Please suggest a salad dressing

9 years ago

It's post-Thing-Two's-wedding, so we are going to be eating a lot of salad dinners! Every calorie was worth it, but it's fun to have lost 15 pounds each over the summer, so we're going to try to keep it off.

Tonight, following my first trip to Costco (!), I have a bag of very hearty salad greens (kale, cabbage, I forget what else), to which I plan to add blueberries, figs, maybe a few nuts (plain or spiced), maybe some of the last of the avocados my brother-in-law brought from his garden. I've also got a smoked fish, but I think I will serve that separately.

What kind of dressing do you think would go nicely on that salad?

Thanks in advance for your great ideas!

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Comments (6)

plllog
9 years ago
If the last of the avocados are squishy or rock hard, why not make avocado dressing? Mash up an avocado with some wine or vinegar, and add aromatics and seasoning. Really easy and always a hit around here. The richness should go well with the fruit and the relative sweetness should be nice with the pungent greens.
blubird
9 years ago
Costco actually sells a very nice kale salad blend here in NJ which comes with dried cranberries and sunflower seeds to mix in, along with a very nice poppy seed dressing. It's a sweeter dressing which is in nice contrast to the stronger kale/cabbage taste. I adore smoked fish (my mother used to give me the whitefish head to play with as I ate as a child) but not sure it would go well with the poppy seed dressing.

Helene
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lascatx
9 years ago
My favorite salad dressing this summer, especially on salads with fruit and meat or cheese, has been Trader Joe's Muscat Orange Champagne Vinegar. Nothing else. If you don't have a Trader Joe's you might look for something similar --a fruity, sweet, mild vinegar that doesn't need oil added.
lpinkmountain
9 years ago
I am lazy so rarely make my own dressings. Two kinds that always get me raves are poppyseed and honey mustard. Now there is poppyseed honey mustard I can get! Another kind that is good is blue cheese, goes well with fruits on salads. I also like avocado, but to get that I just mix avocado into the salad and make a standard vinegar and oil dressing, only use some kind of flavored balsamic, like raspberry, etc. which I have a few of.
bbstx
9 years ago
I am a finnicky salad eater because I don't like most salad dressings. I especially do not like extremely vinegary dressings. Here are my three favorites. The first 2 are a little sweet.

2 teaspoons salt
1 scant teaspoon Tabasco
1/2 cup Splenda
1 cup oil
1/2 cup tarragon vinegar
Combine and shake well.
I use any kind of relatively neutral oil, including olive oil. I rarely have tarragon vinegar. I use almost any kind of vinegar. My favorite is Perel's Spicy Pecan vinegar.

The other one I make often is Sweet and Sour Dressing.

Yield 2 1/2 cups

1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar (or Splenda)
1/2 cup wine vinegar
3 tsp soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and shake well.

This dressing is from The Kitchn, but it is quite similar to one I have made

4 ounces (about 1 heaping cup) blue cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, use a fork to mash together the cheese and sour cream until it forms a chunky paste about the consistency of cottage cheese (I don't mash my blue cheese.). Stir in the buttermilk, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
gellchom
Original Author
9 years ago
d'oh!

Helene, that's exactly what I bought, and sure enough, it had 2 packets of dressing in the bag. I don't usually like prepared dressings, but I went ahead and used one of the packets tonight with half the salad. It was pretty good, but for the other half, I might have to try one of bbstx's suggestions -- they all sound so good!

Thank you all. If anyone has any other favorite dressing ideas and recipes, I'd love to hear them.

Please suggest a salad dressing

Comments (6)

plllog

blubird

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Please suggest a salad dressing

Comments (6)

plllog

blubird

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lascatx

lpinkmountain

bbstx

gellchomOriginal Author

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gellchom
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