Archive for 29 Things to Know in Your Kitchen – Page 2

14. How to be a Gracious Guest


By Leslie · Comments (1) · October 15th, 2009

christmas-tree

Holiday season is almost here and that means holiday parties are coming!  Being a gracious guest is just as important as being a fabulous host!  After all, you do want to make sure you get invited to the next party!  And when you are gracious, you let the host know just how much you appreciate them throwing a party.  So here are the rules (well, suggestions): 

1. Always RSVP!!!!  If you don't do this, you stink!!  It's very difficult to plan things like food or gifts if you have no idea who is coming.  That's why they ask for an RSVP. 

2. Bringing a hostess gift is always a nice touch.  It's not mandatory, but you would never catch me showing up to someone's house and not bringing at least something!  Here are some ideas.  If you are going to dinner at someone's house and you have not met them, I always do flowers and wine.  Men, take note, women LOVE flowers!  And a nice bottle of wine to enjoy with the dinner they have prepared is always a nice touch.  If it's a holiday party you are going to, there are a couple options.  Alcohol is always a nice option.  If you are feeling a little more creative, a holiday ornament for the tree is nice or a book or candle are nice alternatives too. 

3. Be social!  At the party, don't just stick to your friends, branch out!  Meet some new people!  You never know who you'll run into!  No one likes a wall flower. 

4. Drink, but don't drink too much!  Seriously, it's a holiday party, not a fraternity party!  Just cause there is free alcohol does not give you the excuse to get blasted. 

5. Compliment the hosts on such a nice party.  (Even if it isn't, it's really nice to hear!) 

6. Don't over stay your welcome.  If the hosts are in their slippers and cleaning up bottles, don't hang around unless you are going to do the dishes. 

7. Send a "thank you" note.  This is not mandatory, but something that is so unexpected and nice when you receive!  People who send me "thank you" notes automatically jump a notch in my book!  If you don't have time to write one, at least drop a phone call, text, or email.
I hope you learned something and apply some of these at your next holiday party.  

Feel free to comment on some more rules you think should be on this list!

Lesliesarnasig
 

Comments (1)
Categories : 29 Things to Know in Your Kitchen, Tips and Tricks

13. Making Soup from Scratch


By Leslie · Comments (3) · October 13th, 2009

It's getting cold here in Los Angeles and it's a rainy today, so it's the perfect time for soup!!  So warm and comforting!!  I love making soup!  So easy and delicious!!  Stay inside, grab a great movie and enjoy some soup! 

 
Italian Wedding Soup


What you'll need: 

 Soup: 

 2 quarts chicken broth 

 2 cups water 

 ½ cup pastina (small pasta) 

 1 tsp. fresh parsley, chopped 

 1 carrot, sliced thin 

 ½ pound spinach (just leafy part, julienne cut) 

 Meatball Mixture: 

 ½ pound ground beef 

 1 egg

 2 tsp. Italian bread crumbs 

 1 tsp. grated parmesan cheese

 2 tsp. fresh parsley, chopped 

 1 small onion, minced 

 2 beaten eggs

 Parmesan cheese 

 What you'll do: 

In a soup pot, combine soup ingredients and bring to a low boil.  Mix meat ingredients in a bowl, make tiny meatballs, and drop into boiling broth mixture.
In a small bowl, beat 2 eggs.  With a wooden spoon, stir soup as you slowly drop in the beaten eggs, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Cover and allow to stand for 2 minutes.
Top with grated parmesan cheese.
This recipe has been in my family forever!  Always reminds me of home. 

**You can make this recipe vegetarian by using vegetable broth, soy meatballs, and omitting the egg.

 
Butternut Squash and Apple Soup


What you'll need: 

 
2 tablespoons unsalted butter 

 
2 tablespoons good olive oil 

 
3 large yellow onions, chopped 

 
1 tablespoons mild curry powder 

 
2 large butternut squash 

 
4 sweet apples, such as McIntosh or Fuji

  2 teaspoons kosher salt 

 
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

 
A dash of cinnamon 

  2 cups water 

 
2 cups apple cider or juice 

 
What you'll do:

Warm the butter, olive oil, onions, and curry powder in a large stockpot uncovered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot so it doesn't stick.

Peel the squash, cut it in half, and remove the seeds.  Cut the squash into chunks. Peel, quarter, and core the apples.  Cut into chunks.

Add the squash, apples, salt, pepper, cinnamon, and 2 cups of water to the pot.  Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash and apples are very soft.  Blend with an immersion blender or transfer to a blender and blend.

