Dawn Yanagihara - Best Dressed 50 Recipes, Endless Salad Inspiration

Text copyright 2016 by Dawn Yanagihara and Adam Ried.

Photographs copyright 2016 by Chronicle Books LLC.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 9781452159003 (epub, mobi)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Names: Yanagihara, Dawn, author. | Ried, Adam, author.
Title: Best dressed : 50 recipes, endless salad inspiration / by Dawn Yanagihara and Adam Ried.
Description: San Francisco, CA : Chronicle Books, [2016] | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015049121 | ISBN 9781452155142 (hardcover : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Salad dressing. | LCGFT: Cookbooks.
Classification: LCC TX819.S27 Y36 2016 | DDC 641.81/4dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2015049121

Designed by Alice Chau

Photographs by Nicole Franzen
Food styling by Erin Quon
Prop styling by Kira Corbin

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For creating such a beaut of a cookbook, Id like to thank the terrific and wonderfully talented team at Chronicle BooksSarah Billingsley, Deanne Katz, Alice Chau, Doug Ogan, Sara Golski, Tera Killip, Ellen Wheat, and Steve Kim. Sarah was our editor extraordinaire, and to her I owe a huge debt of gratitude for the opportunity to write this book. Nicole Franzen, Erin Quon, and Kira Corbin brought the recipes to life and made humble dressings and salads look stunning.

Adam Ried is the best coauthor one could ask for, and I consider myself fortunate to have had the chance to collaborate with him. Sandra Wu is a recipe-testing pro on whom I count every timea big thank-you goes out to her. Last, but certainly not least, Id like to thank my mom, Barbara Yanagihara, and my better half, Christyan Mitchell, for all their support throughout the years.

You could say that my part in this book results from doctors orders. A few years back I wrote a book on milkshakes, which, over the course of a summer, occasioned the consumption of... ahem... a lot of milkshakes. In the fall, I had my annual physical, including blood tests for cholesterol and triglycerides and such. With the results in hand, my doctor, Ricardo Wellisch, looked me straight in the eye and said, Now how about a book on lettuce and lemon juice? While you wont find plain lettuce and lemon juice in this book, its still a big step in the right direction. Heres to you, Dr. Wellisch!

A monster thanks, of course, to Dawnfriend, palate, opportunity maker, and co-conspirator par excellence. Thanks also to Sandra Wu for spot-on recipe testing and all-around loveliness, to my sister Amanda Hewell and my brother Josh Ried for their love and support, and our rockin Chronicle teameditor Sarah Billingsley, Deanne Katz, managing editors Doug Ogan and Sara Golski, designer Alice Chau, Ellen Wheat, Tera Killip, Steve Kim, Nicole Franzen, Erin Quon, and Kira Corbinfor bringing the book to life with style and care.

Any enthusiastic eater, backyard gardener, or vegetable farmer will tell you that lettuces and greens have their own flavors and personalities. Indeed they do, and fresh, flavorful produce is important for making any salad good. But we all know its the dressing that makes the salad. From a simple bowlful of lettuce to an elaborate combination of greens with cooked veggies, proteins, grains, and cheese, its the dressing that pulls it all together, defining a salads character, sending it in one ethnic direction or another (or none), and complementing other ingredients so they can do their best work on your palate.

Dressing a salad often intimidates a cookeven our food-obsessed friends are quick to hand off the job to a willing kitchen helper. Whether youve been the cook or the helper, youll find this book to be a handy little volume. In it is a range of vinaigrettes and dressings, from traditional to modern, to help you indulge every salad-y whim. Looking for a buttoned-down, quiet, classic French vinaigrette to dress a simple green salad? We can do that. Need something with a touch more depth and mystery? How about a suave Pinot Noir or citrus, honey, and rosemary vinaigrette? Craving something rich? Look into our browned butter vinaigrette or toasted sesame dressing. There are dressings here to create salads for any mood.

Though some dressings in the book will strike familiar chordsranch, blue cheese, Caesarwe modernize the old formulas a bit and create all new dressings with fresh, pure flavors and wholesome ingredients. We ditch heavy mayonnaise and sour cream and find creaminess in nuts and nut butters, tahini, and even bread. Moreover, we take full advantage of the array of international ingredients in todays well-stocked grocery stores, from pomegranate molasses to miso to chia seeds. Combined with care and imagination, ingredients once exotic but now within easy reach can launch even a run-of-the-mill salad in exciting directions.

The dressing recipes are organized into three chapters: Bright, Bold, and Rich. Bright dressings are ones that sparkle with high notes; have fresh, vibrant flavors; or lean heavily on acidity for character. Bold dressings are high-impact, pack a lot of flavor into a small space, and are big-time attention-getters. Rich dressings are just as they soundsupple and sumptuous.

Since not every dressing matches with every type of salad green (for example, ranch dressing would crush delicate mesclun), each dressing recipe offers basic Serve on suggestions for building your saladitems such as greens, roasted vegetables, and fruits. Beyond that, we offer ideas for Extrasadditions to make the salad more complete and garnishes to make it sublime. But keep in mind that our suggestions just scratch the surface, and there are delicious salads out there just waiting to be created.

The fourth chapter covers the last items to go onto a salad: Toppings. Think toasty, nutty, savory granola and crisp, irresistible fried shallots. Although garnishes such as these might be considered superfluous, a sprinkle of this or a scattering of that can elevate a salad from workaday to wonderful.

Its been said before: great results depend as much on good ingredients as on solid recipes. With salad dressings, this is especially true, since the ingredients are few. So it stands to reason that the better and more carefully chosen the ingredients are, the more delicious your salads will be.

In this section, well describe the basic components of most salad dressingsoils, acids, and flavorings (discussed in descending order of amount used)and explain the types that are commonly used in these recipes.

Without oil, there are no vinaigrettesin fact, there would be precious few dressings. Oil carries flavor, adds luster, and helps a dressing cling to a salad.

Oil doesnt stay fresh forever. Light, heat, and air are the enemies of freshness, so keep oils well sealed and stored in a dark, relatively cool spot. And, just as you do with milk or cream before using it, give your oil a quick sniff before pouring it to ensure that no rancid or off odors or flavors have developed.