I was looking up a recipe on my own blog the other day. Since my computer is right here in the kitchen, it’s easier for me to pull up my blog and find the recipe than it is to find it in the recipe program I use. And I was astounded to find that THIS recipe had never been posted to my blog. My goodness. Can hardly believe it. I’ve done a bunch of salad dressings, but this is one of my favorites.

It does have a bunch of ingredients in this. But as I’ve mentioned before about a couple of my garlic-enhanced salad dressings, the first thing I do is combine the fresh garlic (I always use the fresh stuff from a bulb) and salt in the blender. I whiz it up for about 30 seconds and just let it sit. Then, I leisurely find all the other ingredients needed for the dressing. Once they’re at hand, then I begin adding them to the blender jar. In this case, all the other ingredients (olive oil, canola oil, blue cheese, Parmigiano cheese, salt, pepper, celery seeds, dry mustard, are piled into the jar. Then you whiz it up until it’s thoroughly combined.

Oh, I forgot about the lime juice – from fresh limes, please. I happened to make a double batch, because when I make it, I might as well make a bunch. It keeps for weeks in the refrigerator.

There is no cream in the dressing. I call it “creamy” because once you whiz up the blue cheese, it makes it creamy colored. This is really a vinaigrette type – that’s why I included the photo of the dressing in the blender before I homogenized it. It uses just 2 ounces of blue cheese – so this isn’t like a creamy blue cheese dressing. The blue provides a nice undertone; it’s not the star of the show.

In the photo at right I made it and didn’t whiz up the blue cheese as much as usual, so it has small chunks of blue. I like it that way sometimes, although the recipe indicates to blend it thoroughly. Your choice.

Sometimes after it’s been in the refrigerator for awhile the dressing does separate. But I just shake it well and it’s fine. Because it contains some olive oil, when it’s refrigerated it solidifies, so just take it out of the refrigerator about 10 minutes before you need it and shake it. It should be of a thick pouring consistency.

I’ve been making this dressing for so long I don’t know it’s origin. It really isn’t “mine.” There are no notes on the page in my ancient recipe binder. It’s a family favorite, though, and worth making.
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A year ago: Apple Pear Upside Down Cake
Two years ago: Scott’s Broccoli Salad

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If you read my post yesterday, about steeping chicken, then you already know I made a chicken & greens salad. I had a recipe in my repertoire that I hadn’t tried before, from Michael Chiarello (Food Network), from 2006, according to my notes. His recipe was an arugula salad, with a citrus vinaigrette, with grilled chicken and a toasted spice rub. Well, I didn’t have time to go through all of that. Didn’t feel like doing the grill thing for just two chicken breasts. So I turned to an old stand-by chicken cooking method I haven’t used in a long time – submerging boneless, skinless chicken breasts in hot, just below boiling water and letting it sit. It’s like steeping tea – where tea takes 5 minutes to come to full flavor – chicken takes about 20-30 minutes to cook all the way through.

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According to the post I read about this, from David Lebovitz’ blog, his recipe for a creamy Feta salad dressing originally – in some form – came from the Joy of Cooking. I turned to my battered copy, but couldn’t find any salad dressing recipe there containing Feta cheese. I don’t think that Feta cheese as a salad ingredient came above my food radar until the 1980’s. Perhaps it was used in some ethnic parts of our country, but as a more Americanized salad component, no. So perhaps this recipe is actually more of David Liebovitz’ creation. Well, no matter, except that you need to know this dressing is really, really good. And it’s unusual. It may not look so in the picture above, but it is. The first ingredient by volume is Feta cheese. The second ingredient by volume is WATER. I know, odd, huh? Here’s what’s involved:

This happens to be a Trader Joe’s product. But what  you need to know is that it’s Greek, and made with sheep’s milk. This is my favorite Feta – because it’s not as salty. And I like the consistency. Each of these tubs (10.5 ounces of cheese) contains two rectangles of cheese, floating in brine. It keeps for weeks and weeks. Greek Feta generally is less salty than many other kinds, which I’ve learned over the years of buying it. I used to buy grocery-store type Fetas, and although they tasted okay, they were always too salty for my taste. Then when I found this one, I’ve settled on it. So that’s what I started with. Four ounces of cheese went into a bowl:

I used my handy-dandy pastry fork (it’s much larger than regular forks, although you wouldn’t know it from the photo – that bowl is about 6 inches in diameter) and mashed (crumbled) up the Feta, per David’s recipe. I sprinkled in some dried thyme (you can use fresh thyme or oregano, or half as much of the dried types) which you can see from top to bottom in the middle.

