind of knife they like.  The weight, the shape of the handle and the blade are all important but above all else, it must be sharp.  So you can have great success with a very inexpensive knife IF it is super sharp.  You can also have a disaster with a dull, expensive knife.  There's one way you keep it personal...get a knife you like.  And, don't buy a big set like that salesperson wants you to buy at the gourmet kitchen store.  Buy your knives one at a time so that it makes sense when you add a new one to your personal kitchen.  And, then keep them sharp.  Learn to use a knife steel that straightens the blade (that's another story) and then have them sharpened professionally when needed.  "When needed" is also personal because everyone uses knives differently.

Bottom line is choose knives, tools, equipment and food to suit your personal style.  You like Asian food...get a wok, go to the Asian market, familiarize yourself with ingredients and flavor profiles for Chinese, Korean, Japanese, or Vietnamese foods, search the Internet for ideas, that's what I do when I want to personalize my cooking or cooking classes.

Wouldn't it be cool, though, if there was a resource out there that provided you with a step-by-step method for personalizing your kitchen and cooking and making it super enjoyable.  Well, stay tuned my friends...help is on the way!

To that end, you know that I have to include a little somethin', somethin'.  Here's a great recipe for Grilled Romaine Hearts and the house vinaigrette from Urban Kitchen.  With Labor Day coming, this will change up your grilling routine.
Be sure to play around with it...make it you're own!

Grilled Romaine Hearts

Serves 8
4 romaine hearts
1 red onion, thickly sliced
4 oz. crumbled blue cheese or goat cheese                                                             
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Black pepper

Rinse romaine hearts and remove any blemished outer leaves.  Cut hearts in half lengthwise. Drizzle with olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.  Drizzle red onion slices with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Heat grill to medium high.  Place sliced onions (oiled side down) on the grill and drizzle the other side with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Grill for 2 – 3 minutes until they have grill marks.  Flip onions and allow to cook until softened and slightly caramelized, about five minutes.  Remove from the grill.  Allow to cool and then chop the onions.  Set aside.

Place romaine hearts cut side down on the grill for about a minute until the edges start to wilt.  Remove from the grill.  Dress with your favorite vinaigrette (mine is below).  Followed by chopped grilled onions and crumbled goat cheese.

White Balsamic Vinaigrette
 Makes about one cup of dressing

1 garlic clove, smashed
1 heaping tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp brown sugar
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
¼ - ½ cup canola/olive oil blend

In a pint jar or squeeze bottle, combine all ingredients and shake well.
Enjoy!
And as always...
If you like this post, SHARE it on Facebook, Twitter or with someone you think needs to see it! 
Come join the fun and take a class with us!  
Visit my website at Urban Kitchen on Cherry Street and check out the Class Calendar.

I continue to get great feedback about my Complete Resource Guide to Stress-Free Entertaining.  If personalizing your cooking and making it fun is interesting to you, you might enjoy this free guide.  Check it out by clicking on the link.