Salad Dressing

MSG is their secret ingredient.

MSG makes things delicious.

I love real Green Goddess, with the anchovies and herbs.

It does not contain avocados, rubes.

Dorothy Lynch salad dressing.

Never heard of that before, r4.

What does it taste like?

Has anyone tried the blue cheese dressing from Trader Joe's? You find it in the refrigerated section. I want to try it.

r5, it's totally unique. you can find it at walmart.

Cardini's Caesar dressing It's a heart attack in a bottle, but it is so good.

Marie's Blue Cheese in the refrigerated section.

Incredibly fattening.

Sisters SASS Sesame Garlic. I moved from Austin 20 years ago and I still pack a few bottles when I'm home or have it shipped directly to Chicago.

Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette used to dress roughly chopped fresh tomatoes, red onion and fresh basil. (Add fried okra!)

In the refrigerated section: Litehouse Homestyle Ranch - the full fat version. The low fat version is too sweet. The Homestyle version tastes much better than the Litehouse regular Ranch dressing.

If you have time to make salad dressing, the copycat version of Outback Steakhouse Ranch Dressing is pretty good.

my current favorite is Paul Newman's Parmesan & Roasted Garlic.

you know the only reason we eat salad is because it would look terrible if we just drank salad dressing from the bottle and it's a good way to disguise eating the dressing.

This is good, but it contains sugar, so I no longer buy it.

Great thread.

I have a question about making salads at home. Is there some trick to it? Why do salads I eat out seem so much better than the ones I make at home (even with mostly the same ingrediants)? Anyone have any tricks, tips or ideas on how to make homemade salads that taste really good?

Dorothy Lynch is a tomato-based dressing similar to French dressing. Seems to be a regional thing.

r15, what kind of salads are you making? I find it easy to recreate at home the ones that use nicer lettuces. If you're willing to admit a craving for the standard "Italian salad" made with iceberg, I will share my tips. (But I need you to want it. I can't handle the disapproval I will face otherwise.)

You can't make oil, vinegar, salt and a little garlic yourself???

r17, I need to eat more salads and I just hate the one's I make at home. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Also, has anyone ever tried 55 dressing? It was made by a local restaurant chain that has since gone out of business.

My tip for better salads is to make sure the lettuce is bone dry.

Also toss the salad, don't just pour the dressing on top. Sounds obvious, but a lot of people don't do this.

Add a sprinkle of coarse salt and coarsely ground pepper.

I usually start out with a Cherry Balsamic or standard Balsamic vinegar. The key is you have to put about 1/4 cup or so in. Then I add chopped garlic, a bit of pulverized ginger, some full grain mustard, salt and pepper. Then using a power whisk I stream in probably a quarter cup or so of olive oil. Best dressing I've ever had.

r17 I'm perfectly willing to help you take the hate for sharing your tips make iceberg Italian salads. Because, yes, they are yummy and I don't care who knows I think that.

Costco stocks Feast From the East Sesame Dressing and it's fabulous.....

[quote]you know the only reason we eat salad is because it would look terrible if we just drank salad dressing from the bottle and it's a good way to disguise eating the dressing.

Ah, a kindred spirit! I've often said that it doesn't matter what's in the salad because it's just a delivery system for Ranch dressing.

Another of my favorite dressings is made by Kraft (which will probably have DLers throwing rotten salad ingredients at me). The Classic Herb flavor is very tangy, not too fattening and good for more than salads, e.g., as part of the liquid in meat loaf, brushed on burgers before cooking, or drizzled on mashed potatoes instead of gravy.

OP, Ken's Steakhouse balsmaic basil vinaigrette is even better than their house Italian. Whenever local groceries put the brand on sale, sometimes B1G1Free, I stock up. I might make a better one at home, but who has the time?

It's especially great on pasta salads in the summer with fresh herbs and vegetables

The Brianna brand has some great dressings. The one with the artichoke pictured on the label is my favorite right now. It's a vinigarette dressing.

I like Cheryl's Clam Sauce over some wilted endive.

For r22, and I will try to keep the apologetics to a minimum. This is a recipe to recreate/riff off of the garden salad typically served at family owned Italian restaurants in Kansas City.

Chop up iceberg lettuce, rinse and dry it. (As r20 notes, "bone dry" is crucial.) Put the lettuce in the freezer for 5 minutes. (Restaurant walk-in coolers are typically a lower temperature than your kitchen fridge.) Toss lettuce in Olive Garden brand Italian dressing. (I know! Shut up!) Don't overdress it. Put lettuce on plate, and cover half of it with shredded Provel cheese. (This part pains me because I hate to promote anything out of St. Louis, but that stuff is the perfect cheese for iceberg. Imo's brand is sold in grocery stores around here and apparently also available to order on line.) Add sliced red onion (or shallot, as I prefer) and pepperoncini.

R15, R20 gives very good advice. Your greens need to be dried.