Pour the soup back into the pot.  Add the apple cider or juice and enough water to make the soup the consistency you like.  It should be slightly sweet and quite thick.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve warm.

This recipe just screams fall to me!  It's so good!!  Give it a try!

**Did you make too much?  Soup is really easy to freeze!  Just let the soup cool completely and pour into plastic tupperware and freeze!  When you defrost, place it in the fridge overnight.
This is an immersion blender and it makes life so much easier!

 
692

These are excellent for blending warm soups or sauces.  Instead of transferring soup to a blender in batches then eventually back to the pot.  Simply stick this blender right into your pot.  Makes life so much easier!!  I have this one by cuisinart and they are around $50.  Definitely add it to your Christmas list!

Comments (3)
Categories : 29 Things to Know in Your Kitchen, Soup

12. How to Prepare and Make Eggplant


By Leslie · Comments (2) · October 12th, 2009

Eggplant is one of the most used and diverse vegetables out there!  Originally a native to India, eggplant is now used all over the world. 

eggplant_plant Being Italian vegetarian, I love eggplant!  It makes a great meat substitute in recipes!  I'm going to teach you how to prep an eggplant and one of my favorite ways to cook it!  This recipe is so easy and one of my favorite side dishes ever!  First off, you need to salt the eggplant: Wash the eggplant and cut off the ends.

DSCN2122

Slice the eggplant lengthwise in about 1/4 inch slices.  (I'm slicing for my recipe today, but you could also dice or slice widthwise) DSCN2123 Place the eggplant slices in a strainer and sprinkle with salt.  This draws all the bitterness out of the eggplant.

DSCN2124

Let sit for about 30 minutes.  Pat dry with a paper towel. For this recipe I'm going to grill the slices in a grill pan. 

DSCN2125

You'll know it's done grilling when it's soft and flexible. Next place the slices on a workspace and place a slice of mozzarella cheese, basil leaf and a slice of roma tomato in the center of the eggplant and roll up the edges. 

DSCN2126

Place the rolls on a cookie sheet and stick into the oven for a couple minutes until the cheese just starts to melt.  Serve immediately.  These are such tasty, healthy little treats!! DSCN2128

Eggplant is also great diced into some baked macaroni!  Eggplant Parmesan and Eggplant Rollatini are some of my favorites too that you can find in previous blogs!  Love eggplant rollatini?  Try placing a mound of spaghetti inside before you wrap it up for a different version.  One of my favorite Indian dishes is Baigan Bhartha which is a combination of smashed eggplant with tomatoes, onions and Indian spices!  Super Yummy!  Eggplant is also great in Mousaka, Ratatouille or just plain grilled with some garlic, parsley and olive oil.

FUN FACT: Eggplant is richer in nicotine than any other edible plant, with a concentration of 100 ng/g (or 0.01 mg/100g). However, the amount of nicotine from eggplant or any other food is negligible compared to passive smoking.[8] On average, 20lbs (9 kg) of eggplant contains about the same amount of nicotine as a cigarette.

FUN FACT #2: Eggplant is closely related to the tomato and the potato

Lesliesarnasig

Comments (2)
Categories : 29 Things to Know in Your Kitchen, Appetizers, Side Dishes, Vegetables: Eggplant, Vegetables: Tomato

11. Know how to make something for breakfast besides cereal


By Leslie · Comments (0) · October 9th, 2009

Not that I have anything against cereal, I just think that we should have the ability to make something else. : )  I love breakfast!  I love it anytime of day!  Here are some of my favorites!!

 
Hawaiian French Toast with Pineapple Macadamia Syrup 

 
Toast: 

 1 loaf Hawaiian sweet bread 

 8 eggs 

 2/3 cup canned cream of coconut 

 ½ cup shredded coconut 

 ½ cup milk 

 ¼ cup rum 

 pinch of salt 

 1/3 cup butter or margarine 

 
Syrup: 

 2 cups maple syrup 

 1 cup fresh or canned crushed pineapple, including juice

 ¾ cup macadamia nuts, chopped 

What you'll do:

Slice bread into eight 1-inch slices.  In medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream of coconut, shredded coconut, milk, rum, and salt.  In a large skillet, place half the butter, and heat until melted.  Dip bread slices into egg mixture, coating each side.  Cook in skillet until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Repeat procedure with remaining butter and bread.
Serve with warmed pineapple-macadamia syrup.
And here's how to make it:
In a small saucepan, combine maple syrup with crushed pineapple.  Add nuts, stir, and simmer over low heat until mixture is warm.
Enjoy!

