Dad's Balsamic Dressing

I'm in Texas! 

I'm with family!

I'm still in my pajamas and my mama made me bacon this morning!

Life is so good right now.

And boy, do I have some recipes to share with you soon.  We are cooking up a storm and I'm writing down everything everyone does so I can recreate it in my tiny Boston kitchen.  But for now, I'm simply eating, taking pictures, and soaking up the glory that is being with loved ones.

Here's a quick recipe for Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette and green salad that I loved and is so easy and customizable that I just know you'll love it too.  I call it Dad's Dressing.

I call this Dad's Dressing because my dad makes it and it's delicious.  He also never makes it the same way twice, so I think any Balsamic Vinaigrette is Dad's Dressing.  Also, it's incredibly customizable.   I served it over a simple green salad along with my Onion Soup the other night and it was perfect.

Very simply, I whisked together balsamic vinegar, honey, salt, finely minced shallot, and mustard.  I find shallots to be very strong, and I didn't want to bite into a big hunk of one, so I took my citrus zester and grated it over the bowl.  The shallot still imparted it's shallot-y flavor but it wasn't so overpowering as minced shallot would be. 

I gradually added olive oil while whisking to emulsify the dressing, and then added a little bit of milk to make it creamy.  You could add mayonnaise, yogurt, cream... really anything at this point.  I used milk because I had it on hand.

I planned to serve this simply over a combination of arugula and spinach, but I accidentally bought the spinach that had a salad starter in it that contained dried cranberries, almonds, and blue cheese.  Score.  So I topped my salad with those, then drizzled some dressing over the greens.   I ate some crusty bread on the side, too.

The salad was tangy and tart and was a perfect compliment to the rich Onion Soup.  This dressing would be good on any salad, though, and I imagine it would make a great marinade for Balsamic Chicken.

Here's the recipe:

Dad's Dressing

2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon finely minced (or grated over a zester) shallot
1 teaspoon mustard (or more, to taste)
5 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup milk, at most.  I added this very gradually, whisking, and stopped when I got to the desired creaminess.  If you add too much it will be too runny.  I don't think I used an entire 1/4 cup.

Whisk Balsamic vinegar, honey, salt, shallot, and mustard together. 

Gradually add the oil while whisking constantly to emulsify the dressing

Add milk a splash at a time to the desired consistency and creaminess.

Serve on salad, makes about 3/4 cup.

*You can substitute milk for mayonnaise, buttermilk, cream, yogurt...whatever!  This dressing is very customizable so make it your own!