Then I added 2 T. of red wine vinegar (a really good cabernet vinegar I bought at Williams-Sonoma, actually) and mixed that in. The all-white Feta turned a light shade of pink. Then the 2 T. of olive oil was drizzled in. That was mixed up.

Water was added at this point – 5 T. worth, with some salt and pepper. Go easy on the salt, though, since Feta is salty enough in my book. Use the fork to stir it up. And you’re done. This dressing took about 5 minutes to make. So, not only is it tasty, but it’s also quick and easy too. And, the dressing is about 90 calories and 9 grams of fat per serving. I’m not sure, but I think the dressing would probably dress a salad for 8 people, so that would make it even healthier. I used about 3 T. for a salad for two of us. According to David, the dressing will keep in the refrigerator for about 4 days. So keep that in mind. But try it, you should.
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A year ago: Unstuffed Sweet & Sour Cabbage (this was a really delish and easy ground beef and cabbage dish, where the cabbage isn’t stuffed, but has all the components of the traditional version – just easier and just as tasty)

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For years I’ve been trying to find a recipe something like the tomato vinaigrette served at the Soup Plantation. (The dressing isn’t on their website anymore, so perhaps they don’t serve it any longer.) It’s mostly canned tomatoes with a vinaigrette dressing around it. But it’s served as part of their salad dressing options. I’ve searched for recipes in my own copious files (nothing), looked in all my cookbooks for anything similar (nothing) and looked several times on the internet for something similar (nothing). In the deep pan at Soup Plantation it looks almost like plain canned tomatoes, except that the top is shiny with oil – the oil isn’t exactly visible, just shiny, so you know there’s oil there.

I’ve never tried starting out with a can of tomatoes and attempting to concoct a dressing. I know there must be oil and vinegar in it, and sugar. And the tomatoes. Not sun dried. Nor oven charred. Not even fresh, I think, but canned. The tomatoes must be added in at the end because they’re still in small chunks, like right out of the can. It doesn’t have balsamic vinegar in it, either. But that’s all I can determine. Every time I find a tomato based vinaigrette in a magazine or online, I save it.

For this dressing (which isn’t really like Soup Plantation’s, sorry to say) I started with an old recipe I found online, years and years ago. It was credited to a tavern in Annapolis, Maryland. After I got through making it I decided it needed something else, so added some blue cheese to it. Note if you look closely at the picture, you can see some saffron threads floating in it, as well as a few crumbles of the blue cheese.
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Two years ago: Asian (cole) Slaw (a family favorite with grilled meats)

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There’s no question that I like basil. And our basil bush is actually thriving in our early summer weather. Last week I augmented it with some farmer’s market basil. I’d seen this recipe over at Gluten Free Girl’s blog, and knew I’d like it. This dressing resembles pesto, but there’s no garlic, cheese or pine nuts in it. If I make this again I might add some garlic. Just because I like it. It’s made with grapeseed oil, and I’d just read recently about how healthy food scientists are thinking about this neutral-tasting oil. It’s better for us than canola, they think.

The dressing was quick and easy to make (in the blender). It took no more than 5 minutes to do it all, maybe even less. It’s a mild dressing, surprisingly enough. I expected it to have a heavy-duty basil flavor, but it didn’t. If pesto is too strong a flavor for you, this might suit your tastes. I found that it took more dressing than I expected to dress a salad for 4 people. I didn’t use it all, but most of it. Do use it within a day. You know how basil gets after a few days in a dry kind of environment – the leaves begin to break down. Same thing happens in the dressing. So use it soon.
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A year ago: Peanut Butter Cookies
Two year ago: Hash Brown Casserole

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If you leave out the chicken, this could easily be a side dish too.

