Homemade Salad Dressings

CATALINA

Ketchup
Avocado Oil (Grapeseed)
Honey / Agave Nectar
Worcestershire Sauce
Red Wine Vinegar
Soy Sauce
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Smoked Paprika
S & P

I doubled some of the original ingredients the first time I made this, and it came out wonderfully! The smoked paprika gave the dressing a beautiful glossy ruby color. As I recall, I thought this was excellent, and then when I actually put it on a salad, I just thought, “ah, so so.” Still, this is one dressing, along with ranch that I like to put on my salads when I visit Ruby Tuesday’s.

I think my confusion was because some restaurants have called this dressing either French or Russian, but after perusing the Internet, I think Catalina is the correct label.

Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing

1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lime juice, more to taste
1/2 cup mayo/Greek Yogurt
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves
1/2 a jalapeno, sliced (more for more heat)
1/2 teaspoon honey/Agave Nectar, more to taste
1/2 cup cilantro, packed (tender stems OK)

I made this without modifications except for using Agave Nectar instead of honey. I like the flavor, and it heads a little more toward savory, and not sweet, like I usually like. Made a little less than a pint. This came as part of a Grilled Salmon Salad with this dressing, which I am planning to make tomorrow for the first time.

[NOTE 03/02/25]: I made this again, and I only used half of the amounts shown above, used Plain Greek Yogurt instead of mayo, Agave Nectar instead of honey, and processed it all in my chopper. It is a very pleasant alternative to my regular dressings. The Greek Yogurt makes this even more tart along with the lime juice, and there isn’t enough jalapeno to make this hot. I think it would go well with the stir fried green beans, or a simple salad along with stir fried chicken livers. [end NOTE]

[NOTE 05/02/25]:

cilantro
jalapeno
Ajicitos Dulces pepper
sour cream
lime juice
garlic powder
cumin powder
Ranch Dressing Powder (cheap 50 cents packet from Food Lion)

I did not add any sweetener or use Plain Greek Yogurt, although the yogurt would probably do just as well as the Sour Cream I used, and would certainly have less calories. I have made this twice and the Ranch Dressing powder does not take anything away from this sauce. I could also use Fenugreek powder, and I think this would be a positive addition. I added one Ajicitos Dulces pepper because they still had them a Compare foods in Fayetteville. I am also thinking that adding a tomatillo would not negate any of the existing flavors, although it might make the sauce thinner.

[end NOTE]

RANCH

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk or regular milk
¾ – 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried chives
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon finely cracked pepper
freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste approximately 1-3 teaspoons, adjust to taste*

I have not tried to make this, and when I do, if it is not good, I will either modify it or try to find a better recipe. Also, I will probably use lime juice instead of lemon, or maybe vinegar.

NOTE [ 11/02/23 ]: Okay, I just made this but only half measures and it did turn out good. Half filled a pint Ball/Mason jar, so I guess going exactly by the recipe would make a pint of homemade Ranch dressing.

I did use lime juice instead of lemon juice. I bought a quart of buttermilk, which I will probably use for nothing else. For the salad, I used mixed Spring greens, sweet onion, Campari & cherry tomatoes, and sweet red bell pepper. And, I had a slice of Tuscan Boule Loaf bread with it. Bought a new loaf this afternoon at Publix.

The only real problem with me making this instead of buying a commercial version is acquiring the buttermilk each time. *I’ve read something about making a buttermilk substitute, and may explore that.

https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/homemade-ranch-salad-dressing/

NOTE[ 11/19/23 ]: Made it again and this time went by the recipe above, but substituting lime juice for lemon juice (again), and it makes a pint of Buttermilk Ranch Dressing. *The buttermilk still tasted good, and this has been 3 weeks in the refrigerator since the first time I made this dressing. **Also thought that maybe this dressing would be good on steamed cabbage (since I didn’t like the mustard sauce).

THOUSAND ISLAND

mayonnaise
catchup
hot sauce
finely diced sweet onion
sweet relish.

I use this on my Pastrami Rachel (Reuben) Sandwiches. I put the Thousand Island Dressing on the sauerkraut, on the sandwich. I found that I can use sauerkraut as a “side,” and just add some Thousand Island Dressing to “turn it.” This is simple to make and is delicious.

ZESTY ITALIAN

dijon mustard
red wine vinegar
olive oil
sweetener
italian spices (oregano)

Not sure that this will be Zesty Italian Dressing, but this is what I use on my Greek Salad. Simple and yet the vinegar for the salad “cuts” the heaviness of a spaghetti sauce, or a round bone lamb chop. I get a lamb gyro at Pharaoh’s Legacy Restaurant and a Greek Salad, on which they dress with a Zesty Italian dressing.

[ NOTE 12/30/23 ]: I add a little sweetener to this, and I have made this a bunch in the last month.

My basic ingredients for the Greek Salad: romaine lettuce/spring mix, sweet onion, quartered small tomatoes, feta cheese crumbles and perhaps cubed cucumber.

NOTE [ 11/02/23 ]: Jeff and I had lunch together today at “Chicken Salad Chick” in Fayetteville. I had never been, but recall when it first opened that the Hendricks had gone and liked it. There were quite a number of customers, in groups, mostly older women. But we did have fun with a young woman who had trouble parking her little red car in one of the side spaces. She took an incredibly long time parking and it became funny. I mentioned her to Jeff who turned around for a brief look. And later as Jeff and I were leaving, a woman at another booth mentioned the girl’s parking. I said that I was going out to “harrass” the girl, and I took out a $5 bill, walked outside to the girl who was “finally” coming inside, gave her the money and told her we appreciated her parking effort. She seemed like a nice person, and it was an incredible act on her part, a tenacious effort to “get it right.”

NOTE [ 11/26/23 ]: I just fixed another Greek Salad. But I had a few extra items that made this one especially delicious. I did not have cucumber, and really did not want it. I had three types of olives: Kalamata (Mezzetta), Nicoise (Fresh Market) and Picholine (Fresh Market). Only the Kalamata olives were pitted. I also had some Pepperoncini Peppers (Mezzetta) and had bought a bag of “Hearts of Romaine” lettuce at Walmart yesterday. *Walmart has a bag of “Hearts of Romaine” lettuce by Marketside for about $3. If the quality and price stay the same, and this lettuce looked great, then I will buy this again as the basis for my house and Greek salads.

I chopped up a little jalapeno, some sweet onion, added some Feta crumbles and made a simple Italian salad dressing:

Olive Oil 1/2 C
Red Wine Vinegar 1/3 C
Dijon mustard 1T
Italian Seasoning
Garlic Powder
Agave Nectar/Splenda
S&P

I don’t want to use iceberg lettuce for my salads. I normally get a bag of Spring Mix salad, which has assorted greens, but these normally go bad before I am about half way through using them. And, a few years ago I had a really bad experience when I was trying to save a little money. I had some salad greens in my fridge and wanted to use some to make a salad. I noticed that a few of the greens had started to go bad, but I separated those from the greens that I used… which ended up being a bad mistake. I later became very ill and was sick, with diarrhea, for several days. And, this came just before I was scheduled for a brief vacation to Asheville. This may have been the time where, on the way to Asheville, I stopped briefly in Statesville, NC and bought a bag of adult diapers (gray in color), from Walgreens, so that I wouldn’t accidentally mess up the motel bed. *I must have been over the worst of this brief illness, and did not need the diaper, although I did wear it the first night. I stopped at a bank, a First Citizens, to get some money. It was later in the afternoon when I entered the bank and as I walked into the main room, there was no one to be seen. As I began to feel “wary” a female clerk poked her head from around an outside teller cubicle, and then came to assist me. Statesville was also where I thought about mailing some letter. It may have been given to me by someone else to mail. So, being unfamiliar with Statesville, I drove around the downtown section and saw what appeared to be an old Post Office. I think the building still had fancy gold lettering labelling the building as a Post Office. I walked up the few steps, and as I approached the front door, I noticed a warning sign regarding not bringing weapons into the building. I opened the door and as I turned to my left toward another door, I was greeted by an officer, in plain clothes. It seems that the old Post Office building was now being used as a District Court (family/divorce cases) and there must have been a problem with irate family members coming to court with guns. I explained that I thought the building was a Post Office and the gentleman politely guided me back outside. I found an outdoor mailbox around the corner and mailed the letter, and then on to Asheville.

Looks like this trip was in April of 2015, about the 15th thru the 18th. Google Timeline recorded some days back then, but not all.

I find using Google Timeline & Streetview, combined with any photos I may have taken during my trips to be especially rewarding as I am trying to tell a tale and illustrate it, or verify when or if I was at a certain location, at a certain time. And, I begin to feel more like Garrison Keillor when he would start to tell a story, segway into something entirely different, and finally bring you back to the original tale, leaving you wondering how he got to the segway without you becoming aware of the change. The segway came with the bad lettuce that made me terribly sick.