Little House in the Northwoods House Salad Dressing
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This right here is the ultimate "House" salad dressing. We LOVE the loud zestiness of oil and vinegar based dressings, yet still long for the dip-ability of a creamy ranch type dressing. This dressing is a great base recipe that fits the bill! It's amazing as is, but other spices can be added to elevate this dressing to complement any cuisine.
The inspiration for this dressing was a complilation of several versions of a recipe floating around that are meant to replicate the "Caeser's and Pizza" expierience of the area we reside in. Our area is well known for a couple of locally owned family owned restaurants that absolutley deserve the fanbase that they have. I don't know all of the story behind them, but I want to give credit wherever I can. The inspiration for our recipe can be found here on PJ Fonatecchio's Youtube Channel.
There are a couple of changes we made to PJ's recipe. One of the biggest changes we made, is that we use fish sauce rather than anchovy paste. Fish sauce is made from anchovies, can be found in the asian section of most grocery stores and lasts much longer in the refridgerator than the remaining canned anchovy. I'm sure the restaurant uses the entire can. Also, fish sauce is a very versatile ingredient that can be used in any dish that asks for a umami saltiness. If I was to describe umami in my own words, it would be that umami is "extra meaty flavor that allows for this recipe to get away with less salt".
Maybe I am wrong on amount of salt. Maybe the salt in anchovies translates, but I digress. As an ingredient anchovies are very effective little soldiers that deliver big taste. Make no mistake. A single anchovy eaten alone is only for the brave! Ask any of the locals that LOVE Bagna Cauda. I'll just let you google that one.
PJ also adds parmesan cheese directly to the recipe, which makes it AMAZING! We left it out thinking it will maybe last longer in the fridge for home use. We can then add the parmesan, or other cheese, when we use the dressing. Sometimes I like blue cheese, or Kevin likes feta, or Mackenzie likes cheddar. It just makes it more versatile for us on any given day. See our variations that we list below; we will add more if we try new variations and they are good!
We hope you enjoy this recipe, and hope it pays homage to it's original creators!
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 0 min
Total Time: 15 hr
Serves:Makes about 1 quart of dressing,
Ingredients:
- 28 oz. Avocado Mayo or preferred Mayonnaise
- ¼ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar, with mother or preferred vinegar
- ¼ Cup Lemon or Lime Juice
- 2 Tblsp Fish Sauce
- ½ Cup Sugar or Honey
- 2 Tblsp Garlic Powder
- ¼ Cup Dried Parsley Flakes
- ¼ Tsp Celery Seed
- 2 Tsp preferred salt
- ½ Tsp Pepper
Directions:
- Put everything in a bowl and whisk it up.
- Or use your blender. Whatever works for you!
Variations
- Asian Inspired ‐ 2 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp red pepper flakes. Substitute Soy Sauce for half of lemon juice.
- Southwest Tex-Mex Inspired ‐ 2 to 3 Tablespoons of Southwest Seasoning (Recipe Coming Soon!) You could use a tablespoon at a time of taco seasoning. Taste and decide if you want more!
- Cream Cheese and Dill ‐ Great for a Norwegian inspired salad with salmon and dried blueberries. Add a brick of cream cheese and 2 Tblsp dill weed.
“ Learn character from trees, values from roots, and change from leaves. ”~Tasneern Harneed |