Invest in a salad spinner. I don't like to buy those bags of mixed greens: I like to buy whatever looks best or is in season, which varies. I like Romaine or Boston lettuce, spinach, radicchio, frisee and endive. I usually fill the kitchen sink with cold water, and pull off just as many leaves as I expect to eat in the next day or two, and slosh them around in the cold water, to make sure any dirt or sand sinks to the bottom. Then, they're torn into bit-size pieces and put in the salad spinner, where I spin them until they're as dry as possible, and put the whole spinner in the refrigerator to crisp up.

When I'm ready to make a salad, I start by making the dressing: I have a glass mixing bowl with a handle, and I start with oil (usually olive or walnut) some wine vinegar and a little balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, usually a little dried mustard, or Dijon mustard, and maybe a clove of garlic grated through the Microplane grater. Whisk to combine, and TASTE, and correct the seasoning or proportions if necessary.

Add a couple of handfuls of the greens to the mixing bowl, and toss with the dressing. Then add any other ingredients (I like very thinly sliced onions, grated Parmesan, walnuts or pecans, green and black olives, chunks of blue or Feta cheese, banana pepper rings) and toss again. Your salad should end up being crisp and chilled and flavored with the things you enjoy, which is the best salad of all.

I rarely salt anything, but a bit of sea salt makes salad taste much better. As suggested above, tossing the salad is key; I use a Tupperware-type container and swirl it around vigorously so all the greens get coated by the dressing.

I recently tied Kraft Zesty Lime Vinaigrette and like it, but more as a marinade for vegetables than as a dressing.

As an aside, salad croutons are a crunchy, flavorful snack and contain less fat and calories than potato chips.

What's the best homemade Caesar dressing recipe?

I read somewhere it shouldn't include Dijon if it's made properly.

I can't believe that so many people on DL admit to a love of bottled salad dressing. Next you'll be telling me you don't make your own mayonnaise!!!

[quote] it's made properly[quote]

translation: I want to fight!

Dude, r32, I make more mayonnaise in a short week than most DL'ers can produce in six months

Excellent Caeser dressing recipe, for those unconcerned with propriety:

Put 6 cloves pressed garlic, 1 tblsp Dijon, 1 tblsp white wine vinegar, 2 pinches of salt in a food processor and blend. Add 2 tblsp mayo, blend. Slowly add 1/2 cup olive oil, pausing to blend throughout. Put in bowl, squeeze half a fresh lemon, stir.

R31, I'll include a classic recipe, but have to warn you that the traditional Caesar salad includes raw egg yolks (oh my!) and anchovies. R35's recipe sounds pretty good.

R32, I almost always make my own vinaigrette. But someone pointed out to me that, if the French always add butter to their green cooked vegetables, at least they're still eating vegetables. So I have the same attitude when it comes to bottled salad dressing. If that's what it takes to get someone to eat a salad, it's worth it.

Sorry, forgot the link

I love anchovies, r36 ,and have no problem with raw egg yolks.

Thanks for the link!

Millennial @R34, come sit by me.

I like a vinaigrette coleslaw when I'm dieting.

[quote]it's totally unique. you can find it at walmart.

This should go down as one of the great Datalounge pronouncements.

You can take the sharp bite out of raw garlic by adding it first to the lemon juice and salt and little it sit for about 20 minutes then add the rest. Also they do sell raw shell eggs that have been pasteurized so they are safe to use in the raw state. I think the only company in the US that makes them is Davidson's Safest Choice. I make my mayo with them and my salad dressing and hollandaise sauce. I also love my poached eggs with very runny yolks so if I didn't use safe eggs the odds are I'd get food poisoning from all the undercooked or raw eggs I use.

My dad got salmonella poisoning from sunny side eggs eaten at a good hotel in PA. Believe me, you don't want that. He ended up admitted to the hospital, that was that for what was supposed to be a nice vacation.

BTW, this is what the dressing I referred to in post #21.

You bitches are lazy f***ers if you can't even make a simple salad dressing!

I'm outing myself as another lover of iceberg lettuce. I know it's considered bland and unexciting but I love a very simple salad of crisp iceberg, very thinly sliced red onion and wafer thin slices of cucumber drizzled with a little lemon juice and a sprinkle of coarse salt.

I like other kinds of leaf too but for a quick everyday salad that's my favorite.

I like iceberg too but it has no or very little nutrients. I'm not all that fond of salads in general so if I'm going to eat the damn things I at least want them to be healthy.

bunch of salad tossers!

I've had Ken's blue cheese dressing--delicious in small amounts, it's pretty heavy. Most bottled salad dressings are either too salty or sweet for me.

I like Emeril's balsamic vinaigrette. Easy to make and tasty.

People don't make their own dressing?

Really?

R44 is right. What is wrong with people that they have to buy crappy bottled dressings?

(Oh, I see. The same people who think "French dressing" is orange.)

Bob's Big Boy Bleu Cheese dressing is really great. I love Iceberg, Romaine lettuce with thin-sliced cucumber, chickpeas, very thin-sliced red onion and pickled beets and the above dressing. Marzetti makes a sun-dried tomato vinagrette I love so much I could eat grass clippings with it.

