Quick and easy salad dressings and vinaigrettes

Homemade vinaigrettes and dressings weren’t in my mother’s repertoire, and that’s understandable for a mother of four putting three meals a day on the table. It’s also regretful. Not until I was an adult did I know just how easy it is to make an oil-and-vinegar vinaigrette slurry or a quick whisk of mustardy, peppery dressing for salad, and how infinitely better they are to commercial sauces.

As we head into the hottest days of summer, we’re obviously eating more lunch and dinner salads — a perfect opportunity to muddle up homemade dressings and zippy vinaigrettes. Not just for salads but to gloss up garden tomatoes and crunchy vegetable compositions.

All of these dressings take only minutes and require no special tools save for a whisk or blender. And, flavor-wise, they beat bottled supermarket dressings. Time to shake up your salad game.

Foolproof Vinaigrette

1 tablespoon wine vinegar

1 ½ teaspoons finely minced shallot

½ teaspoon regular or light mayonnaise

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/8 teaspoon table salt

Ground black pepper

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions: Combine vinegar, shallot, mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper to taste in small, nonreactive bowl. Whisk until mixture is milky in appearance and no lumps of mayonnaise remain.

Place oil in a small measuring cup so that it is easy to pour. Whisking constantly, very slowly drizzle oil into vinegar mixture. If pools of oil are gathering on surface as you whisk, stop adding addition of oil and whisk mixture well to combine, then resume whisking in oil in slow stream. Vinaigrette should be glossy and lightly thickened, with no pools of oil on its surface. Makes enough to dress 8 to 10 cups of lightly packed greens.

Makes about ¼ cup

From America’s Test Kitchen

Honey-Balsamic Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Coarse salt and ground black pepper

Instructions: In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, honey, mustard, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Makes ¼ cup

From marthastewart.com

Classic Ranch Dressing

For seasoning mix

1 ½ teaspoons dried chives

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried dill

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¼ teaspoon mustard powder

For each cup dressing

½ cup chilled sour cream or mayonnaise

½ cup chilled buttermilk

Salt to taste

Instructions: For the seasoning mix, place all seasoning ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. Transfer to an airtight container and store in refrigerator until ready to use (keeps indefinitely). Makes enough seasoning mix for 4 cups dressing.

To make 1 cup dressing: In a medium bowl, place 1 tablespoon seasoning mix. Add sour cream and buttermilk and whisk together until smooth. Taste and add salt if needed. Serve immediately or refrigerate, covered, for up to 2 days (or up to 2 weeks if made with mayonnaise).

Makes 1 cup

From cooking.newytimes.com

Asian Sesame Dressing

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar

1 ½ tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons sesame oil

1 ½ teaspoons soy sauce

Pinch salt

1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced

Sesame seeds, if desired

Instructions: Shake together all ingredients. Keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Makes 8 servings

From sweetpeasandsaffron.com

Creamy Italian Dressing

¼ cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

2 tablespoons sour cream

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 garlic clove, chopped

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Instructions: Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until creamy and smooth.

Makes about ½ cup

From Food Network

Honey Mustard Dressing

½ cup honey

½ cup Dijon mustard

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Juice of 1 lemon

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions: In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients until smooth.

Makes 1 cup

From delish.com

Basil Vinaigrette

1 small garlic clove

1 cup packed basil leaves, coarsely chopped

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 ½ tablespoons Champagne vinegar

Pinch of crushed red pepper

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions: In a food processor, pulse the garlic until chopped. Add the basil and pulse until finely chopped. Add the oil, vinegar and crushed red pepper and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Makes 1/3 cup

From Food & Wine

Creamy French Dressing

½ cup mayonnaise

½ cup ketchup

¼ cup apple-cider vinegar

¼ cup sugar

1 small sweet onion, cut into wedges

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 cup olive oil

Instructions: In a blender, place the mayonnaise, ketchup, vinegar, sugar, onion, salt and pepper. Cover and process until smooth. While processing, gradually add oil in a steady stream. Let chill for an hour before serving to allow onion flavor to mellow.

Makes 2 ½ cups

From food.com

Raspberry Vinaigrette

¼ cup fresh or frozen raspberries

¼ cup white-wine vinegar (or raspberry vinegar)

1 small shallot, chopped very fine (about 2 tablespoons)

½ cup olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions: Combine ingredients in a blender until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes ¾ cup

From thekitchn.com

greg.morago@chron.com