 Breakfast Risotto

What you’ll need: 

 1 ½ cup water 

 1 cup instant brown rice

 1 (8 oz) can pineapple chunks, drained, save liquid 

 1 (12 oz) can evaporated skim milk 

 ½ cup golden raisins 

 1 medium banana, sliced 

 chopped walnuts 

 What you’ll do: 

 In a saucepan cook water, rice and pineapple juice till boiling
Reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid is absorbed
Stir in milk and increase heat to reach a boil
Cook until milk is absorbed and mixture is soft and creamy
Stir in pineapple, raisins, bananas and nuts
This is such a yummy recipe!!  Definitely give it a try!! 

 
Hole in the Head Eggs
toadinthehole_Full 


This is a fun recipe and is a different twist on toast and eggs : ) 

 What you'll need: 

 2 pieces of bread

 2 eggs 

 What you'll do: 

Place a medium size frying pan or skillet on the stove on medium heat.  Melt a pad of butter in it.
Using a biscuit cutter or small glass, cut a whole in the center of each piece of bread.  Put the bread in the skillet and crack an egg in each hole.  Cook until golden brown on both sides.  You don't want to over cook the yolk too much though so be cautious.  : ) 

 Enjoy!
My Dad used to make these for us all the time when we were kids.  It's been made in his family for generations.  This recipe is also great with left over french bread.

Comments (0)
Categories : 29 Things to Know in Your Kitchen, Breakfast

10. Mushrooms


By Leslie · Comments (1) · October 8th, 2009

Yay mushrooms!! As a vegetarian who doesn’t love soy, I substitute mushrooms in a lot of meat dishes. There are so many kinds of mushrooms out there…nice looking ones to weird ugly ones. What’s a girl to do? Experiment! Walk straight up to that mushroom section of the grocery store and say, today I’m going to try something new! If your mushroom world consists of button mushrooms, trust me, you are going to love what I’m writing about today! Expand your knowledge and try something new!! In my house mushrooms are almost an everyday food.  Last night, I had Autumn and Carolina over for some food and mushroom talk! Main mushroom conversation: Truffles!! (more on those later) They are doing great! Autumn also has just started an herb and lettuce garden and she shared the results with us!
autumnme&caroOk, enough about us! Let’s talk mushrooms! Here are five that I love using!
Enoki
enokimushrooms5These are pretty funny looking mushrooms. They may look funny, but they are quite tasty! I love them in salads, with quinoa or cold couscous. They have a very nice light almost fruit flavor. Only serve these guys raw.

Portobello


Portobello_mushroomsChances are most of you probably know about portobello mushrooms. They are becoming a staple on restaurant menus across the country. They are very flavorful and make a great meat substitute. I love them sauteed, in sauces and mostly grilled as a burger substitute! So yummy! One of my other favorite things to do with a portobello is actually an Argentine dish. Grill the portobello, lay the gill side up and top with some garlic sauteed spinach. So simple and sooo good. 

Shiitake

shiitake-mushrooms1

Shiitake mushrooms are mainly used in Asian cooking. Here in the states, we mostly get them dried. Simply soak them in water a few minutes to rehydrate them. They are the base of a good miso soup and taste fabulous in Chinese stir fry! Give them a try! They are LOADED with anti-oxidants!

Hen of the Woods Mushroom


mushroom_henofthewoods

This is a mushroom that is just gaining popularity and you may have a harder time finding it. It looks like brains, but doesn’t taste like them! They have a very earthy portobello flavor. These guys are best used cooked. You have to cook them thoroughly! They can be really tough if not. You can saute these, use them with pasta or put them in soup. Super yummy!

Truffles

white-truffle

There are thousands of different kinds of truffles, but four main ones that are often used. There are white, black, chinese and summer. White truffles are the most prized.  They are found in Italy, grow underground and cannot be farmed.  The “hunting” season for truffles is October. If you live in or near a big city chances are a restaurant is featuring truffles this month. Most truffle dishes in a restaurant range from $50 to $200 a plate! If this is a little out of your price range, there are all sorts of options: truffle oil, truffle butter, truffle cheese, truffle honey etc. etc. etc. You just want to find products with little bits of actual truffle in them. If not, there is a chemical based truffle flavor with which most oils are flavored.  If you have never experienced truffles definitely try them!  My favorite way of using truffles is to saute a mix of button mushrooms, portobello, garlic and fresh parsley with some truffle butter or oil.  Then I serve it over some fresh pasta.
Mushrooms are so yummy for the fall with their nice earthy flavor, so pick some up for tonight!