The best is mixing this Ken's Dressing with some blue cheese dressing

Newman's Own Balsamic Vinaigrette is very good, and it makes a great marinade for chicken or beef.

For you flyover gals, Bob Evans signature salad dressing looked so much like a semen spray that I stared at my salad for quite a while before trying it.

Ugh. Bottle Italian dressings have way too much vinegar for me, and some are sweetish too. If I must I get Girards Champagne and add olive oil to cut the tang. It is just as easy to make your own in the bottom of a bowl and add greens as already said. Ranch, I like Hidden Valley Buttermilk in a bottle.

Can anyone offer recommendations for a milder-tasting Thousand Island, either a bottled one or a recipe? So many of the ones that I've used in the past seem to have gotten progressively more tart and vinegary in recent years. Right now I'm using one by Bob's Big Boy, and it's okay, but I'm open to other suggestions. I used to use the one made with yogurt by Litehouse but I can't find it anymore - think they dropped it.

R15, I make a lot of salads. One that is easy and a hit is Earthbound baby romaine leaves, chopped, an avocado or two, a couple of tomatoes, a few chopped green onions, a red pepper, cucumber, roasted pine nuts, and feta cheese. I add salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar and, as others have stated, mix the dressing thoroughly.

I love a good Louie

All you need is a jar with a lid, vinegar, decent olive oil, and a spoonful of dijon mustard. Add a little salt & pepper, and shake. You can go crazy and add minced garlic. No preservatives, no MSG, no problem.

Those who love iceberg lettuce will probably like a simple wedge salad. Slice off bites with a knife and fork.

I swear by Dorothy Lynch Salad Dressing.

I can't get enough of Aunt Martha's Old Fashioned Salad Dressing.

Dorothy Lynch!

Tastes like Aunt Martha had one too many Old Fashioneds... What're you tryin' to do, kill me with that stuff?! Cancel! Cancel!

Ken's and Newman's Own generally are good.So are Maple Grove (from Vermont).

Homemade Greek dressing recipe: 1 cup olive oil, 3/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/3 tsp each: garlic powder, dried oregano, dried basil, 2/3 tsp. black pepper.

R57 - Everybody loves Louis.

Do not buy mixed green salads in a bag. They are sprayed with disinfectant and most of them will taste sour. It's just grotesque.

Salads are wonderful if you don't think about how those greens are grown, harvested, and shipped. I like to wait until they're in-season here. An organic farmer once told me that even organically grown greens, like spinach, are lead contaminated in the east from the coal plants in the midwest.

R68 - Do coal plants have flowers?

Yes, R69, and Drumpf will make them bloom again!

I read about an interesting French lettuce dryer. It's a steel basket with a handle.

You go outside and swing it around in a circle.

Sounded like a lot of work.

Ken's Steakhouse Ranch is fucking delicious. I usually stick to Newman's Own Lite Balsamic Vinaigrette though, it's low in calories and still very flavorful.

This is one of the best Greek dressings I have ever tasted - Gazebo Room full fat.

I've always wanted to grow a Depression garden, but I don't know where to get coal. Does charcoal work?

I guess the French mostly live in private houses. What would I do with that, shake it out of my 19th floor window. I have an Oxo salad spinner that has done me well for many years.

I learned long ago from Ina that if I want to keep my Romaine leaves whole I rinse them well, place them in a good size, clean dish towel, twist both ends tightly so the lettuce stays in the towel and shake the hell out of it. Yes, water droplets go all over the kitchen but hopefully they're clean. If they're not that means I didn't rinse the lettuce well. I then wrap them in a couple of pieces of paper towel and place inside a zipper bag , suck all the air out and leave them that way. They will be just dry enough when I use them later in the day or the next. They keep about 10 days that way. The slightly damp paper towels keep them fresh and crisp. Oh and I keep them in the crisper. Lettuce freezes easily in parts of my fridge as does any mostly water produce and once it's frozen, it's ruined.

I'm currently addicted to Ken's Greek salad dressing.

I have never had a bad Ken's experience. Before Greek, I was addicted to the Creamy Wisconsin Bleu Cheese and before that the Country French. The Sweet Vidalia Onion is also good.

The Lite Apple Cider Vinaigrette is also delicious.

Never tried the Italian, Ranch, 1000 Island or Honey Mustard though.

For home made dressing add a tetch of mustard powder. Not for the mustard taste but because mustard is an emulsifier, it makes oil and vinegar combine better. Shake it well when you first make it, and of course shake it again when you use it.

This is a regional favorite. Also known as "Kumback Dressing."

Lemon, oil,garlic powder,and lots of Larry's seasoning powder.Best dressing in the world.

Kerry Wood Tuscany is my personal fave. You can find it most of the time at Stop n Shop and selected gourmet grocery stores throughout Connecticut, although I also found it on vacation in Rhode Island last summer, so perhaps she's taken it nationwide.

