The Little Black Dress of Salad Dressings

First of all I feel like I should be open and honest here: I do not, in fact, have a little black dress. See, little black dresses are so cute and fun and flirty and I love them. However, they are not all that great for chasing children in, which is what my normal everyday consists of. I realize that the LBD isn’t for everyday wear, but is instead that trusty garment that makes you feel amazing when you slide into for social occasions.

 

My LBD isn’t a dress, y’all. It’s a salad dressing.

 

I know I’ve said it a million and one times, but making your own salad dressing is not hard. All you need is a bowl and a whisk, maybe a knife, or a blender of some kind. A good oil, some kind of acid, a few seasonings…VOILA. In fact, one of the highest grossing recipes on my site is this amazing honey mustard dressing! As simple as it is I hardly ever make them though! We don’t eat a ton of salad around here because I actually hate making my own salad. The chopping, the deciding of ingredients, all of it just seems like a lot of work. Is that weird? Because I actually really love eating salad!

 

Anyway, all of that randomness was to say that when we actually do make a salad in my house it’s practically a special event, as was the case Sunday night. I opened the fridge hoping to just find a bottle of Ranch and be done with it, but alas the planets aligned and all we had are a bunch of olives and mustard. Fine by me most days, but neither of those equates to a dressing on their own. After pouting for about 2 minutes I took my own advice and threw together a splendid dressing that will be made in large quantities from here on out so that we can always have a great dressing on hand!

 

My little piece of advice for this one: if you really want a perfectly emulsified number go ahead and do this in a blender or food processor of some kind. You can do the whole whisking thing, but I’m just such a fan of the blender version. If you DO go the whisking route, I would recommend pasting your garlic in a microplane grater to keep big chunks of garlic from getting into a bite. Otherwise, make this dressing and just leave it in your fridge! Because of the olive oil it will thicken, so I like to pull mine out about 20 minutes before using so it comes to room temp, then just shake and pour. Done!

 

Insider tip: this makes a great marinade too. Just saying!

THE LITTLE BLACK DRESS OF SALAD DRESSINGS

Makes about 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 large garlic clove (or 2 small), smashed or roughly chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley (you can use fresh and double the amount)

Directions:

1. If you’re using a blender or a food processor, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth and emulsified. Some blenders have a salad dressing/dip button and that works fine!
2. If you’re using a bowl and a whisk, combine everything (with the garlic finely chopped or pasted) except the olive oil in a bowl and whisk to combine. Slowly stream in the olive oil while whisking until the whole thing is emulsified.
3. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks!