Do you make your own dressing for your salads?
By ahgong
@ahgong (10064)
Singapore
October 9, 2008 2:31am CST
When I went on a tour in Europe, I had a whale of a time eating the salads there.
It seems that it is a norm to have a soup as a starter. Then followed by a salad and then the main course before desert.
Every meal we have, it would be accompanied by a bowl of salad. Never in my life have I eated so much raw vegetables!
And yes, it is very nice! My wife and I loved it a lot.
In fact, most of the salads served uses a in-house home made sauce.
And we liked it a lot!
Then I chanced upon this wonderful way of making your own vinegratte!
I am going to share it with my wife and maybe we would try it out this weekend to see how it tastes like.
[b]
Balsamic Vinaigrette
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
Combine the olive oil, vinegar, thyme, salt, pepper, and basil in a screw-top jar. Cover and shake.
Enjoy up to 2 tablespoons of salad dressing with a meal.
Variations: The basic ratio for any vinaigrette is 1 part vinegar to 3 or 4 parts oil.
Instead of balsamic vinegar, you can use any other type of vinegar (such as red wine or cider), or substitute it with lemon juice for some of the vinegar. Shallots and fresh herbs make nice additions, as does mustard. To ensure proper mixing of the ingredients, either shake well or mix with a wire whisk. [/b]
How bout you guys? Do you make your own salad dressing?
How do you usually serve your salads?
2 people like this
10 responses
@kun2349 (23381)
• Singapore
9 Oct 08
I dun really eat vegetables, and thus if possible, i dun eat salads.. lol =D But recently, i have grown to love salads after i have tried KFC's coleslaw for the 1st time in my life.. lol =D ANd i immediately fall in love with salads.. For my salads, i will usually have lettuce and cabbage, also fruits and carrots, but dressing, i will only have thousand island or mayonise, plus abit of wasabi.. lol =D
I will never make my own salad dressing as it's far too troublesome, plus, i dun like the smell of vingeratte though i have learnt how to prepare honey vingeratte in the past.. hehe
1 person likes this
@peavey (16936)
• United States
9 Oct 08
I usually buy salad dressing, but I have made it and enjoyed it. Ranch dressing is made with sour cream or plain yogurt and mayonnaise, then flavored with spices. The oil and vinegar is probably the easiest to make. You can use any kind of vinegar and any kind of vegetable oil as long as you keep the ratio the same. I've made it with caraway and garlic and that's good.
We usually have the salad on a dinner plate along with the rest of the meal.
1 person likes this
@peavey (16936)
• United States
10 Oct 08
You can make up homemade dressing and keep it on hand. Maybe make some on your days off. What I do when I'm short on time or tired is just have fresh vegetables with dressing for a dip. Carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers and so on, can be cut up ahead of time and served without any other fuss.
1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
10 Oct 08
Oh... sour cream and yoghurt and mayonnaise? That is one rich sauce!
And sounds very yummy too!
Hmm... maybe I should try that instead of eating Thousand Island all the time.
We are still trying to make it a habit to eat more salads. Being busy at work all day, preparing a meal seems to be the last thing we want to do when we get home. And the store bought ones are so expensive, we rather go for the regular meals instead.
Heh heh... :p
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
14 Oct 08
Nope I don't make my own. I don't keep many of the ingredients on hand and I don't buy things I don't think I'd use very often.
But I do buy mine from the store like most do.
1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
14 Oct 08
Yeah... I know what you mean. It is especially cumbersome if you are buying ingredients to make dressing for a portion for two people.
But some flavor just cannot be bought ready mixed off the shelves. Those are the ones you have to make if you are having a craving. 
@landaloo (57)
• United States
9 Oct 08
I love making my own salad dressing. That way I can always have a different flavor on my salad. I used still buy store brand for others in my family. They are more comfortable with having things taste the same way all the time. But I like for things to be different all the time. Your recipe sounds very good. And I will try it. But usually I take a vinegar and an oil and season with different spices and if I find it to tart I will add a little honey or brown sugar.
1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
10 Oct 08
Yeah... that sounds really really nice!
I have always seen lots of bottles of oil being displayed on the restaurants. But never really got to try them out. Neither did I imagine they were edible.
That is why I find it so refreshing to be eating salad with some simple oil dressing that taste so much better than the regular Thousand Island.
You have a herb garden?!? Wow... where I live, it is near impossible to grow anything that does not come in a pot.