Garlic powder? Ewww

The only salad dressing needed is good olive oil. A few drops of vinegar or lemon if you must. Salt. A few grindings of black pepper. And that's it.

I like drowning my salad in that orange French stuff.

A little K-Y and some ketchup. A salad dressing for any gay gathering.

Ketchup and mayo mixed together in a pinch to make a half ass Russian dressing. I mostly use it on Reuben sandwiches but if I have nothing else on a salad. Some people put in sweet relish. I don't like it that sweet or crunchy.

This wedge salad recipe is amazing and super easy.

Personally, I like Dorothy Lynch Salad Dressing.

I'd always avoided yogurt based salad dressing until last year. Now I'm IN LOVE with Bolthouse Farms cilantro/avocado, and blue cheese dressing. On vegetables as well as salad. For oil & vinegar and non-creamy dressings, I'm Paul Newman all the way.

Any good low-cal salad dressings out there worth eating?

See R88, R89.

Iceberg lettuce: polyester of the lettuce world

Another vote for Kerry Wood - here's the label.

Organic iceberg is a revelation, R91. Don't knock it until you've tried it.

r93, I agree., although I don't buy it very often. Back when I entertained more, I'd usually do a buffet, and one of the dishes would be something like shrimp and pasta salad, and I'd always serve that on a chiffonade of iceberg lettuce. Every now and then, I get a craving for a wedge salad and, of course, iceberg lettuce is the whole point. I also prefer iceberg lettuce on BLT sandwiches (which I always make without the tomato).

I grew up with this stuff and never stopped using it. It's the greatest beef marinade too. Good Season. Where you buy the bottle and packets and you make your own.

Brianna's Asiago Caesar!!

I use it when I make chicken salad.

I ONLY eat Dorothy Lynch salad dressing.

Thank God for Dorthy Lynch salad dressing!

R94 god bless you for using the word 'chiffonade', I haven't heard that in years and you brought back memories of a favorite aunt and her Sunday brunch "cold collation".

read the label of most salad dressings. the top ingredient is HFC. your eating sugar with a tiny amount of spices. i make my own with balsamic vinegar and a touch of olive oil and lots of spices. tasty, and way more healthy than bottled store bought.

This thread should be combined with the 'My 600 lb. Life' thread. I bet those people drench their salads...oh wait, they don't eat salads.

I haven't made it yet, but this lemon anchovy vinaigrette dressing looks delicious.

i don't think the specific combo of lemons and anchovies sound good at all.

R28 a bit off topic but I love Garozzo's. The one downtown, not the Lee's Summit one.

Ken's is good. I really miss. Wolferman's thousand island dressing. You can't buy it anymore. Wolferman's had several tea rooms here. Best known for their English muffins which you can still get by mail order.

R105 Wolferman's was here in Kansas City.

r102 Why would you post something you hadn't made? What does "looks delicious" have to do with tasting good? You realize that your opinion (and your post) was absolutely worthless right? I mean *you* don't even know what it tastes like, so why bother to post the recipe.

Or where you hoping that someone on DL would make it and report back, saving you the trouble of "trying it"?

Either way you're a sad excuse for a human being

Isn't Bolthouse Farms homophobic?

R107 You really are quite the idiot aren't you?

What on earth is so strange about pointing to a recipe that on paper "looks delicious" ? If you're familiar with the ingredients...lemon, olive oil, anchiovies etc.....it's not hard to imagine what it will taste like.

I like Marie's Caesar dressing.

Aunt Martha's Old Fashioned Salad Dressing

I'm really into Brianna's Poppyseed dressing.

Trader Joe's onion bacon vinagerette on spinach..smoky goodness

Lemons and anchovies are what makes a Caesar salad great.

I used Good Seasons for years before I realized how sweet it was. Unbelievable in an Italian dressing.

Don't laugh, but Wishbone Bleu Cheese is DEE-licious! Much better than the more expensive Marie's or those other fancy pants refrigerated Bleu Cheese dressings! Trust me on this one.

Has anyone ever been to a Ken's Steakhouse?

Ken's Steakhouse Salad Dressing DIPHTHERIA!!! Ken's Steakhouse Salad Dressing DIPHTHERIA!!! Ken's Steakhouse Salad Dressing DIPHTHERIA!!! Ken's Steakhouse Salad Dressing DIPHTHERIA!!! Ken's Steakhouse Salad Dressing DIPHTHERIA!!! Ken's Steakhouse Salad Dressing DIPHTHERIA!!! Ken's Steakhouse Salad Dressing DIPHTHERIA!!!

Garbage brand that Kens for folks who don't know any better.

Flyover fag thread.

Ugh someone said yummy...

Dorthy Lynch salad dressing I'm telling you!

Marie's Brianna's

Excellent quality store brands. Haven't been disappointed yet.

marie's is delicious.

Garlic Expressions is delicious

[quote]MSG makes things delicious.

It actually stands for Makes Things Great.

I’ve read rave reviews of La Martinique French Vinaigrette. I believe it has no sugar, but the calories are pretty high.

