Here's the salad dressing I've been making pretty much nightly for about forty years! Everyone loves it. No measurements involved.
Pour a little good olive oil directly on the salad greens and toss until all the greens are lightly coated. Then mix some fresh lemon juice and a little Dijon mustard together in a separate bown or little jar. pour on the salad, sprinkle on some salt and pepper and toss again. Eat.
I make a ridiculously easy cabbage salad, everyone seems to enjoy, especially with Indian Food. No exact measuements - just done to taste.
Marinate a bag of pre-shredded cabbage and some very thinly sliced sweet onion in a few tablespoons of lemon juice and about a teaspoon of sugar for about fifteen minutes. While the cabbage in marinating, heat about 1/4 cup canola oil in a small pan. When it's hot, add a couple of tablespoons of yellow mustard seeds and saute, shaking often, until they're popping vigorously. Remove from heat. While the oil is still warm, toss with cabbage mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let it sit for a little while. Eat.
Chomsky
This sounds really good. I've never seen jarred carmelized onions. Who carries them?
Chomsky
I live and work in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh and don't often move beyond a 3 mile radius for dinner. Fortunately there are dozens of good, cheap to moderately priced restaurants in my little slice of the world. Here are a few that haven't been mentioned: For nice Italian food La Cucina Flegrea is usually quite good. The Noodle Hut in Regent Square is cheap, and addictive. Likewise for Rose Tea Cafe, if you enjoy Taiwanese food. I think Sun Panang is pretty good too. People's India in Garfield is cheap and tasty, you guessed it, Indian food. Have you noticed cheap is a big thing with me? There's a Pamela's in Squirrel Hill too - for breakfast all day. Bona Terra in Sharpsburg has already been mentioned and is not cheap, and is more than 3 miles from my house, but I like it enough to highlight it again anyhow.
I moved to pittsburgh 2 years ago and as a vegetarian, haven't always had the most exciting choices when dining out. For the first time in a long time, my own (retched) cooking has been more exciting. I know I can't compare it to New York, but either I need vegetarian suggestions or the city has an need and opening for this corner of the market.
Anyway some friends dragged me out this week to a bar/lounge called the Firehouse for a cocktail and appetizers and I was very excited by my options on the menu. I wasn't stuck with grilled cheese, a salad, or a veggie patty. The menu was tapas style, but I would have to say some of the best food in the city ( and a beautiful, extensive wine list to boot).
I do the standard balsamic/olive oil/grainy mustard/salt/pepper/brown sugar mix
but
instead of mincing garlic I crush a large garlic clove under a big knife and chuck it in a jar full of dressing and refrigerate overnight, pulling it out just before serving.
chiffonade, I love the garlic and salt technique.
However, for newbies and those who are cooking in someone else's kitchen (like I am...my MIL's...pray for me), please be warned that the "smear" does NOT work if you use any other kind of knife besides a chef's knife! You do get a nice mixture of chopped garlic and salt, but you need a knife that is broad enough to push down on in order to "smear" it without cutting off your hand.
I've heard recommendations to use a food processor instead, but I'm afraid I'd lose all the flavor in the processor.
Do not limit yourself to one dressing, just learn the basics and whatever is in your pantry can make a great vinaigrette. The important ratio is 3 parts oil to 1 part acid (vinegar). Start there and then explore your spices, mustard, and citrus juices to find different accents on your basic recipe. Then have fun with different vinegars - after you explore red wine, white wine, Balsalmic, and rice wine vinegars then play with the flavored ones, raspberry vinegar, tarragon vinegar, and so on.
I do not often make the same one twice - I tailor mine to compliment the rest of the meal I am preparing.
Well, so many minute variations on a theme, but I still have not seen this approach and I get good cooks asking me how I make this dressing all the time. I learned it from my french room mate over twenty years ago. The secret is the order in which you deploy the ingredients, and that is what causes it to emulsify so wonderfully. It takes less than a minute and simply could not be easier.
In the correct order - in the bottom of a wooden type salad bowl:
Shake and grind salt and pepper into the bottom of the bowl. Be generous with the salt -maybe a 1/4 t.
Spoon out a hefty dollop of mustard - she used, I kid you not, French's, and I use an herb scented dijon - maybe just shy of a T. Any mustard will do.
Gingerly pour in the vingegar - I use the non-seasoned rice wine vingegar - she used a generic red wine. I use maybe 1/2 - 3/4 of T of vinegar - not too too much or it will be too tart. You can also use lemon juice in a pinch, but only 1/2 a lemon.
At this point you stir up the 4 ingredients you have so far, just for a few seconds to incorporate the liquid and seasonings into the mustard base.
Then you add a couple of T's of olive oil - again, the french woman just used corn oil which was always surprisingly good! Then you stir it up with the mustard spoon, until it is thick and well blended.
Add your mix in's - avocado, tomato, feta, leftover steamed veggies, whatever, and then put your lettuce on top of that - then toss. Le voila!
It is so simple but divine, and works every time.
It is exceptionally good with the addition of avocados. And I just read that avos, cheese and oil based dressings help your body to absorb the vitamins and nutrients in a salad much better than a low fat or no fat dressing does! LOL. Maybe there's some cosmic justice after all.
i've made slaw twice since starting the thread. the second time i increased the vinegar and mustard to make a more pickled type of slaw and it was great. i have to say i was surprised to find that it is GREAT on burgers.
wow, kids, all these mayo-less slaws sound really good.
@Lexophile--Thanks for starting this thread.
i make one that is called "mardi slaw"-- nappa and savoy cabbage, red cabbage and yellow bell peppers, all sliced very thin; dressing is rice vinegar or sukang maasim- a cane vinegar found in oriental markets, about 1/2 cup; about 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil, 1/3 cup of canola oil, kosher salt, fresh black pepper, about a tsp or 2 of dry mustard. i almost always add thai bird chilies or a jalapeno or two to this recipe and frequently i'll toss in some toasted sunflower seeds and small chunks of fresh pineapple. we like this with slow roasted spicy pork or in a tortilla as part of a fish taco.
@susquehanna, regarding Bourdain:
Yes, I was really frustrated too. I guess that it was to be expected, with a young crowd of line cooks. Though I probably wouldn't mind having a beer with Tony, that is for sure! I think that he was probably slightly amused but I'm sure he thought it was a little obnoxious and was being gracious. I also, was a little too shy - the girl next to me asked a question. Although, after I got home, I thought of the perfect question: "Was the photo shoot in My Last Supper your idea?" :)
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