Salad Dressings (restaurant, creamy, preservative, recipe)

[Ohiogirl81]

I've been going with straight olive oil and lemon juice lately. I'll toss the lettuce with the oil, and toss the rest of the veggies with the lemon juice, and then combine them.

Commercial salad dressings have been grossing me out lately!

[gentlearts]

I just can't like anything bottled anymore. It takes 2 seconds to make some and then the herbs aren't bitter.
Basically, 1t. salt, 1t. pepper, 1 t sugar (or one packet equal), pinch of oregano, basil, and garlic powder, 1 part balsamic vinegar, and 3 parts olive oil (or if you are dieting use 1/2 chicken or beef broth and 1/2 olive oil). Sorry the measurments are a bit iffy, but you get the idea.

[laurbell]

I also make my own, but Newmans Own Lite Balsamic vin. is good and money goes to charity.

[Claire_F]

For Italian dressing, I use the Good Seasons Zesty Italian - the packet of herbs and spices that you mix up yourself using oil, vinegar and water. I like my Italian dressing extra tangy, so I like that I can adjust the oil and vinegar to my liking. You can also make it without any oil at all if you want to go fat free.

I used to love Houston's buttermilk garlic dressing, and found a copycat recipe for it online. I love it.

2/3 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 tsp garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp mustard powder
2 Tbs sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk

Blend all of the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Let set for a couple of hours.

[atomicdesign]

A great site I've found for salad dressings and marinades is www.privatelabelfoods.com - they have a huge selection! Check it out.

[Chinolala]

I like Newman's Own Lite Italian and Thousand Island, lol! my old standby

[citybythebay]

None of the store bought dressings appeal to me either anymore...Ken's maybe...the others have too many artery clogging foreign ingredients......
Lately it's been... a small drizzle of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and seasonings.
Along w/ a few shavings of real shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese...
...not the bagged junk.

[Elmonellie]

Originally Posted by msjbrent

I am very picky when it comes to salad dressings. Hard for me to find one in the grocery store I like. It's funny because I can have some in restaurants and love them and can't seem to find any in on the shelves I like. Any good recommendations for Italian type dressings? Or any different takes on oil/vinegar?

Have you tried oil and vinegar using sherry wine vinegar? Totally a different take on oil and vinegar.

If you want to try something wonderful, but not a salad, per se:

Cook a pound of fresh thin green beans until just tender, then run cold water over them. They should still have a good texture to them.

Mix 1 or 2 T sherry wine vinegar, 3 or 4 T good olive oil, 1 minced shallot and 1/2 - 1 tsp dijon mustard, s&P. Pour over the beans, toss and let it sit while you make the rest of dinner. It's really, really good....especially with barbque. I've added some quartered grape tomatoes at the last moment and that made it even better.

[ayannaaaliyah]

I don't know if you like Ginger, but I love a ginger dressing. There is one my mom suggested that I cannot stop buying it's called Asian Vinaigrette (it has a nice tang to it)

[katie45]

Paul Newman's Ranch....best I've found in a bottled dressing!