I’ve also read good reviews of their Bleu Cheese Vinaigrette.

Makes Stuff Great. I ruined my own joke.

Ken's is the best. I always use their 1000 Island on my shrimp louis.

Girard’s Light Champagne dressing is amazing.

Two tablespoons - only 60 calories.

Fantastic on butter lettuce. I didn’t have much hope, since it’s light, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I tried Drew’s Italian based on reviews I’d read.

It was bland and disappointing.

Ken’s Lite Apple Cider Vinaigrette was horrible!

I was expecting a great vinegar tang, but it tasted exactly like creamy apple juice. Vile.

Tessamae’s line of refrigerated dressings used to be wonderful and worth the price. But they dropped the olive oil and replaced it with sunflower oil.

Now they’re terrible.

I have yet to find a bottled lemon dressing that isn’t sweet, since Tessamae changed their line.

I read very good reviews of the Lemonette line of dressings. I’ll have to have them shipped to me, but I’m willing to try them out.

Most bottled dressings have either high fructose corn syrup and/or cheap oils.

Most America dressings are too sweet. And herbs in a bottle can't compete with fresh herbs.

You don't even need fresh herbs though. It's so easy to make a great dressing from scratch.

Just a great olive oil and vinegar (3:1 ratio) -- and salt/pepper -- is better than almost all bottled dressings.

I've never understood covering a healthy salad in oils and fats. I prefer just a nice balsamic or red-wine vinegar, or fresh lemon juice.

Someone upthread raved about Bolthouse Farms Cilantro Avocado Yogurt dressing, so I bought it.

2 tablespoons are 40 calories. It was good, but left a strange aftertaste. Next time I added Tabasco’s Green Sauce to the salad as well, and it was much better.

Do you find yourself dressing after you toss the salad? Asking for a friend.

Most Louisiana dishes come either from New Orleans or Cajun country, but Sensation Salad is actually from Baton Rouge.

The dressing is easy to make and has both red wine and rice vinegar, as well as canola oil with the olive oil. Tons of garlic and Romano. It was invented to top iceberg, but a lot of people use it on romaine.

[quote] Invest in a salad spinner.

This is the key to a great salad

Great link, r138!

I’m intrigued.

[quote]Tessamae’s line of refrigerated dressings used to be wonderful and worth the price. But they dropped the olive oil and replaced it with sunflower oil.

Her ranch dressing isn't good. It's not even like regular ranch dressing. It's some weird, very peppery (black pepper flavoured) viniagrette dressing

Trader Joe’s has a dressing called “Green Goddess” that is nothing at all like real green goddess dressing.

This one has avocados in it and is pleasantly very strong on the herbs and onion. It’s only 20 calories for 2 tablespoons.

Unfortunately, I had to stop buying it. It tasted so good on goat cheese that I ate an entire (big) log of goat cheese in two days - I never even tried the dressing on lettuce.

I brought the ingredients to make homemade Caesar dressing, then there was the romaine lettuce recall.

HOMEMADE and the way.

What is the best bottled ranch dressing. Something for fries and veggies.

The lettuce industry really fucked is on that one.

Don’t they know that Pines season is almost upon us??

Sloppy industry assholes. I have weight to lose and they befouled my romaine!

Marie’s in the refrigerated section gets high marks, veggie troll r144.

I think Marzetti makes a well-regarded ranch as well (also refrigerated).

This is anecdotal information though, as I avoid ranch.

Yeah, I am veggie and fry troll. I use marie's too.

Americans like big complicated salads as a meal. Accordingly they like big complicated salad dressings you can't make at home easily. Vinaigrette is too dull.

Here's an authentic Thousand Island dressing recipe. Note that it does not contain tomato anything. To one cup mayonnaise, add 1 Tbsp grated onion, 2 Tbsp minced red bell pepper, 1 chopped hard-boiled egg, 3 Tbsp minced sweet pickles or pickle relish, 1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 1/2 tsp vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, and a pinch of cloves. Mix everything well.

For best results, let sit for a few hours, then taste it and adjust sweet, salt, sour to your preference. You might want to thin it with a couple spoonsful of water.

Cloves!?

I'm sorry r148, but that sounds vile.

Sounds good to me, r148.

It's a pinch R149, not a clove cigarette. And it is an authentic recipe. Leave out the cloves if you don't like it.

Hard boiled eggs and raw onion, r148? That sounds unreasonably shiteous. No need to bother with the cloves with something that starts life out so hobbled.

I swear by Dorothy Lynch Salad Dressing.

I usually make my own salad dressings. But Kraft's Sun Dried Tomato is my go-to bottled dressing. It is just wonderful.

You should try Dorothy Lynch Salad Dressing.

I had high hopes for Brianna’s Lively Lemon Tarragon, which is very difficult to find by me.

I finally tracked down a bottle, and it was sweet and awful!

Not recommended.

I did not know why manufacturers insist on putting honey and large amount of sugar in their lemon dressings.

