Smoky Ranch Dressing

just missed a bolt of lightning when I snapped this or should I say it missed me

Do you have smoked paprika gently aging in your spice rack? It was quite the darling of haute cuisine a few years back. I like paprika and I like smoked paprika. I like the fact you can get the nice smoky woodsy flavor without much heat. Here is your chance to use that paprika

This makes an excellent dip for fresh vegetables, use for any leftover roast, sauteed soft shell crabs, easy pasta or potato salad. Anything you can do with Hellmans, Hidden Valley or Green Goddess can be done with this.

Once again I will advocate for you to make your own mayo. It's called a "Mother Sauce" for a reason. It is a base for so many other dishes. Some will argue Mayonnaise is just a derivative of Hollandaise. Argue away. Don't fear your Mother. Embrace her and make her your own.

You will need a food processor and small bowl, makes about 1 cup.

Homemade Mayonnaise

• 2 egg yolks room temp local is better
• 1 teaspoon good mustard, no cheap yellow hotdog mustard*
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon good vinegar like white wine or cider, no distilled vinegar* yuck!
• 1 cup vegetable oil or you can mix it half and half with olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• few turns of the pepper mill

* When making a simple dish good ingredients will really stand out, the converse is also true

In a food processor add the egg yolks and mustard.

With the blade running slowly add the oil, then the lemon juice and vinegar.

Add salt and pepper, taste.

Smoky Ranch Dressing

• 1 shallot thinly sliced or a small piece of an onion fine dice
  
• 1 small clove garlic smashed
• 2Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
  
• 1/4 cup firmly packed parsley, not chopped, as few stems as possible
• 1/4 cup firmly packed spinach, not chopped, as few stems as possible
• 1Tablespoon caper
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 3 big pieces of fresh tarragon about 3 inches each, no stems
• fresh chives to taste, I add about 3 or 4 Tablespoons
• 1 batch of homemade mayo, about a cup
• 3/4 cup sour cream

Cook the onion and garlic in the oil until soft

Add paprika and cook one minute

In food processor add parsley, spinach and capers chop as fine as possible

Add paprika mixture and chop an addtional 30 seconds

Mix parsley mixture in a bowl with mayo, sour cream and remaining ingredients. taste and adjust

If too thick add hot water, I usually thin it out (1/4 to 1/2 a cup should do) if I will be a salad dressing but thicker if it's a dip

Leek Vinaigrette

Just in time for Easter. This dressing is a great foil for big thick meaty asparagus. Hot, warm or cold are all good ways to enjoy this. Leeks are milder and sweeter than onions witha hint of garlic. They have a silky texture when cooked and the green ends are good for making stock. Zero waste.

You will need a blender or food processor. I chose the blender

• 2 cups sliced leeks some green is OK, washed well, don't want no dirt in my dinner
• 1 shallot sliced thin
• 1 clove garlic, smashed
• 1/2 cup white wine or dry vermouth
• 1 Tablespoon whole grain mustard
• 1 teaspoon Dijon style mustard
• 1 egg
• 1 cup EVOO
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 orange zest and juice
• 1/2 lemon zest and juice
• 1/4 cup good quality vinegar, I like sherry vinegar for this a good red wine vinegar will do
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 6 turns of a pepper mill
• 2 Tablespoon freh dill (optional)

Sweat leeks and garlic in a little oil over low to moderate heat.

When nice and soft add the wine/vermouth and simmer for a minute or two. Set aside to cool. I like to take them out of the pot and onto a plate.

In a blender add the two mustards, the egg and the leeks. Puree

Add the oils slowly with the blender running.

Add the juice and zest of the citrus and the vinegar

Add the salt pepper and dill (optional)

Taste and adjust the seasoning

Caesar Salad

looks easy, put everything in the food processor and hit start

Some of the really good foods in the world have been dumbed down so much it's hard to recognize them anymore. Chicken Cordon Bleu made right is one of my favorite dishes of all time. The ones served in school cafeterias and prisons rich with rubbery cheese, water and sodium infused ham encased in a pale piece of heavily breaded chicken breast, not so much. Caesar Salad is another good dish gone bad. Let's see if we can recreate this dish and return it to it's roots.

We are making a mayonnaise and adding seasonings. We can take the safe route and use pasteurized eggs or roll the dice and use soft boiled or coddled eggs. I was brought up on the soft boiled egg and when I last checked I'm still kickin'. I use pasteurized in a commercial setting. You can even use hard boiled eggs to make the dressing. To start I suggest you just use two whole raw eggs. Next time try the coddled egg version.

whole leaf Caesar                                            a nice lunch with leftover roast

20 minutes total time     20 minutes active time   makes 1qt        Cost less than $4.00

You will need a food processor and a micro planer

• 2 eggs, raw, coddled or pasteurized equivalent ( read the side of the package for conversion info)
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed fine
• 2 oz can of anchovy filets
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• 1/2 T Pommery or other whole grain mustard
• 1 1/2 cups olive oil
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 T red wine vinegar
• 1/2 lemon juice and zest
• 1/2 cup good parmesan cheese grated fine
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 turns of pepper mill

In the food processor add in the eggs, garlic, mustards and anchovies and process for 30 seconds. With the machine running slowly add the oil in a steady stream. With the machine off add the cheese, vinegar,lemon juice and zest salt and pepper. Pulse to combine. Taste. Adjust if needed.