Cat's salad dressing formula

We eat a lot of salad in our house. I have experimented a lot with salad dressing and have been asked by several friends how I make my dressing. It is different every time and varies on what i have on hand. Just wanted to give you a few tips on how to make a delicious salad dressing with a simple formula that i use.

Choose your vinegar or citrus

Vinegars I always have on hand are White wine, Red Wine, Sherry vinegar, Rice wine vinegar and Balsamic.

There are so many vinegars to choose from. Infused vinegars make beautiful bases for dressings.

Choose an oil

I most often use extra virgin olive oil.

Other choices would be grape seed oil, sunflower oil, sesame oil and sunflower oil

Add a base flavor

Garlic or shallots

Binding it together

Dijon Mustard

(I have used other mustard's or horseradish if i don't have Dijon on hand)

Egg yolk

Avocado

Vegannaise or mayonnaise

Soft cheese such as goat cheese or blue cheese

Herbs

You can add herbs to infuse more flavor. Fresh herbs are always great, but i have used dry too.

Basil, marjoram, oregano, dill

Adjust the acidity

A little sweetness cuts the tartness of the vinegar or citrus

I use Agave nectar, honey, brown sugar or Apricot preserve.

I always make my dressings as guess-timates.I like my dressing less oily so i would guess I do about 1/2 cup vinegar to 1/4 cup oil (or maybe a little less)

All the other ingredients I do by tasting as I go.

When you are cutting the acidity with a sweetness such a apricot preserve, I use about 1 Tblspn.

REMEMBER....

-Trial and error makes a good chef.

-Always taste test as you go

-Don't be afraid to make mistakes. That is always how we learn the most.

-I have thrown MANY dressings away before I got it right.