I haven’t bought Wishbone dressings in fifteen years, but their new packing on the “EVOO” line got me to buy their Lemon Herb dressing.

It was so fucking SWEET! Horrible.

It was my own fault for not checking the ingredients, but in tiny type under the large LEMON HERB font it says “with the natural flavors of honey” on the front.

Fuck you, Wishbone. Fuck. You.

*I do not know

The question for all is: Does it make your veggies yummy?

[quote]I've never understood covering a healthy salad in oils and fats. I prefer just a nice balsamic or red-wine vinegar, or fresh lemon juice.

Are you CRAZY? Extra virgin olive oil is both delicious and healthy.

Actually, if you blend an amusing assortment of veg in the first place, with maybe some crumbled blue cheese and walnuts, you don't need anything more than balsamic vinegar and olive oil with a touch of mustard.

And you might want to consider not adding salt to your salad (or to anything). Salt is bad for the heart.

[quote]And you might want to consider not adding salt to your salad (or to anything). Salt is bad for the heart.

Who gives a fuck? It makes food delicious.

That said, American over-salt all their food.

I've seen many people add salt to a meal without even tasting it.

Fish sticks with bottled French dressing is my favorite salad. I put the fish sticks on a bed of lettuce.

That Dorothy Lynch shit sounds vile.

Here are the ingredients:

Tomato Soup (Water, Tomato Paste, Modified Cornstarch, Distilled White Vinegar, Salt, Rice Flour, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid, Onion Powder), Sugar, Soybean Oil, Vinegar, Salt, Spices, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate, Natural Flavoring.

Natural flavoring could mean, literally, shit.

[quote]Fish sticks with bottled French dressing is my favorite salad. I put the fish sticks on a bed of lettuce.

What a hostess!

Why would anyone piss their money away on bottled dressing?

[quote] . I don't like to buy those bags of mixed greens

Ugh. Those things either taste sour or taste like Lysol.

I admit to buying bagged butter lettuce.

Sometimes I just don’t have the energy or willpower.

R15 - the weird thing about salad is that it ALWAYS tastes better when someone else makes it. Can't explain it - but it's true.

DL's please stay away from any bottled dressing with sugar - not good for your waste line. Sugar is the devil.

Favorite dressing (that everyone seems to love) is 2/3 cup olive oil 1/3 cup red wine vinegar (or fresh lemon juice or white wine vinegar) 1/2 clove finely minced garlic kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste You can also toss in grated parm is you have it and want a change. Refrigerate the leftovers.

David Lebovitz has the recipe for a perfect vinaigrette.

[quote] I've seen many people add salt to a meal without even tasting it.

Things my mother salted, and she salted heavily:

Chinese food (after putting soy sauce on it)

Pizza (from the pizza place, not frozen. We’re in NY and pizza is freshly made)

Spaghetti. First she salted the pasta while it was boiling. Then she salted the sauce while cooking it. Then she put the sauce on the pasta, grabbed the salt shaker and festooned the sauce with a gray layer of NaCl

She searched high and low for an acceptable salt shaker and in the 1970s, she found it at a Tupperware party. The rubbery plastic top of the salt shaker was amenable to the use of a fork to make the holes larger. Now she could literally stream mass quantities of salt onto her food without the need to shake it.

This was one of her more benign habits. Yes, she was a fucking rigid mental case.

R160 If your olive oil is REALLY olive oil, most of the ones sold in stores are adulterated. In addition, there is limited evidence of the health benefits of olive oil. Personally, I just do not like my salad to feel oily, I love the texture of raw vegetables in my mouth, and dressing gets in the way of that. Plus, I just do not care for the taste of olive oil or dressings.

I agree with R161. Clearly R162 is an idiot - too much sodium is a health concern. The AHA association has dropped the preferred recommendation for sodium to 1500 mg a day. What that means is if the nutrition label says 40% of daily allowance of sodium multiple that by 1.5 to meet new preferred recommendation. That means a single serving of the salad dressing which started this thread is roughly 30% of the daily allowance.

I think one of the reasons why people have trouble replicating a standard restaurant salad at home is they can't bring themselves to add the amount of fat and sodium to the salad.

I haven't found a bottled dressing whose secret ingredient isn't salt. So I make my own. Like many have mentioned I use olive oil and vinegar to provide flavor. Usually balsamic or red wine vinegar. Sometime I will use sesame oil instead of olive oil. Assorted fresh greens and vegetables. I also really like red onions. I slice or chop everything so there is lots of surface area compared to volume. That way your salad picks up more of the dressing with each bite.

I also like to add tofu cubes marinated in oregano and apple cider vinegar. If you want to make a creamy dressing silken tofu makes a good base.

It is easy and a common occurrence to turn what should be a healthy meal into one that isn't. Classic restaurant example - Cesar salad with grilled chicken.

[quote]DL's please stay away from any bottled dressing with sugar - not good for your waste line.

I try to position myself at the end of a waste line.

How do we feel about the Walden line of fat-free, "calorie-free" dressings?