Lesliesarnasig

Comments (1)
Categories : 29 Things to Know in Your Kitchen

9. Have the ability to have people over for cocktails and serve them something that wasn ' t frozen at one point


By Leslie · Comments (1) · October 7th, 2009

So, as we are heading into adulthood.  Things they are a changing!  Instead of having people over for beers and delivery pizza, we have people over for cocktails and appetizers.  Appetizers are super easy and a great way for people to feel wonderful and comfy at your house.  Of course, what appetizers you make depend on what alcohol you are going to serve.  If you are doing wine, stick to cheeses and simple apps.  For cocktails, you can go a little  broader with your apps. Some of my favorite appetizers are simple little bites like this:

6a012876272fb6970c0134832a8116970c-800wiThese are so easy!  Find a good cracker that you like.  Top them with quince jam and brie (far left), mascarpone with a raspberry (middle), and pesto with ricotta (right).  These flavors are all wonderful and make great little bites.  I also make a sweeter version like this: strawberry app

This is a cracker with creme fraiche, slivered strawberries and a pinch of brown sugar. I also love doing cheese plates.  Couple things to remember.  Stick to 3 good cheeses.  More than 3 can be too confusing.  Keep it simple.  Label each cheese and have a separate knife for each.  When I serve cheese, I like to serve with a fruit or two and some plain crackers.  Plain crackers so you don't mess with the cheese flavor.  Depending on the cheese, I also like to add a dollop of honey on the plate. 3128ZQ38W2L._SL500_AA280_

These are super cute and you can find them on Amazon. 

Antipasto platters also make great easy appetizers.  Basically, stack a bunch of meats and marinated veggies on a platter and serve!  Now of course if you are a vegetarian, you are going to stick to just veggies or do two separate plates. ss1b26_antipasti_platter_lg

Common ingredients would be: marinated mushrooms, olives, roasted peppers, marinated artichoke hearts, mozzarella, salami, and proscuitto. All these simple appetizers can come together so quickly and can make a big impact.  Next time you've got friends coming over, don't feed them frozen appetizers, try some of these!

Lesliesarnasig

Comments (1)
Categories : 29 Things to Know in Your Kitchen, Appetizers

8. Know how to make your husbands or (insert significant others) favorite meal


By Leslie · Comments (3) · October 6th, 2009

This is going to come in handy, trust me!!  When you know your significant other has had a long day and they come home to their favorite meal, imagine the joy that will bring to them!  This is such a great meal to know how to make!  My husband is having a long day today.  He is in the middle of a busy time in his life, so I decided it's the perfect day to whip out this meal.  This is his favorite meal, but no need to copy this one.  Just find out what they love!  Hopefully your partners is a little more healthy : ) 

French Onion Soup 

 Beef Wellington 

 French Fries 

 Creamed Spinach

 Bearnaise Sauce 

 Chocolate Molten Lava Cake

 Seriously, how did this vegetarian fall in love with this man??!!  When I asked if he wanted any more vegetables with it, he said, "there are potatoes and spinach".  Well, I guess that's true. . . He is entitled to one super caloric meal every now and then and that night is tonight!
To find the recipes for creamed spinach check out the family blog and for the chocolate molten lava cake check out the date night blog.  Here are a couple more recipes if this sounds like your beloveds favorite meal.

 
French Onion Soup


french onion soup

I'm making it vegetarian with vegetable broth so I can eat it too!  But this is traditionally made with beef or veal stock.

 What you'll need: 

 
4 onions, sliced (see below "onion" post if you need help) 

 
2 cloves garlic, minced 

 
1/4 cup olive oil

  2 tbsp. butter 

 
1 tbsp. flour

  4 cups vegetable broth 

 
1/4 cup red wine 

 
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme 

 
Salt and pepper 

 
Croutons 

  2 cups grated Gruyere or Swiss 

 
What you'll do:

Saute onions and garlic with a big pinch of salt in oil and butter over low heat until tender and golden yellow. (don't stir too much or they won't get a chance to caramelize) And time is the key.  Let them cook slowly so all the amazing flavors happen.

onions

Sprinkle flour over onions, cook a few minutes more, browning the flour well.

2

Add wine and bring to a boil.

3

Add thyme and reduce heat to low.  Add broth.  Cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes or so. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle the soup into ovenproof bowls, sprinkle with a few croutons and cover with a grated cheese.  Place the bowls on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. (for easy clean-up!)  Broil for about 4 minutes or until the cheese bubbles and becomes golden!