If you’ve been reading my blog for very long, then you know right off the bat that after reading the title, this must be a recipe from Phillis Carey. She doesn’t want you to miss anything about the dish, and perhaps pass it by, so she tempts you with the major ingredients. To make sure.

And indeed, I might have passed on this recipe (I don’t make couscous very often since there isn’t much of anything healthy about couscous – it’s just tiny pasta). I don’t dislike couscous, but know that’s it’s just a high glycemic carb and has next to no nutrition in it. But after tasting it, well, yup, I’ll be making it. In my book the clincher was the lemony flavor (there’s a LOT in the dressing). Oh, and the dried cranberries were also mighty tasty too. You don’t expect dried cranberries in a couscous salad, but they add a lovely sweet zing to it. The garbanzos add some healthy protein and fiber, and you could probably add more veggies to this if you’d like. Phillis told us that when she makes this and she thoroughly enjoys the leftovers for days after, since it keeps well in the refrigerator. The thing about couscous is that no matter how much dressing you put on it, it’ll absorb more and more. So that’s why you don’t want to add the lemon curry dressing until just before serving. That way some of it will still be moistening the salad and not soaked into the pasta. Yet.
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A year ago: Sarah’s Ginger Scones

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At the Phillis Carey class the other night, she made entree salads. That’s what it was all about. Great for summer, for eating outdoors, for cooking early so you don’t have to heat up the oven or the kitchen. But satisfying salads, nevertheless. Chinese Chicken Salad is a favorite in my book, but other Asian-style noodle salads I might not seek out, usually (too many carbs, for one thing). BUT, this salad was just wonderful. What makes it unusual is the orange-scented dressing. And it’s lemony. And slightly sweet (from honey). If you want more vegetable ratio here, just ramp up the amounts of sugar snaps, red bells, celery, for instance.

The salad dressing was ever so tasty. I might make the dressing for something else, although with sesame oil in it, it wouldn’t go with just any salad. Since I’m a bit on hiatus buying shrimp because of all the health scares about it, I might make this salad, though, with scallops perhaps. Or even chicken.
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This snapshot is just part of a wedge - for the class we didn't get an entire one.

Every time I go to a Phillis Careycooking class I learn something new. That alone keeps me going back to her classes. But heading the list of good things about Phillis’ classes is the taste of the food. She is just a wizard with a spatula, a pounder, a stovetop grill and chicken! As I’ve mentioned here before, she has several cookbooks to her name (I own them all) and she’s working on another one, about entertaining.

Grilling Romaine lettuce isn’t exactly new. I’ve ordered it twice – out at a restaurant – but had never seen it done before. It’s easy. I may make this salad later this week because our daughter Dana positively loves-loves Caesar anything. So do the grandkids. And I thought this dressing was simply fab – and easy. I mean – it’s nothing more than mayonnaise with Caesar-type ingredients added to it. How easy is that? Phillis used capers (she doesn’t like anchovies), which was delicious in this rendition of salad.

The Romaine heads – use smaller ones if you can find them – or remove the outer leaves of a bigger one and use those leaves for something else – are cut in quarters (including the root end – which holds the salad together while it grills. Some of the dressing gets slathered on the two cut halves of the lettuce and it’s put on an grill for just a minute – all you want to do is get some grill marks if you can – on the cut sides, so you grill for just a minute on each of the two cut sides. If you happen to have really small Romaine heads, you can serve each person a half of one, in which case the lettuce might only need a minute on the grill. Any more than that and you might get lettuce mush.

Once off the grill you add some more dressing, then top it with the already grilled chicken, tomatoes, croutons and big wide Parmesan shards, shaved off of a block of good cheese. Simply delicious.
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It was some years ago I was reading some recipes at egullet.com. And I ran across this recipe. Naturally, the title gave me pause. Huh? Well, if you click over to egullet you can read the story yourself. And it was the story behind it that got me to print out the recipe at all. But you don’t have to – here is what it says . . .