[quote]If your olive oil is REALLY olive oil, most of the ones sold in stores are adulterated.

Here is the trick: NEVER buy Italian. It is rubbish. (Unless it is made by a small olive grove you can verify.) Otherwise, Italian olive oil has very little olive oil -- and most of that is rancid oil shipped in from Spain.

Buy certified organic from California or Australia. From the tests I've seen, they tend to be the most reliably 100% EV olive oil.

[quote]How do we feel about the Walden line of fat-free, "calorie-free" dressings?

What's the fucking point?

Does anyone else remember "Richard Simmons Salad Spray"?

A spray bottle of dressing, 1 calorie per squirt.

R13, you hit on my dirty little secret. I make my own dressings but I could eat them straight I love dressing so much, my own or many of the bottled kind. The salad I eat with it is only there to keep me from feeling horrible about myself. Now I'm afraid to eat romaine so I'm missing the crisp and use cabbage instead with a less crisp lettuce, not iceberg though. Iceberg won't clear my conscience. It's not as good. Maybe I just need to add more dressing, lol!

I tried the Walden Farms Calorie Free Italian, r175.

It tasted exactly like Wishbone’s fat free Italian - not that great and with a lot of emulsifiers.

That said, I could see using it as a sort of base to moisten lettuce and allow you to add a smaller than normal portion of a fatty dressing you really like.

If I’m dieting, I prefer to use champagne vinegar on my salad first and then a tablespoon or 2 of good dressing.

I add more than a little champagne vinegar, because I figure a lot of the dressing then slides off the lettuce to the bottom of the bowl, so you get fewer calories.

Tastes ok.

- r180

This is the best olive oil I've ever had, I could drink it straight from the bottle.

The OPA line of refrigerated Greek yogurt dressings has a Feta Dill that is really good. Lite house makes it.

They used to have a Kalamata Feta yogurt dressing that was even better, but I think it’s discontinued.

That’s a tasty brand, r182.

They have COOC (California Olive Oil Council) certification, and I only buy olive oil with that designation now, since they rigorously test all certified olive oils on their list each year.

I’ve gotten burned too many times with Italian olive oil to even fuck with it anymore.

Thanks for the recommendation R182. I have a hard time finding olive oil that doesn't taste like garbage. Goya used to be a decent brand, but the last couple bottles I got tasted acrid. I think Costco sells the brand in your link.

R172 Then go eat your raw vegetables elsewhere, Clarissa. Don't come to a thread marked "salad dressing" and urinate all over it with your considered mewlings.

[quote]I also like to add tofu cubes

Well, that leaves you out of the discussion.

I liked Trader Joe’s Cilantro & Chive yogurt dip - it could be used as a dressing — but my local TJ’s dropped it. (this was before the recall for listeria).

I rarely go there anymore because they discontinue everything I like. Fuck you, Trader Joe’s.

R188 - Why?

Because, r190, tofewww.

Bitches Kens Balsmic and Wegmans house brand Creamy Italian are perfectly good for everyday use.

If I'm hosting the Governor or throwing a huge party for judgmental colleagues, I will cook something up in a bowl and then replenish it with dressings everyone likes

I love the Brianna brand, as well, and often marinate a london broil in the raspberry viniagrette.

Here are my secrets for a great salad:

Start with a great salad mix and try to combine 2 or more greens. I love mesclun mixes combined with spinach. Organic is best because they spray the conventional brands with pesticide right before shipping.

Wash the salad greens in cold water, spin, drain the spinner out, spin again. Allow to drain on a clean cloth towel.

Any fixings can be prepped ahead of time, but if you want chopped veggies, eliminate all seeds. Tomato seeds can be sour, so make sure to cut them out. Add everything into the bowl in layers, alternating the greens, fixings, salt and pepper (lightly), and dressing (lightly). Sometimes I'll skip the dressing so that guests can choose from several types when it's finally served.

My favorite, homemade dressing is a greek type that a wonderful restaurant owner gave me when I raved about it. 1 cup olive oil (CA organic really is the best), 3/4 cup of red wine vinegar, 1/3 tsp garlic powder, 1/3 tsp dried oregano, 1/3 tsp dried basil, 2/3 tsp black pepper

Sometimes I'll add a good dijon and some mayonnaise for a creamy style of the same dressing. Enjoy!

I've spent 25 years messing around with dressings and marinades, and most bottled stuff is way [bold]too much[/bold]. Too much salt. Too much herb. Too much sweet (anything refrigerated/sold in Ball jars is like syrup...grotesque.) Just too damned much, of anything, of everything.

I know this is sacrilege, but...the best way to dress a salad now is some decent olive oil, a few grains of kosher salt, a couple twists of black peppercorns,...and distilled white vinegar. It tastes fresh, and bright, and springy. Three decades of chef decrees about the beauty of balsamic and the baseness of white vinegar made everyone forget to use it.

Your heart and belly will just sing with joy at how clean and fresh that tastes.

Buying store bought salad dressing is a culinary sin far worse than draining pasta.

