Vinaigrette recipe...

I've gotten angry over the years when heading through the dressing aisle at the grocery store. There's just something fundamentally wrong with purchasing large quantities of vinaigrette dressings for over $3 and $4 a bottle - and much of what is in it, you can't pronounce. What is up with that?!

The low-fat ones are the worst, really. If you look at a low-fat dressing, and compare it with it's full-fat counterpart, you'll see what I mean. Look at the back label - no, not under the calories from fat - no, down... a little further - yeah, there ya go. Look at the sugars per gram... And now, look at the ingredients... WOW! High Fructose Corn Syrup? Dextrose? Fructose? Yup - it's in the low-fat one... It's only considered low-fat because it doesn't have a lot of OIL in it... But let me tell you - the sugar will turn to fat once it's in your system... It's just as bad, if not worse than, the full-fat counterpart.

Now, don't stress about it - just don't buy it anymore. Why? Because you don't have to. Honestly, you don't. No really - making your own is so simple it's not even funny. All you need is pretty much in your kitchen right now...

I'm posting all three versions of vinaigrette that I know of. As a note - the "regular" version is my own... The basics of it will be under each heading, and then what you can add to it is in it's own category.

This is all about ratios, so if you can figure out equal parts of something, then you can do this. These all set up to serve about 4 people, give or take a few tsps.

Restaurant Vinaigrette
(ratio 1:3)
1 Tbsp vinegar
3 Tbsp oil
1/8 tsp ground mustard OR yellow mustard
salt
pepper


"Regular" Vinaigrette
(ratio 1:1)
2 Tbsp vinegar
2 Tbsp oil
1/8 tsp ground mustard or yellow mustard
salt
pepper


Low-Fat Vinaigrette
(ratio 1:2:1)
1 Tbsp vinegar
2 Tbsp fruit juice
1 Tbsp oil
1/8 tsp ground mustard or yellow mustard
salt
pepper

Oils:
Any oil you want to use, you can use. Olive, sunflower, hazelnut, walnut, vegetable - you name it, you can use it - you can even use infused oils if it tickles your fancy. The only caveat I need to post is watch the allergies - if someone is allergic to nuts, chances are you don't want to use a nut oil.

Vinegars:
Any vinegar you like the taste of would work perfectly.

Flavorings:
Garlic is an immediate go-to for me... You can also use chopped herbs like tarragon, parsley, sage, rosemary, chives, cilantro, basil, chervil, practically any green herb you can think of. Zests and juices of citrus fruits work well, as do crushed berries. Other flavorings you can try are peppers (hot and mild), and spices as well - the only thing I can say about using spices is to try and make sure you get whole spices, toast them gently, and then grind them as needed. You'll get a lot more flavor out of them that way.

How much to add? Well, it's up to you. A serving of 4, like above, should only have about 3 flavorings in them (otherwise your tongue will get overpowered). Only about 1-2 Tbsp total of the flavorings should be in that dressing.

Unlike what we do at restaurants, where you'd make a huge batch and look for perfect emulsions, this is a simple recipe, so you can put it in a small, well-sealed container, and shake it when you want it.

The nice thing about doing things this way is that you can change it up. Don't want to have tarragon-garlic vinaigrette tomorrow? No problem! This time, use basil and flat leaf parsley.

This is also a great time to start thinking of growing a few herbs in your windowsill. It's cheaper to grow them, and you can grab what you need without worrying about the rest of it never being used.

Oh - almost forgot - this is also GREAT for making marinades!

Enjoy!