(sorry about the pictures!  I'm not as good as Laura : )

And here are my too cute measuring spoons my sister Lisa gave me!  I believe she found them at Anthropologie.

4

French Fries

fries-1

The key to good french fries is double frying.  I've never found another cook who shares this with you!  Stick them in the fryer for a few minutes, remove them and put them on a paper towel covered plate.  When you are ready to serve them, stick them back in the fryer till they turn golden.  I toss mine with some truffle oil, finely chopped parsley and minced garlic when I want to be extra fancy.

Whatever you make them, they will love!  Because it's you putting out effort!  Cooking is all about sharing the love and when someone takes the time to make you the one meal you love more than any other, they do it because they completely love you!

Lesliesarnasig
 

Comments (3)
Categories : 29 Things to Know in Your Kitchen, Soup

7. Cheese!


By Leslie · Comments (3) · October 5th, 2009

5 new cheeses to try!  There is one thing that my girlfriends and I love…it's cheese!!!  Nothing better than tasty, creamy, gooey, scrumptious cheese!!!  Have you ever walked into your grocery stores gourmet cheese section and not had any idea what to buy??  Hopefully after this, you'll get some ideas!  There are just so many different kinds of cheeses, cow, goat, sheep, etc.  I can't possibly cover all of them, so today I'm going to focus on a couple that I love…but take a chance at the store!  Give a cheese a chance!
Brie


brie 


You have probably had brie before.  It's getting used more and more these days.  It's a delicious creamy cheese with a soft skin.  My favorite brand is "Supreme" This is a great "go to" cheese to have at any party as a appetizer.  It's great plain on a cracker, but there are so many more interesting things to do with it!  Since brie has a very mild flavor, it's great with jams.  Try a cracker with some quince jam and a small slice of brie.  If you can't find quince jam, try peach, raspberry or orange.  It makes a tasty little bite!  Brie also makes an excellent grilled cheese sandwich!  I love grilled cheese!!!  Try a few slices of brie, some sliced apples and a couple crumbles of blue cheese in your sandwich.  It's a favorite with my friends!  Wrapped in puff pastry and baked is also an amazing appetizer.  And if you already know about brie and want to explore more, try a camembert or a blue brie (it's a brie with blue cheese running down the middle). 

 
Gruyere


big_gruyere 

This is a very tasty cheese!  It's a great cheese to know about.  You can also have this as part of a great cheese plate for a party.  I add it in to a lot of recipes.  When I make mac n' cheese (see below blog) I will shred a little and add it in with the cheddar, it'll give it a hint of a nice rich flavor!  I will shave some into a casserole, or even put it on a pizza.

 
Burrata


CantareBurrata

This is my favorite brand.
Oh my gosh!!  Burrata is sooooo good!!!  If you love mozzarella, you have to have burrata!  It's basically, mozzarella cheese with ricotta cheese in the middle.  And it tastes like heaven melting in your mouth!  You can eat this cheese anyway.  It's phenom on a bed of arugula with some basil and a simple balsamic vinaigrette.  Serve it with heirloom tomatoes, golden beets, procuitto, or what ever you love!  So yummy!! 

 
Gouda

Gouda is a great versatile cheese.  Gouda is made in Holland and accounts for 60% of the cheese made there.  There are lots of kinds of gouda, young, aged, smoked, etc.  It is great as an appetizer or as a dessert cheese and excellent with fruit.  Try it out!  You won't regret it!

 
Mascarpone


mascarpone italiano

This is my favorite kind.
Mascarpone is the Italian version of cream cheese.  Once you try it, you'll be hooked!!  Try it in your next cheesecake.  I even spread it on a cracker and top it with a strawberry slice.  It'll blow your mind!  It is a little lighter than cream cheese and has a little bit of a sweeter flavor.  Give it a try : )
Here's a few cheese tips.  You should always serve cheese at room temperature.  This means leave it out for about an hour before you want to serve it.  When you're making a cheese plate, make sure you always have a different knife for each cheese.  You don't want your havarti tasting like humbolt fog blue! 

Now, there are thousands of different kinds of cheeses, add a comment and tell us about your favorite cheese and what you do with it : )

Lesliesarnasig
 

Comments (3)
Categories : 29 Things to Know in Your Kitchen, Appetizers, Cheese

6. Making Tomato Sauce from Scratch


By Leslie · Comments (6) · October 4th, 2009

tomato_sauce.jpg

Making homemade tomato sauce is so easy and it tastes soooo much better than sauce from a jar!!!  It's really easy and simple and once you get it down it'll take only a couple minutes for you to have beautiful tomato sauce for any occasion!  This is a really great thing to have in your arsenal!  Here are your options: Tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes and tomato sauce using canned tomatoes.  Let me know if you are interested in learning the fresh way. 

