Salad dressing fatigue

[OldLeftieLawyer]

For far too long, I've done the lazy thing of tossing the greens with olive oil and then vinegar. We got every damn kind of vinegar imaginable, so it's been good.

But, frankly, I now have salad dressing fatigue. It's boring.

So, what are you favorite salad dressings, please?

[SW FL Dem]

1. My latest favs are found in my grocery produce area.

They're made by Naturally Fresh and have no preservatives. My absolute fav is their light Peppercorn Ranch, but their Honey Mustard is also delish. Hubby likes a balsamic vinagrette made by The Silver Palate.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

4. Maybe that's what I should do

Hitting Whore Foods later today - just buy up a bunch and see what we like.

I feel so guilty, though, buying bottled dressings...............

[The empressof all]

2. Sometimes trying something different really helps

We eat salad every day here. I'm guilty of opening the bag and throwing it in a bowl without adding much to just Romaine. So I can relate to the boredom thing. We've eaten vinaigrette pretty much every night for far too long!

I've started to try to add more fruit like chopped apples or pears and nuts to get more crunch factor going.

I've also been trying to return to my roots and adding things like chopped radish and cucumbers.

Now for the dressings: I'm trending right now towards the retro dressings of my youth. Catalina and Green Goddess were on my store shelves this month and I said screw it and bought them both. So far they've been a hit. Normally I don't do bottled dressings but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do and go for it. I've even thought about trying poor-man's french dressing again (mayo and ketchup) as I'm told it was my favorite when I was a small child.

I've also taken a liking to just serving Cucumbers doused with some vinegar and a dollop of sour cream as a salad.


I'm doing a shredded raw beet, jicama, fennel salad for Thanksgiving with an Orange Vinaigrette. The salad has a lovely crunch and a tangy sweetness.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

5. You buy the bagged stuff, too?

I've started doing that - getting all kinds of nice bagged organic lettuces at Whore Foods, very often on sale. I'm spoiled for life. Nice to see that you do it, too.

See, if I let my own worst self go, I'd use nothing but Kraft Thousand Island dressing and a Vidalia onion creamy vinaigrette I get in a two-pack at Costco. I love - more than is healthy - the orange stuff and the red stuff and it kills me, what's in them and how I really don't want us to eat that stuff.

My mother always served cucumbers and onions with sour cream, and nothing else. It was great. I had forgotten that.

That Thanksgiving salad sounds wonderful. But, still, it doesn't grab me.

I might be having salad fatigue. Oh, man.....................

[mike_c]

3. classic caesar-- here's my recipe....

I NEVER get tired of this:

Pound 1 clove garlic to a paste in a mortar with 1/4 tsp salt. Add 1/2 tsp anchovy paste and 1/4 tsp dijon mustard. Pound to mix, then scoop into a small mixing bowl. Add a few drops of Tabasco sauce and Worchestershire sauce. Add one egg yolk, the juice of 1/2 lemon, and a dash of vinegar (I use a raspberry vinegar). Mix, then slowly whisk in 3/4 cup of good extra virgin olive oil until thoroughly emulsified. Makes enough dressing for 3 salads.

Tear one head romaine lettuce into bite sized pieces. Toss with 1/4 cup dressing. Grate on some parmesano reggiano and freshly ground black pepper. Toss again. Add a handful of croutons and toss to coat. Eat. Serves one, generously.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

6. Now, see, that's just beautiful

Caesar salad is a work of art, in my book. Your recipe sounds wonderful, but raspberry vinegar? Doesn't that set the taste a little on the sweet side?

I have a Caesar salad that calls for first tossing the romaine with olive oil, then the whole egg (boiled for one minute), then fresh lemon juice, salt, pepper. Anchovies are throw in, and the croutons are made with tons of chopped garlic and everything is thrown in.

Alas, it no longer arouses me.

I might be suffering from food fatigue.

Perhaps I should just begin a fast?

[mike_c]

7. nah, I use just a dash of vinegar...

