My experience with making my own salad dressing has been dicey. Even with a written recipe for a delicious salad dressing our Midwest cooking club friends once made, I botched it. Somehow not emulsifying the oil quickly or slowly enough with the vinegar. A few years ago, I made it for a test run and served it to two couples over for dinner one evening. My two girl friends looked at one another questioningly. "Interesting," one said as she poured the separated salad dressing -- oil only -- on her salad. After that memorable incident, I moved to putting a couple store bought dressings on the table, plus the option of a nice extra virgin olive oil and good quality white balsamic. And the pepper grinder. With this, my guests had complete control over how much pure oil went on their salads. However, with a few years of practice under my belt, I've worked out the secret to an emulsified salad dressing.
In our house, we have two sons two years apart: an older brother and a younger brother. They get along pretty well but often times need their own space. To keep rooted in each other's world, we need a bit of glue to hold them together. The word "brother" is that glue. Plus, they need something they both enjoy, a common interest -- Minecraft perhaps. And they need a dash of input from Mom and Dad. And occasionally, they need things shaken up a bit so as not to drop into routines and become complacent or take one another for granted. That's it:
One house One big brother One little brother A little glue A common interest A dash from Dad A dash from Mom An occasional shake up
And that is the recipe for my salad dressing. Clear as emulsified oil & vinegar?
More to the point...
One pint Ball jar with a lid 3/4 c. extra virgin olive oil 1/4 c. your favorite vinegar (I like white balsamic) 1 tsp. whole grain mustard (or Dijon if you want a little kick) 1 garlic clove, minced to tiny bits A dash of salt A dash of pepper
In the jar, put all the ingredients, screw on the lid, and shake like heck until the oil and vinegar becomes emulsified salad dressing.
If I don't have the mustard, I don't even try making salad dressing from scratch. It's the glue for my oil and vinegar.