Creamy Italian Dressing

CreamItalianDressingVertbfLODon’t be fooled by the Good Seasons cruet – this is 100% home-made-from-scratch salad dressing; and not too, too bad, either.

On the list of stuff for Rich to avoid is bottled salad dressings, but he isn’t quite feeling the love for my new favorite Catalina, or the really very nice Spiced Dressing; both adaptations of the classic French Dressing (my recipe here) that seemed to be omnipresent on vintage menus. His  dressing of choice being Marie’s Creamy Italian Garlic, I thought I’d take a stab at a home version when I came across a recipe for romaine salad from Robert Irvine at the Food Network. In truth, Mr. Irvine offered two dressing options for his salad, but since I would rather eat live octopus than raspberries, I passed on his berry vinaigrette.

INGREDIENTS
•3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
•1 garlic clove, lightly crushed
•1/8 tsp ground black pepper
•1/2 tsp salt
CreamyGarlic01bfLO•1 pinch crushed red pepper
•2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, shredded
•3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil – I did a mix of half extra-virgin olive oil and half canola, just because all olive-oil tends to chill into a solid chunk in the fridge

Add the vinegar to a blender, and, while running, add  through the feed opening in the top, the garlic, black pepper, salt, red pepper, and cheese.

CarrotGarlicbfLOWith the blender still running, add the oil in a slow, thin stream until the dressing emulsifies.

It may have been my mix of oils, but this dressing, unlike the Catalina, will separate on standing – not really a big deal, a good shake in the cruet and you’re good to go.

As a side note, I tried some of this dressing over carrots with some chopped fresh parsley and served it on top of romaine, and it wasn’t too, too bad.

Not the BEST Carrots, but nothing to complain about, either.

Just a thought.

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