Linda was married for many years to an utter and total cad. When they had been married for about 10 years, her MIL [mother-in-law] shared with her The Totally Secret Family Recipe for some da—ed salad dressing with the admonition “this recipe will NEVER go outside the family; do you understand.” Actually, the dressing was quite good (a lot of anchovies and garlic).

Anyway, some years after the sharing of said recipe, the Total and Utter Cad got worse and worse and worse and it was divorce court (he had 9 other women on the leash). Lots of fiscal stuff involved, and actually, the Total and Utter Cad ended up going to jail (fraud), but his parents still blamed her.

The first thing she did was distribute said recipe to every person she had ever met. She said it felt almost better than the day in court.

Linda’s friend wrote up the recipe and published it on egullet. So, it’s all these years later and I’d never gotten around to making this dressing . . . until the other day. I had all the ingredients (well, I didn’t have tarragon vinegar, but I used basil vinegar instead). You do need to use sturdy lettuce for this salad – the dressing is very thick – in the best sense of the word I tell you it’s kind of like sludge in its viscosity. I actually added just a tiny slurp more oil to the blender because I could hardly get it to . . . well, blend. Pour it into a container and let it chill overnight. Do not use it immediately because the flavor won’t develop until the next day. Take the dressing out of the refrigerator at least 20 minutes before you need to use it. It’s kind of hard to know how much dressing to use – I start off with a scoop of it (smaller than I think I need) and toss and toss and toss and add more once I taste it. You kind of have to mash the lettuce around to get the dressing to spread. But it’s worth the effort. We liked it. I haven’t tried it with low-fat cream cheese . . . might be an idea to see whether it made any difference. Anyway, if you try it, think about Linda, who got her revenge!
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For those of you who don’t write your own food blog, you likely don’t realize how difficult it is to photograph some foods. Notorious amongst the toughies: any food, absolutely any food that is brown. It’s blah. Indifferent. No pep or vigor to it. The trick is to get some contrast – light and dark, forward and backward interest. Color, etc. I do think about it when I’m photographing food for the blog. And then there are those times when nothing I do seems to work. Take this time.

We had salad for dinner. And yes, I have some salad dressings in the refrigerator (a store-bought mango dressing that doesn’t seem to go well on greens), and the lemonade one I made last weekend. It’s very good, and we’ve eaten it several times in the last 8 days, but it’s sweet. I wanted something savory. A quick perusal of my recipe binders and I decided on one of The Silver Palate’s staples – their Basic Vinaigrette. I’ve made it innumerable times, and always liked it. It seemed like a good fit for the clean-out-the-produce-drawer salad we had. (We attended our youngest grandson’s baptism today and had an ample lunch afterward, so we weren’t hungry for a full-blown dinner.)

I whipped up the dressing in a bowl – using my favorite O (brand) cabernet vinegar, and good French Maille Dijon mustard. I added salt, pepper, a bit of sugar (actually Splenda), some parsley (Italian) and then I drizzled in some Lucini brand olive oil. Using a whisk, I whipped until the dressing had emulsified. I haven’t looked it up, but emulsified means until it thickens – it’s when the oil and the vinegar come together and become one, like homogenizing milk.

All was going well, and then I decided I needed to photograph it. Yeah, sure. So, I poured it into a plastic bottle and did a couple of side shots of it (photo below). Blah. Brownish dressing, some smeared on the side of the jar. Not very appetizing! I poured it out on the salad, and took a picture of the salad itself. Great shot of a salad, but you would have no idea what the dressing looked like. After dinner I glanced at the empty bowl I used to whisk up the dressing, and snapped a photo of that. Perhaps more interesting than the bottle.
I’ll give you both, however. No matter what you think of the photo, the dressing is just great. Perfect for my mixed greens (watercress, some spring mix, thinly shaved fennel, radishes, celery finely minced, radicchio sliced thinly, and a bit of Greek feta cheese). We had some leftover rib-eye steak which I sliced thinly and lapped that on top of our salad. Okay, so I’m done ranting now about photographing brown food. Tell me you got the picture? Comments are always appreciated!
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