Good Dressings For Good Salad

 What makes a salad? Most of the times it's the dressing. There's something special about a dressing that highlights all of a bowl's ingredients. Every flavor , from  the tang of the tomatoes to the mellowness of butter lettuce is taken to another level  simply by a mix of oil ,vinegar and other add INS,

One of my favorite salads is just a simple Spring green one with Campari tomatoes.This will be one of the highlights  for my barbecue tomorrow.I am a big fan of homemade dressing but sometimes I want a store bought one.

I;ve been discovering the bounty of both Dollar General and Dollar Tree. I was able to score Dollar General's Clover Valley Ranch.  and the famed Olive Garden Italian dressing. These are kind of hard to replicate and this is where bottled dressing comes in handy. You could even use both in other salads like broccoli, string bean and chickpea salads. They add a liveliness to these ordinary but good ingredients.

However if you want a homemade dressing that's flavorful try a honey vinaigrette. This is just simply apple cider vinegar, olive oil and a teaspoon of honey whiskey together. Some recipes call for Dijon mustard for tang but this can be omitted of the flavor is too strong for you. One of my favorite homemade dressing is the classic French. It's taking dollops of mayo and ketchup. and blending them with a drizzle  of olive oil and a splash of vinegar. I love this especially on cherry tomatoes as a nice side salad. Another dressing idea is adding fresh  lemon, lime orange and even grapefruit to the dressing instead of vinegar.This give this salad a bright sunny flavor and is perfect for a shredded chicken with almonds one. Don't use juice, unless it's the lemon or lime. Orange juice and grapefruit are presweetened and that can make for a sweeter than normal dressing. Use fresh squeezed fruit and save the peels for decoration.

A good salad starts with the dressing. It can be store bought or homemade. Just make sure it highlights the veggies and fruits used to create a stand out bowl.