Vinaigrette. A Simple, Delicious Pantry Staple.

One of my favorite things to do when I have extra time on hand is to experiment with cooking and baking. With cooking I like to employ the "freestyle" method of throwing new things together in different ways. I rarely follow a recipe all the way through - although many prove to be excellent starting points. I don't measure, I eyeball. And I rely very much on my sense of smell to determine if two ingredients compliment each other. This does not bode well for being able to share my successes. Last night I found myself going through a routine that I established a couple of years ago - making my staple balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing. This is more than just a dressing. I like to add it to sauces, drizzle it over pasta and anything else that needs a little something extra. This dressing gets better with time as the ingredients start to infuse the olive oil.

This dressing is simple. It goes with a ton of different foods and it is healthy. The thing I hate about store bought salad dressings is the mile-long ingredient list. I mean come on! A little oil and vinegar goes a long way - who needs high fructose corn syrup and dextrose? (As an aside, I hate, hate, hate high fructose corn syrup and avoid it like the plague!)

Now back to the fact that I don't usually measure things.... I will give some approximations here and leave it up to you to feel out what you think tastes best.

D.D.Licious Vinaigrette
100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil ( The better the oil, the better the dressing)
Balsamic Vinaigrette - (find one that is not too acidic - I actually like Trader Joe's brand)
2-3 cloves garlic
Cayenne Pepper
Herbs de Provence (or a mix of oregano, basil, thyme)
Fresh ground salt and pepper

The key to this dressing's success is layering - a technique, which may or may not be an official culinary technique, that I use on a regular basis to try to get the most flavor out of the ingredients.

Start with the garlic. (see my Garlic post for tips)
Chop into small even sized pieces and put into a liquid 2-cup measuring cup
Sprinkle approx. 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (more or less depending on how much kick you like) and 2-3 teaspoons of the herbs. Dried herbs work great, but if you happen to have some fresh herbs on hand, add those too!

Next, add the Olive oil. Approx. 1/2 cup. If you have time, let this mixture sit for a few minutes - up to an hour to allow the flavors to infuse the oil.

Last, add the vinegar. I like to add just about the same amount of vinegar as oil - but just a hair less. This isn't rocket science - so experiment with what you like best!

I like to store the dressing in a ceramic container with a cork topper that also has a little spout. I keep mine at room temperature otherwise the oil will solidify. If you use this regularly you shouldn't have a problem with it going bad.

And there you have a simple, healthy dressing that goes with almost anything. I have had success using this in heated sauces and directly on pasta and even eggs. Let me know what you think!