Yummy Homemade Salad Dressing

Eating for two is a challenge for me somedays, and often, my creativity is lacking.  This results in day-after-day of turkey sandwiches and apples and that gets old FAST.  So today I dug back into my creative-thinking memory hard drive and remembered my favorite recipe for a vingarette salad dressing that is AMAZING.  It started as an obsessive quest to discover the secret recipe for the fattoush salad dressing made by one of my very favorite delis in Wichita (Le Monde).  It's not exact, but it comes pretty dang close and, in my opinion, it's even better.  It's a great compliment to grilled chicken or pork!

I decided in advance to share it with you, so I took some pictures as I went along.  My thanks (and almost apology!) go out to my friend Carol, crafty & culinary extraordinaire, and her super-awesome blog for inspiring the format for this post.  Her recipes (and her crafts) are really amazing, and when you have a moment, you really should check out the John and Carol Show.  So here goes:  the best salad dressing you'll ever make.

Here's what you'll need:

1/8 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (double if you are serving a big salad for a crowd)
1/8 cup Lemon Juice  (same as above)
1/8 cup white balsamic vinegar (can be modified to taste)
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano

First, measure your EVOO, lemon juice & vinegar into a small bowl to medium sized bowl.  It needs to be big enough to accomodate your lettuce later on, so that you can toss it in the dressing.  I like to use a bowl that has a pour spout on the side for easier (and less messy) serving.  A large pyrex measuring jug would suffice if you don't have a bowl like mine.

This is what it will look like...sort of like a science experiment with all the liquids separated.

Next, add your dry ingredients.

Finally, stir it up with a fork.  This amount of dressing is good for your lunch salad, with a little leftover, or perhaps your side salad for a dinner-for-two.

Important step:  take a taste test!  For a more tangy dressing, you can add a little more vinegar & salt.  If you want it sweeter, add a splash more lemon juice.

I prefer to toss my lettuce directly into the dressing, and then scoop it out into a serving bowl.  That way you don't end up with a bowlful of dressing at the bottom of your salad, which would be quite soggy by the time you are finished eating!

Speaking of soggy lettuce, if you don't have a lettuce keeper, I advise investing in one!  Mine was about $15 at Bed Bath & Beyond.  When you bring your salad bag home from the store, unload its contents into this puppy, open the vent, put the lid on, and your lettuce will keep up to 2 weeks.

As a bonus feature:  here's my favorite salad for serving (and enjoying!) this dressing.

Baby Spinach and/or Romaine lettuce
Tomato & Basil feta cheese (Athenos is yummy but pricey. A store brand can work just fine, but the leftover will dry out faster)
Grape Tomatoes
Dill pickle relish (optional!  I'm pregnant, so I love pickles on anything. But try it...it's delish!)
Sprinkle of Italian cheese blend or Mozzarella cheese

There you go!  Yummy salad dressing that takes less than 5 minutes to make and is a great lunch-time treat!