Seaborns comment on the the Coleslaw thread got me to thinking -- do you make your own salad dressing (for any kind of salad) or do you use bottled dressing? And whether you make or buy what kind do you use?
I've made my own salad dressing for years and I joke that the reason DH asked me to marry him was my salad!!!
For everyday just oil and vinegar (2 oil to 1 vinegar)with salt and pepper added. So I never have bottled salad dressing in the fridge.
We also make blue cheese dressing and I will say that they lemon yogurt dressing of Seaborn's sounds interesting not only for coleslaw but as a regular salad dressing!
Last night we had company and had a big spinach salad and I made the hot bacon dressing for it -- was perfect with the smoked lamb and the potatoes and onions!
So -- do you buy or make your own and what kind do you use?
I do not make my own with the exception of cole slaw dressing. But I've been buying Ken's Steak House for some time now, before I ever saw ads on TV for it. We use blue cheese, honey mustard and lovely creamy Italian.
We also really enjoy Ken's brand and have several in the frig and in the pantry. BUT, we don't eat salad at home often so they tend to be used a time or two and then I toss them several months later. Such a waste - need to begin with homemade!
"We are all here.....because we are not all there."
I make all my own salad dressings. It's cheaper and tastes a lot better than the bottled dressings, plus I can control the ingredients and salt content.
I keep extra virgin olive oil, mayo, a variety of vinegars, Dijon mustard, garlic, shallots, honey, lemons, limes and fresh herbs on hand at all times, so I can whip up a fresh dressing in a couple of minutes.
I keep Briannas poppy seed on hand as it is tasty on both fruit and lettuce based salads. I make oil and vinegar dressings as I need them. There's usually some Ken's honey mustard in the back of the refrigerator because my father likes it.
Martha - I wondered if anyone was going to comment on my cole slaw dressing recipe. And my son - who hates mayo-based dressings of any kind - and loves vinegar-based cole slaw dressing - loved this dressing - finally, I told him it had the yogurt in it - and he's Type 2 diabetic - so he liked that it was the fat-free, sugar-free version. I think I found the recipe on some healthy eating internet site - maybe Weight Watchers a long time ago - and have been making versions of it ever since. The key to my dressing is the pineapple juice and tidbits too - it sweetens it some - and the yogurt adds creaminess. Adding more yogurt, of course, would increase the creaminess factor. Otherwise, I do not keep bottled dressings around anymore - I never would use up a whole bottle - with one exception - if I'm making a pasta salad for a crowd - or for a potluck, then I'll use Paul Newman's Italian Vinaegrette bottled dressing - because I will use up the whole bottle at once. I do like his brand of dressings. Otherwise, I go along with the comments that the ingredients of home-made dressings can be controlled according to personal tastes and/or dietary needs - salt especially - but also types of fats...and sugar...