...no more than 1/4 tsp, not enough to sweeten the taste-- it just adds an extra note to the lemon juice.

I go through food fatigue occasionally-- weeks when I eat simple, easy meals and have little interest in anything else. Then my taste perks up again.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

8. Ahhh.......

Well, I'm making a run at Omaha Steaks today - I've got these points to cash in - and I think maybe it's time for a steady diet of steak and salad and vegetables. I guess we all get worn out.

This a foodie's version of fasting, I believe.

I'm gonna try that raspberry vinegar touch in the next Caesar salad, though. Sounds very fine. Thanks.

[ernstbass]

9. I've been making my own Asian ginger dressing

with whatever I have on hand - minced fresh ginger, rice vinegar, oil, lime juice and honey is good.

[japple]

10. Newman's Own Balsamic Dressing is very good

and the proceeds go to charity. Actually, Newman's Own has quite a few new types of salad dressings that I'll be tempted to try when I get tired of Balsamic. But since we grow cabbage, I've been making so much cole slaw lately that we haven't been eating green salads. I have a lovely recipe for lime salad dressing that I'll post below. My husband always liked that a lot.

Lime Salad Dressing

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 c. fresh lime juice
1 tsp. grated lime peel
4 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. white pepper
1 minced green onion

Mix well and let sit at least 3 hours. Does not keep more than 2-3 days, but it usually doesn't last that long.

Lately, I've been making a lot of apple salads, too, since the apples are so great. Just chop an apple or two depending on how many you'll be serving, add chopped celery and some toasted pecans. Dress with poppyseed dressing. I used LaMartinique bottled, but homemade would definitely be better. My mother used mayo on her apple salad, and some people add grapes.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

11. Newman's Own

I bought his steak sauce today. $5.29, but all natural, and, as you mentioned, it goes to charity, so it's worth it.

That recipe sounds wonderful! I'm going to try it, but, having fought my way out of Whore Foods today - Thanksgiving travel and hysteria now starts on Tuesday, I notice - I won't be anywhere near a fresh lime for about a week. But, I shall return.

And, thank you very much.

My mother used to make a shredded cabbage salad that was mixed with half mayo and half sour cream.

You folks are reminding me of so many of my mother's recipes. Why is that?

[Stepup2]

12. I have been on a blue cheese

alternating with goat cheese bender as of late.

I have begun to experiment with all sorts of varieties of blue cheese. It has gotten so bad that I have dispensed with any sort of emulsifier and just toss the cheese crumbles into the bowl with the walnuts, pears, and greens (and bacon on those occasions when my better sense retreats on cold days)

Also, I have begun to eat "veggie" salads rather than mixed greens; sometimes raw, but mostly steamed or roasted with garlic, sea salt, and a really good olive oil.

[wryter2000]

13. Killer blue cheese dressing

http://www.recipegoldmine.com/saladvegdr/vegsaldr66.html

[Stepup2]

15. This looks like trouble

You are only feeding my blue cheese hysteria:crazy:

However this is safe in one sense as I suffer from condimentia.

I try to limit myself to the bare necessities, and instead focus on buying only a few stock ingredients necessary to make dressings etc.

I swear I wore out a refrigerator, not to mention created a few alternate life forms, that was loaded with jars of condiments I used once an forgot about.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

17. Condimentia - absolutely brilliant!

I thought it was just me.

[Stepup2]

19. You are not alone

A support group of sorts has sprung up and we welcome new members anytime.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

16. Oh, man,

does that sound wonderful!!!

No way I'm going near a grocery store until next week, but, you better believe Maytag and buttermilk are on my list.

Thank you SO much!

[wryter2000]

20. It's really great

My guess is that the dressing sans blue cheese would make a good base for a green goddess (with chopped, fresh herbs) or other kind of dressing or dipping sauce for crudite (maybe with horseradish). I haven't tried that yet.

[hvn_nbr_2]

14. I've been getting salad fatique frequently lately.

It usually passes after a few days with no salad, or at least no salad with any kind of leaves in it.