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
10 Oct 08
Dang! Posted too fast. This reply was meant for the post below this.
Sorry. My bad.
Well, here is the response to your post! 
Hmm... adding honey or brown sugar eh? That is something I never thought of before.
I will try it the next time I find a dressing too tart.
I rarely make my own dressings. Most of the time it is store bought.
The only time I would make my own dressing is during the Chinese New Year where we have this raw fish salad that requires it cos it cannot be bought off the shelves.
Heh heh... thanks for the tips. I will keep it in mind the next time I make a dressing.
Hmm... adding honey or brown sugar eh? That is something I never thought of before.
I will try it the next time I find a dressing too tart.
I rarely make my own dressings. Most of the time it is store bought.
The only time I would make my own dressing is during the Chinese New Year where we have this raw fish salad that requires it cos it cannot be bought off the shelves.
Heh heh... thanks for the tips. I will keep it in mind the next time I make a dressing. @babyjesus (277)
•
10 Oct 08
Thanks for sharing that recipe of that salad dressing. I appreciated it more when you shared options since balsamic is quite expensive. I will try it myself since we also love eating greens. I do mix sometimes my own caesar dressing. I will share it next time since i have to look into my files.
1 person likes this
@cocooreo (705)
• Malaysia
15 Oct 08
I do not make my own salad dressing. I have no knowledge on that nor talent. In my country there's is simply too little ingredient for self-made salad dressing, if have also would be expensive at the rack. Usually, I would just buy a ready-made mayonnaise as my salad dressing. Salad is a good idea when I am so lazy to cook for the day.
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
15 Oct 08
Even with Mayo, you can make wonderful dressings.
Take some pepper, salt to taste, seseame (preferable roasted) and some honey.
Mix them well in a bowl before tossing in the vegetables to make your salade.
Or for a fruitier taste, some orange and lemon zest. Add some juice if you like. But not too much as the acid in the orange or lemon juices will then to make the mayo water. Some brown sugar. Salt and pepper to taste.
Mix it all up and then serve with the vegetables as a dip or a dressing.
These are but a few off the top of my head. I am sure there are more dressing that you can spawn off Mayo.
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
10 Oct 08
i don't actually... i prefer to buy it from the store... it is much more convenient, saves my time and i believe it will taste better as well... i don't have the time to make my own dressing anyway... so buying it will be the easiest way to do it... take care and have a nice day...
1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
13 Oct 08
Cannot deny that some store bought dressing is very tasty.
But some dishes just cannot use store bought dressing. It requires that... erm... how do you put it rite? It requires that certain oomph from some ingredients that is individual to the dish.
And because it is not a popular or common dish, certain dressings HAVE to be made at home.
But I do share your view that buying it off the shelves is so much easier.
@craftcatcher (3699)
• United States
10 Oct 08
My mother's family is Italian so salad with every meal was just an automatic thing. I didn't know there was such a thing as salad dressing until I was about 12 yrs old! I just figured that veggies made with vinegar and oil was how it was and everybody made salad that way and everybody had salad with supper.
I like to dip fresh veggies once in a while so I'll buy Ranch or Creamy Garlic dressing but when we have salad, It's always vinegar and oil for me. 
1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
10 Oct 08
I was also introduced to having salad with every meal when I was in Italy.
Every meal, without fail, there will be raw greens. And honestly, we never realised that a little olive oil and vinegar with raw greens are so good!
And my wife savoured every bit of the salads we were served with.
She is now lamenting that I am not preparing enough salads for her to eat!
Heh heh... guess I gotta get my lazy butt to make salads from now on.
@aseretdd (13730)
• Philippines
10 Oct 08
I never thought it was that easy to make vinaigrette... i usually just buy the ready made salad dressing... i think i will try your recipe... and just add and change some to suit my taste...
My favorite dressing is Ceasar's... but i do not know how to make it... but i do know how to make a thousand island dressing... since that is the easiest one to make...
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
10 Oct 08
I too never thought it was that easy. I will be trying the recipe out myself to see if I need to make any adjustment to it to make it taste better.
I saw on TV once on how to make Mayonaise. And they also taught how to make a low fat version as well.
So, how do you make Thousand Island Dressing?
@Bethany1202 (3431)
• United States
9 Oct 08
I usually use store-bought Ranch flavored dressing or sometimes none at all.
I have made my own dressing before and it's nice once in awhile, but I still usually prefer the ranch or some type of garlic flavored dressing.
