Keys - Seventy-Five Homemade Salad Dressings

Simplicity and variety are the themes I want to communicate about the world of vinaigrette salad dressings. Its easy to start. All you need are a good vegetable oil and a little vinegar. In fact, Ill bet you could make a vinaigrette right now. Just look in your pantry and find a bottle of olive oil or canola oil, a small bottle of red wine vinegar, and some dry whole-leaf thyme. You have salt - sea salt, I hope - and a pepper grinder. Is there a garlic clove handy?

Lets make a vinaigrette with just these ingredients, enough for two salads. First, smash the garlic clove on a cutting board and finely mince it. Put the garlic into a small mixing bowl. Now add 1 tablespoon of your vinegar, a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper; add a hearty pinch of the whole-leaf thyme. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of your oil and you are done. You can use this vinaigrette right now, or cover it and save it for later. It couldnt be simpler and only took a minute.

The recipes here feature combinations of vinegar and oil along with an amazing array of herbs, citrus, seeds, nuts, and other ingredients to enhance your salads.

Have fun!

This one goes great with slivered jicama, orange, grapefruit, and avocado salad. Its also terrific drizzled over shredded lettuce placed on top of a steamy hot quesadilla.

Makes about 1 cup

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon New Mexico chili powder

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground fennel seeds

Small pinch of cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon snipped fresh cilantro, basil, or mint (optional)

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup light olive oil, or a blend of 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup canola oil

Combine the vinegar, honey, chili powder, ground fennel, cayenne, and cilantro in a bowl and blend evenly; season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle in the oil and whisk a little to blend the flavors. Store in a covered glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

This dressing captures the pungent and tangy flavors of the Southwest. I love to drizzle it over luscious street tacos.

Makes about 1-1/4 cups

2 to 3 green Anaheim chiles

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup canola oil

4 cloves garlic

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of kosher salt

1 teaspoon honey

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Lightly oil an ovenproof saut pan and place over medium-high heat. Place the Anaheim chiles in the pan, being careful not to splatter hot oil. Turning the chiles, blacken the skins on all sides, and then put the pan in the oven for about 6 minutes. Remove the chiles to a paper towel and let cool.

Once the chiles are cool, rub off the blackened skins, and then rinse and dry the chiles. Cut off the stem, cut the chiles in half, remove the seeds, and cut the chiles into small dice.

Put the olive and canola oils and the garlic in the saut pan and heat the oil to a slow simmer; cook the garlic for about 6 minutes. The garlic should just barely turn golden. Let the oil cool for about 10 minutes. Discard 2 of the garlic cloves, then place the remaining oil and garlic in a blender with 1/2 cup diced chiles, the pepper, salt, honey, lime juice, and vinegar. Put on the lid and process at medium speed for about 20 seconds. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

This variation gives you a whisper of the flavors of the Mediterranean.

Makes about 1-1/4 cups

2 red bell peppers

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup canola oil

4 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon honey

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of kosher salt

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Lightly oil the peppers and place them on a sheet pan. Roast them in the oven for about 15 minutes, turning them twice for even cooking. The skins should begin turning black and separating from the pepper.

While the peppers roast, heat the olive and canola oils in a saut pan. Add the garlic and cook at a slow simmer for about 6 minutes, until it just starts turning a light golden color and is soft and buttery. Discard 2 garlic cloves.