I've also been getting some unusual dressings at Trader Joe's (Annie's brand or something like that), Goddess, Shiitake & Sesame, and something with ginger. But to the real foodies here, these unusual-to-me dressings are probably old hat.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

18. Maybe so, but funny you should mention Annie's

Today, at Whore Foods, all of Annie's Dressings were on sale ($1.99 instead of the usual $2.79), so, of course, I bought 10 different kinds.

Welcome, hvn, from someone who would gladly live on cucumber slices and Fritos dipped in Kraft's Thousand Island Dressing, Cheetos, Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia, and diet Coke, if only I wasn't sure I'd die in a week.

And thank you for the idea. I got all these fancy greens - Costco - but your idea, and the notion that someone mentioned - plain vegetable and fruit and nut salads - sounds like a really good idea.

I got some truly kickin' dressings today. Being so cheap, I'd never pay $2.79 for one.

[Warpy]

21. "Desperation dressing"

is what I call the mess my mother used to make instead of using bottled French dressing. I've done it a few times when I've gotten home from work late and been completely out of ambition (or red wine vinegar) and people have raved about it. I kid you not.

Two tablespoons of bottled mayo, one tablespoon of ketchup, two teaspoons of prepared mustard (the brown, grainy stuff, not that yellow glop). Mix them together. You should have something that's the color of bottled Russian dressing. I suppose you could add chopped pickles or capers to this, but honestly, it'd be gilding the lily.

I generally eat my salad with a sprinkling of garlic salt. The only bottled dressings I've ever been able to choke down are Hain's cucumber dill and Newman's ranch. Otherwise, I make my own lemon/garlic/tahini or buttermilk/garlic/herb dressings.

Those bagged salads are great, though. I've been known to watch TV at night with a bag of salad the way other people have a bag of chips.

[Tab]

22. One of the healthiest dressings

is fruit juice. I would often make salads with various items, and toss it with watermelon. The watermelon juice makes for a tasty salad AND a very healthy one (as you know, the unhealthiest part is invariably the dressing).

Another favorite is a store-bought ginger dressing called Mikoto (or Makoto - I don't have the bottle in front of me (only a front labotomy)). Not too much - just a little - but toss well and it does fine.

Even creamy caesar dressings need not been laden on - just put on a little and toss well. Too many people drench their salad in dressings and you not only lose the taste of the salad, but you make it as unhealthy as it can be.

But for taste and health, try using sprouts, fruits, and then watermelon and its juice (not too heavy) for a healthy, tasty salad.

[NMDemDist2]

23. that's a wonderful idea, i sometimes just take cukes and tomatoes and

chop them up and shake really hard in a covered tupperware with salt and pepper. People ask what dressing is that? and there isn't any, just the juices of the two that give it a great taste.

That watermelon idea is great, I bet any juicy type fruit would work well... I'm thinking peaches or oranges and just a spritz of flavored vinegar

I'll try that this weekend! :bounce:

[Delphinus]

24. I went to a retreat over the summer ...

and had a dressing so good (to me) that I can't eat anything else. It's called Nortstar Dressing and here's the recipe:

3 c. Olive Oil
1 c. Vinegar (Wine or Cider-I prefer the wine)
1/3 c. Tamari (soy sauce)
2-3 Tbs. Dry Basil
1/8 tsp. Black Pepper
6 Garlic cloves

In blender, blend Garlic Cloves in Vinegar, Tamari, Basil, and Black Pepper. Slowly add Olive Oil. Mixture will thicken.

Yield 1 quart

[NMDemDist2]

25. here's the one H2S gave me that I love!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=236&topic_id=4823&mesg_id=4846

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
4 anchovy filets
2 green onions, green parts only
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped tarragon
2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
2 tablespoons minced chives

Puree all in ingredients in a blender. Do not puree completely, it should not be a smooth dressing. Even better is to grind the ingredients with a mortar and pestle. Some people nowadaws may want to substitute yogurt for the mayo .... but I wouldn't.