Zesty Greek Salad with "Winter" Greek Dressing

The following Greek salad is typical of the style served here in the US, rather than in Greece, with the main difference being the lettuce (it's an American addition that's not normally included in traditional Greek salads).

I call my Greek vinaigrette a "winter" dressing because it's made with dried rather than fresh herbs, so you can make it year-round. If you have fresh herbs available, you can generally substitute for dried herbs by doubling or tripling the quantity (e.g., 1 teaspoon of dried oregano becomes 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped oregano). Rosemary is tricky because of its intense flavor, especially when fresh, so unless you adore its unique flavor then I recommend no more than double the amount if using fresh.

By its very nature, this salad dressing is quite flexible and versatile so feel free to adjust amounts of or even omit certain herbs to suit your taste. In addition to serving it with green salads, my Greek dressing is excellent as a marinade for chicken, fish and other seafood, vegetables, and even chunks of beef or lamb for kabobs. You can also use it to season steamed or grilled vegetables, or drizzle over seared scallops, or toss with cooked pasta.

I did not list amounts for the salad components and you should "customize" the ingredients and quantities for the number of servings you need and for your taste preferences. The anchovies are optional and may be omitted, of course.

Make this salad a meal by topping with grilled or roast chicken or meat, grilled or broiled salmon or tuna steak, or grilled shrimp.

Ingredients for Winter Greek Dressing
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano (Greek oregano if available)
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
Juice of 1 Meyer lemon (or regular lemon)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp prepared Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper

Shake vigorously in a tightly lidded jar OR use stick/immersion blender to mix thoroughly. Store in refrigerator and bring to room temperature before using. This dressing tends to taste even better the next day because the flavors will continue to develop.

Ingredients for Salad
Romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
Chopped tomatoes
Thinly sliced cucumber
Sliced sweet or bell peppers
Thinly sliced red onion
Pepperoncini peppers (sliced or whole)
Mediterranean or Kalamata olives
Crumbled Feta cheese
Optional: Anchovy filets

Combine first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Drizzle with some dressing to taste and toss to lightly coat everything. Top with peperoncini, olives, feta cheese & anchovies if desired.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Best-Selling Marinades, Dressings & Grilling Sauces for 2012

All but one of our best-selling marinades, dressings & grilling sauces for 2012 were new products added last year to the Carolina Sauces online store. It's a diverse list of sauces offering a wide range of flavors from bright and citrusy to dark and earthy, mildly spiced to hot and fiery, elegantly complex to down-home delicious. Here's the top five: 

1. Lime Time Grilling Sauce: Bursting with bright citrus flavor and feisty jalapeno heat, this tangy-sweet marinade is a blue-ribbon winner that works wonders with seafood, chicken or meat. Simply marinade in the refrigerator for 1 hour, then grill, broil, bake, roast or cook on the stove for delightful, sunny flavor with just the right amount of zip. You can also enjoy this marinade as a salad dressing, basting sauce or dip (it's great with shrimp).

2. Busha Browne's Spicy Hot Pepper Sherry: Our second-best selling sauce is one of the original products at the Carolina Sauce Company. This old-fashioned condiment adds depth of flavor and spiciness to soups, stews, casseroles, stir-fry dishes and any savory recipe calling for sherry. It's a necessary ingredient in making Bull Shots, and also works well in Bloody Marys and similar drinks.


3. Maker's Mark Gourmet Marinade: Hailing from Kentucky and enhanced with a splash of smooth Maker's Mark Bourbon, this food-friendly marinade and barbecue sauce beautifully balances tomato, vinegar and sugar with savory spices and just a touch of pepper for big flavor and mild heat. Excellent with ribs, chicken, brisket, burgers and other grilled fare.

4. Jim Beam Kentucky Marinade:  This versatile, savory marinade is reminiscent of a fine steak sauce with caramel notes from the bourbon and subtly Asian richness from sesame and soy. It's not spicy but instead is all about the complex layers of deep, dark, mellow flavors. It will tenderize while infusing your beef, pork, venison, lamb or chicken with remarkable flavor.

5. Spice Exchange Bourbon Rosemary Chipotle Marinade: For the gourmand, foodie, and anyone else who enjoys eating well, this earthy, spicy and robust marinade will satisfy your need for flavorful food. On the hot side of medium with tangy, subtly sweet flavor, it's a natural for hearty red meats on the grill but also wonderful for roasting, baking or grilling chicken.  It's also excellent as a hot & spicy table sauce.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Low Fat Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing

One of my new cooking projects is making lower-fat, lower-carb salad dressings that use healthy, natural ingredients without sacrificing flavor and mouthfeel. After all, eating should be pleasurable as well as good for you. In my continuing quest to eat healthy foods that taste good, I discovered a wonderful recipe website called SkinnyTaste.com. The first recipe I tried was their Low Fat Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing | Skinnytaste, shown on the salad in the photo. I'm happy to report that this home-made, healthy version of blue cheese dressing is a real winner. It passed the "husband taste test" in that Greg said it was MUCH better than any bottled dressings (I would hope so!) and almost as good as the best steakhouse dressing he's had (well, ok, I can live with that, especially since this was my first attempt at the recipe and I'm not a professional chef).

The recipe was very easy and took only a few minutes to make. Because it is so "rich" and creamy, a little goes a long way. I'm certain it would be great with Buffalo style chicken wings, and it's definitely good as a dipping sauce with raw carrots, celery, and other veggies. I made two minor ingredient modifications: First, I used fat free plain Greek yogurt instead of ordinary fat free plain yogurt, and this most likely helped to make the recipe extra-creamy. Nonfat Greek yogurt has a texture and mouthfeel that's much closer to full-fat sour cream. Second, I used a vegan (egg-free) light mayonnaise from Whole Foods, simply because that was the only mayo I had on hand. Greg didn't know that the mayo was egg-free, and neither he nor I noticed any flavor notes in the dressing to give that away.

Greg did comment that the dressing was on the tangy side, and he suggested using a tad less lemon juice and a little more mayonnaise the next time I make this recipe. Since I normally prefer tangy dressings and generally don't eat blue cheese dressing, the tanginess didn't bother me, but once he pointed it out I understood what he meant. It may have been the Greek yogurt that added a little more tanginess, but that can be counterbalanced by a slight reduction in the lemon juice and/or adding more mayonnaise. Next time I'll also add just a little more of the crumbled blue cheese, even though that might slightly increase the total fat in the recipe. One final note: I didn't add any salt or black pepper, but a few grinds from your pepper mill would be nice touch. And make sure you use fresh-squeezed lemon juice, and not the nasty bottled stuff.

If you try this or any other SkinnyTaste recipes, please let me know what you think.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS: This blue cheese dressing recipe is perfect for football season - don't forget to stock up on your favorite wing sauce!