The Chef Within

I was visiting with some friends last week and happened to mention to them that I had just posted some information about vinaigrette dressings.  One of them said, ”why don’t you do that for the creamy style?”…so here it is!

I really like this “creamy” base that doesn’t have any cream at all but is in fact quite light, healthy and good tasting.   The foundation contains three ingredients and equal parts of each.  Mayonnaise, buttermilk and plain yogurt.

Those three ingredients are measured into a bowl in equal amounts.  In this case I have measured 1/2 cup of each.

They are blended together with a whisk until creamy smooth.

And then the seasonings (whatever they may be) are added and blended. 

In this case I turned this base into the familiar ranch (many recipes can be found on line).  Using the mayo, yogurt and buttermilk base gives you half the calories of the traditional ranch dressing (70 calories per serving…2 tblsp).   Other variations to follow.

This amount also fits perfectly into my squirt bottles. 

The dressing needs to be stored in an airtight container and will probably need to be stirred (or shaken) before using each time.  Amazingly this base will last about two months which is plenty of time to use the dressing.

For variations:  if you wanted to give your dressing a southwestern taste you might consider chili powder, cumin, oregano, coriander, minced chipotle chilies, tabasco, chipotle tabasco, rind of a lime….

If you wanted to turn this into a blue cheese dressing then you would add crumbled blue cheese, maybe some worcestershire sauce, garlic or garlic powder…

You can season it with any number of herbs and spices.  It is so versatile.  I think it’s something you would use alot.