It is seriously one of the easiest things in the world to make yourself, and tastes infinitely better than the jars of liquid salt they sell in stores.

Jesus Fucking Christ. I'm so embarrassed for so many of you.

FYI: the French find it absolutely hilarious that we call that orange goop "French dressing." No French person would have anything like that in their home.

Use Apple Cider Vinegar with The Mother.

Who's still brave enough to eat salads these days?

Here's a simple orange vinaigerette. 2TBLS. orange juice...2TBLS olive oil....1TBLS apple cider vinegar...1 tsp grated orange rind.....1tsp. honey(opt.).....whisk all together.

One of my favorite salad dressings: it's a facsimile of Benihana's salad dressing, with ginger, soy sauce, and lots of onion. When I was young, I worked at a 'Japanese steakhouse' that serve a similar dressing. I used to eat leftover rice with it for lunch.

I'm R198, I forgot to add that you can very easily increase the recipe. Refrigerate any leftover but bring to room temp and whisk before using because the olive oil solidifies a little and rises to the top.

Kraft? Ken's? My god, you're all street trash!

R182, that's a great choice. The California Olive Ranch is the only brand I trust to be real EVOO. The Kirkland Organic one was tested to be real but it tastes horrible raw. I use it for cooking though since it's so much cheaper. Have you tried the COR Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil? It's my favorite. I never use it to cook or saute, only right out of the bottle. It's a little more expensive than the Everyday but so worth it. I don't use much so I figure it's a double win, taste wonderful and I get less calories. Even the best oil still has the same calories as the worst oil or butter. t

R53 Tom Cruise might like that.

I recently tried the Marie's dressings that come in smaller, squatter jars than the original one did. Two kinds: Parmesan Ranch and Asiago Peppercorn. Neither one of them had any flavor at all -- just bland and creamy. Granted, my aging taste buds aren't what they used to be, but these were blah.

A good Italian style dressing can be made easily at home with a metal bowl, a whisk and the following ingredients:

1. A good balsamic vinegar 2. Chopped garlic - a tablespoon or more if you like. 3. Mashed ginger - judicious use 4. Whole grain dijon -a tablespoon 5. Dice red onion Two or three rings of the onion. 6. A splash of water 7. Olive oil

Combine ingredients 1 through 6 with whisk. Then continue whisking while streaming in olive oil.

Another I do is Russian Dressing. It's really simple. In fact someone in the house won't buy bottled Russian anymore. I have to make it.

R194, that's not sacrilege at all. I use White Vinegar quite a bit in salad dressings and love it. A little goes a long way. It's also a good base for making flavored, herbed vinegars.

Dorothy Lynch 🥗 dressing for me.

I think Cardini’s Caesar is bland AF, even though it’s always on those taste test lists.

Is there even anchovy in it?

Olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon own this thread.

Serious Eats did a bottled Caesar taste test.

Marzetti’s Creamy Caesar in the refrigerated section had the strongest anchovy flavor, and they ranked it #2.

Haven’t tried it yet.

r208 Apparently the original Caesar recipe (from Tijuana, of all places) didn't actually have any anchovy.

Yeah, but I’ve got to have it, r211.

That sounds really good, r205.

Wouldn’t have thought of using whole grain mustard.

The "I churn my own butter" gay frauen are out in force on this thread.

R214 needs a little less sneer and a bit more honey in his creamy dijon.

Yes, R214. It's every bit as difficult to dress a salad as it is to churn butter.

You don't need a churn r214, just a food processer!

You don't even need that, R217, you just have to keep shaking the jar. Just like mixing salad dressing.

It's a lot easier in the Cuisinart, r218.

You have to be vigilant about potential churn tampering, or you'll never be selected as Butter Queen!

Aunt Vagina’s Old Fashioned Anal Salad dressing.

R182: Yes! I buy that brand at Sprouts. It is great. And has a very robust olive flavor.

Make your own ranch dressing.

RRRAAAAAAANCH!

You need to eat DOROTHY LYNCH SALAD DRESSING. It's good!

The best salad for the day is Romaine lettuce, raw sprouts and ranch dressing that’s been sitting outside in the sun for a few weeks!

Let's give a special shout-out to Thousand Islands dressing -- truly, the most vile salad dressing ever.

Only an American would think mixing mayo, ketchup and pickles would be edible on a salad.

I just read a "cozy mystery" wherein the main part of the plot had to do with the recipe for the original Thousand Island dressing.

I had no idea there was an 'original' recipe for Thousand Island. How on earth could you improve on perfection?

Green Goddess dressing is da bomb.

This is the "original" Thousand Island dressing recipe I alluded to above. Supposedly dates back to 1907.

Makes about 16 servings.

1 c. mayonnaise

½ c. ketchup

2 T. Worcestershire sauce

2 T. lemon juice

¼ c. sweet pickle relish

1 hard-boiled egg, chopped fine

Mix all ingredients except egg in a bowl, using a fork or whisk. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving (overnight is better). Just before serving, mix in chopped egg.