 What you'll need: 

 1 oz. can of whole San Marazano Tomatoes 

 1 oz. can of Tomato Paste 

 1/2 medium Onion, diced (see below "onion" blog) 

 4 cloves Garlic, chopped 

 1 tbsp. sugar 

 1 tsp. dried Oregano (or about 10 leaves fresh, chopped) 

 Olive Oil 

 Salt 

 Fresh Basil 

 What you'll do: 

In a medium saucepan, saute the diced onion in about 3 tbsp. olive oil and a pinch of salt.  Saute till the onions get a little soft.  They should look like this: makaronada-saute-onions-and-garlic 

Open the can of tomatoes and squish them through your fingers as you put them and their juice all in the pot.  You can put them in whole, but they take a long time to break down, so if your in a rush, squish them : )  Add the oregano, sugar, garlic and tomato paste.  Stir and let sit and get happy for a little while on low temp.  You could also add a splash of red wine at this point if you'd like.  About 3 minutes before you are going to serve, add some roughly chopped basil. 

 Key things to know: Add the garlic more towards the end to maintain the nice garlic flavor. Add the basil at the end because it can get bitter if it's cooked too long. Don't stir the onions too much when they are sauteing.  The salt will pull out the bitterness when they are cooking. Taste as you go. And voila!  You've got some mighty tasty tomato sauce!!  You can use it on pizza (see pizza blog) or over pasta, or in a sandwich, with meatballs, or put it in the blender and make tomato soup. These are the tomatoes I use and like:

  San marazano tomatoes

xoxo

Lesliesarnasig

Comments (6)
Categories : 29 Things to Know in Your Kitchen, Entrees, Pasta, Vegetables: Tomato

5. Making Salad Dressing from Scratch


By Leslie · Comments (0) · October 3rd, 2009

224

Ok, salad dressing is simple!  Say it with me, "simple!"  Salad dressing from scratch is so easy, so fast and you don't get any of those yucky preservatives or hydroblahblahblahblah like in those bottles!  And you are not limited to just oil and vinegar kinds; making creamy dressings are easy too!  And here's the thing, you most likely have all ingredients in your pantry already!  All the tools you need are a bowl and a whisk!  Here are my simple "go to" recipes for really yummy dressings.  Also, one of my favorites is my maple mustard vinaigrette that I posted on 8/24. (definitely give that one a try!) 

 
Simple Italian Dressing 

 ½ cup olive oil 

 6 tbsp red wine vinegar 

 1 tbsp minced shallots 

 ½ tsp salt 

 ½ tsp pepper 

 pinch of sugar 

Whisk all the ingredients together and pour over salad.  This dressing can be used on just about any salad you can think of.  It's truly a "go to" dressing.  You can easily replace the red wine vinegar for balsamic vinegar and you can omit the shallots if you like.  PS shallots are delicious.  If you don't know what they are they are kind of a cross between garlic and an onion.  Here is what they look like and how you should chop them:

 
new_shallot 

 
Asian Dressing


¼ cup vegetable oil 

 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar 

 2 tbsp sugar 

 ½ tsp salt 

 ½ tsp pepper 

Whisk all the ingredients together and pour over salad.  This one is so great on any kind of asian or summer salad.  Apple cider vinegar has proven to be one of the healthiest stuff on earth for us.  If you've never tried it, I highly recommend it! 

 
Blue Cheese Dressing 

 1/2 cup blue cheese, room temp. and crumbled 

 1/2 cup buttermilk 

 2 tablespoons olive oil

 Salt and Pepper to taste  

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and use a fork to kind of mash up the cheese a little.  You want some small chunks but to try to blend some together.  Serve over any american salad or a iceberg wedge salad. 

Iceberg Wedge Salad

If you want to whip a dressing up on your own and not follow a recipe, all you have to know is this.  Keep the percentages 1/3 vinegar to 2/3 oil.  You can use just about any oil and any vinegar and any spices you'd like.  It's so easy to be really creative with this!  Just make sure when you are experimenting to make the dressing in a bowl separate from your salad, so you can whisk it together, taste and adjust if necessary.

Comments (0)
Categories : 29 Things to Know in Your Kitchen, Salad
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