TEMPT MY TUMMY TUESDAY

I have an on again/off again relationship with Tempt My Tummy Tuesday. That is not a bad thing. My wonderful friend Lisa, and her twin sister Lana, host this fun blog in which people share recipes, kitchen tips and ask questions.

I LOVE to participate... I have been very bad, though. I either feel like I don't have anything to share (which is really not true :-p) or I'm busy... which is more accurate. I have been very busy and neglectful of my blog. I'm trying to do better.

That being said, I would like to share a recipe for salad dressing.

A lot of people are intimidated by salad dressing. I never knew this until one day, I had a friend begrudging the fact that she was nearly out of dressing, and was having a dinner party. I whipped some up. She asked me when I learned out to make it... or something like that. I didn't really know... I just knew how to make it.

Salad dressings that you buy in the store are cr@p. Sorry. I'm not saying that taste like it. There are a few that I enjoy. But, for price and quality... you are buying a bottle of cr@p. Homemade is almost ALWAYS better, and salad dressings are no different. If you keep a few key things in mind, you can whip up an easy dressing. Using this recipe as a base, you can create your own dressing that suits your taste.

Easy Salad Dressing:

You need an acid

aromatics

oil

sweetener

salt and pepper

Acid can be vinegar or citrus jucie, my favorite are wine vinegars or balsamic vinegars

aromatics: ANY herbs or spices

Oil: for something that doesn't affect taste, you vegetable oil. For a bit of a flavor, choose an olive oil. (I use Light Olive Oil. Not a lot of flavor, but I prefer it to vegetable oil.)

Sweetener, I generally use honey for this

Salt and pepper (fresh cracked pepper yields a better taste)

First, put your acid in.

Whisk in your seasonings and flavorings. Go ahead and add your sweetener, salt and pepper

Whisk in your oil. (some people measure and do a 2:1 oil to vinegar or 3:1 oil to vinegar. I just start whisking and tasting and stop when I have the flavor that I like.

Here is MY personal favorite.

Honey Mustard Dressing

I start with white wine vinegar.

I add in minced garlic, onion powder, salt, pepper, honey, COARSE GRAIN MUSTARD, a bit of Dijon mustard

I whisk in light olive oil

After whisking this, I pour into a dressing bottle (you can get these at WM in the dressing section where the packets of dressing are sold) and store for about 1 week in the fridge.