Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Buttermilk Dressing

I love salad. I went through a phase when I started working at my first job out of undergrad where I ate a spinach salad every day for lunch. For like one year. That, my friends, is a lot of spinach.

I tend to lean more toward the vinaigrette side of the great dressing debate. The more acidic, the better. In fact, if I'm the only one eating the salad I'm likely to just douse in in straight balsamic vinegar or lemon juice.

Hugh, however, is less of a fan of a salad that makes your mouth pucker. And I'm nothing if not a doting, accommodating, salad-loving wife. So I came up with a new way to dress our salads: Buttermilk Dressing. I was so excited when I first whipped this up, because, well, it's delicious. And then Hugh informed me that I had basically made my own Ranch dressing. I didn't believe him, so I googled it. And it was confirmed. And the snob within me died one thousand deaths.

But, whatever. I love this dressing. I don't care if it is glorified Ranch. It's delicious, glorified Ranch. One hundred times better than anything out of the bottle. Also, better for you. I love it on everything, but slap this on some Bibb lettuce with a few homemade croutons and that, my friends, is a little salad nirvana for you.

But I'm still not calling it Ranch.

Buttermilk Dressing
A White Hot Original
makes approximately 1 1/4 cups

1/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup buttermilk (regular or lowfat)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 small garlic clove, grated
2 tablespoons chives, finely chopped
1/3 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

Whisk mayonnaise and buttermilk in a medium bowl until smooth. Add remaining ingredients, stir to mix.

Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly. Personally, I always end up adding more lemon juice. But that's just me, trying to wear the enamel off my teeth.

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