Salad Anybody?

Everyone is always asking me about salad dressings. People seem to like the ones
that I make. I'm almost always in favor of making your own, they taste better and they are really easy to make. There are just a few concepts to keep in mind and you too can soon be a master.

First and foremost there are the vinaigrettes. You might ask, what is a vinaigrette?
Well. A vinaigrette is an emulsion, which means basically "a suspension or dispersion of one liquid into another, the two liquids being mutually insoluble." You know like oil and water. They never truly mix. A vinaigrette is vinegar suspended in oil .

A vinaigrette can be as simple as oil and vinegar. This is a great way to dress a salad. You can choose your level of acidity by the amount and choice of vinegar. I'm always a fan of using great ingredients as components in your mixture. So spend some money on a quality oil ( I like an extra virgin olive oil or flax seed oil) and a decent vinegar( I like a nice balsamic). It doesn't take a great deal of ingredient to dress a salad. So what ever you spend will continue flavor your salad for quite a while.

Let's just start by creating a simple vinaigrette. It is easy to make and it's the building block to many different and exciting flavor choices.

What you will need is:

Olive Oil ( extra virgin is preferred)
Vinegar ( your choice)
Mustard ( dijon preferred)
Salt and pepper

Place tablespoon of mustard and half cup of vinegar into a bowl.

Whisk in a 3/4 cup of oil, add salt and pepper to your taste. A pinch of each will do.

That's it.

This will create a simple vinaigrette that will be temporarily emulsified and separate shortly afterwards. You can add herbs, spices, honey, garlic onions, anchovies, lemon juice. It's good and good for you.

Next time out we'll grab the Cuisinart or blender and make a more permanent emulsion with some more ingredients.

Remember life is too short to eat bad food.