Homemade salad dressing.

[Tiam]

I prefer almost anything homemade over a box or can or bottle or mix. But somehow I haven't been able to make a homemade salad dressing that I can get really excited about. I try not to douse my salad leaves, but rather, lightly coat them, but I do like stronger flavors. What homemade recipes have you made and liked and why?

[herbgeek]

A few of my favorites:

Asian Sesame 1/3 c canola oil, 2 T hoisin sauce, 3 T rice vinegar, 1 T sesame seeds, 1 T dark sesame oil, 1 minced scallion

Maple Balsamic (or Fig Balsamic)- 3 T balsamic vinegar, 2 T dark maple syrup (or fig butter), 1/2 c olive oil. 1 t. dijon mustard, 2 t. minced shallots, salt and pepper to taste

Garlic French- 1/2 c honey, 1/2 c ketchup, 1/2 c white vinegar, 1/2 t. paprika, 1 t. salt, 1/2 t. pepper, 1 clove grated garlic

[happystuff]

I like the catalina-type recipe from The Tightwad Gazette. I definitely reduce the sugar to nothing or 1 teaspoon, though!

[catherine]

I've used this one, especially on spinach salads:

1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

[pinkytoe]

When we want something not quite so oily, I use 1 tbsp of white miso (a container keeps forever) mixed with 1 tbsp of cold water, 1 TBSP of rice vinegar, a tiny dribble of olive oil along with fresh minced garlic and ginger. Bottled dressing now tastes rancid to me after making it fresh every time.

[JaneV2.0]

GREEN GODDESS SALAD DRESSING
*
1 1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/4 c. finely chopped chives
4 finely chopped anchovy fillets
1 finely chopped green onion
2 tbsp. snipped parsley
2 tbsp. tarragon vinegar
1 tbsp. crushed tarragon
Mix all ingredients together well and chill.
*(You can sub sour cream for part of the mayo)

[new2oregon]

Balsamic Vinegar and oil works for me. You can add italian seasoning, minced garlic, scallions. I don't measure I just make it taste good. If you make home made dressing and its not like the bottled stuff its probably because you don't add sugar. I tend to try to not use sugar. The store bought stuff is loaded with sugar.

For Healthier dips or stuff that uses Mayonnaise try using plain yogurt.

[mtnlaurel]

when I want a sweet light dressing I throw this together:
olive oil, lime juice, honey & if I have it, finely chopped cilantro

[IshbelRobertson]

Mostly i just use a mix of good virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar, Dijon Mustard, grind of black pepper and a tiny sprinkle of sea salt. Whisk all ingredients together until well amalgamated, pour over salad and serve immediately! I make it fresh for each use and in small quantity.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Generally just olive oil and wine vinegar. Olive oil and lemon juice works good as well (dijon mustard is a good addition here), salt and pepper. I've made salad dressings that were vinaigrettes with sun dried tomatoes added (soaked first and all pureed in the blender). Or vinegarettes with roasted red peppers blended (a lot of work - since I actually roasted them - but I suppose the jarred ones would work).

[JaneV2.0]

I've never made a vinaigrette that I liked. I'll keep trying.

I adore Trader Vic's Javanese and would love to recreate it, since it's made with industrial seed oil and is nearly impossible to find. I've been looking for a recipe for years; I know the ingredients include raisins and soy sauce.

Another one I like is a Thousand Island type dressing made with bacon fat and bacon blended until smooth(ish).

[rosarugosa]

I'm with ANM as far as generally being very happy with olive oil and vinegar (I prefer red wine vinegar). I do like a smoked paprika dressing, especially in a salad with seafood:
EVOO
fresh lemon juice
(about 50/50 ratio on those two)
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
salt & pepper
dollop of mayo
this is a very tweakable recipe, as I guess many salad dressing recipes would be. This is actually my tweaked version and I don't recall the original. I added the mayo, so you could certainly cut that out.

[awakenedsoul]

These recipes sound delicious! I make up oil and vinegar dressings with either apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar and olive oil. Finely chopped shallots really give it a nice flavor over time. I put in whatever fresh herbs I have: minced garlic, cilantro, basil, oregano, parsley, dill, and rosemary. I also use salt, celery salt, and freshly ground pepper. Sometimes I add some dijon mustard, too.
I also use homemade salad dressing when I make grilled cheese sandwiches. I brush it on the outside of the bread.

[profnot]

These sites have some unusual salad + dressing recipes:

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/search/results.html?activeTab=recipes&words=salad+dressing

http://www.marthastewart.com/search/results?keys=Salad+Recipes#

http://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/recipes/recipe-search/#query=salad|0

[Glo]

We never buy bottled dressings. DH makes all of our's and I love the fresh taste of them. He makes a champaign vinegar dressing that is out of this world. It's hard to find champaign vinegar in this area, so he has to let a bottle of champaign turn to vinegar, which takes a long time.