Suzi's Blog
Multitasking with Veggies: Brian’s Dip, Dressing, and Condiment
You may be familiar with Alton Brown and his entertaining show Good Eats on the Food Network. Alton is zany, brilliant, and, at times, opinionated. His number one kitchen faux pas? Having something in your kitchen that can only do one thing. He wants you to only have tools and gadgets that multitask.
Suzen and I like to go one step further: make basic ingredient combinations that can be multitasked. Those veggies in the picture above can be used at least four ways:
- A smooth, subtle dip
- A salad dressing
- A condiment for burgers and hot dogs replacing mayonnaise
- A key component in a Mexican squash soup [coming tomorrow!]
The idea here is simple: create a great vegetable base that is available for multiple combinations. The recipe for the “base” below gives you about 2 cups of cooked vegetables, enough for the dip/dressing/condiment being presented today. And there’s enough left over for the soup you’ll see here tomorrow.
While I often preach here about doing everything from scratch, the truth is every cook needs some solid shortcuts. Here I use some store-bought salad dressing. I like the Marie’s brand, found in your refrigerated foods section. The Blue Cheese and Ranch dressing are delicious by themselves, but actually a tad overpowering. Just dipping a chip in straight salad dressing can be eye opening. Here, that striking flavor is extended with veggie tones and then muted with the addition of sour cream.
Brian’s Veggie Dip and Dressing and Condiment
Yield: 1 ½ cup
Base Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Vidalia onion, diced
- 1 shallot, diced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 celery stalks, washed and diced
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
Additional Ingredients for Dip/Dressing/Condiment:
- ½ cup salad dressing [such as Marie’s Blue Cheese
- ½ cup sour cream
- Freshly ground black pepper
Base Preparation:
Put the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium-sized cast iron skillet and heat on high. When the oil is hot, add the onions, shallots, carrots, and celery. Cook for 5 minutes on high, then another 5-10 on medium until the veggies are soft. Add the garlic and cook for two more minutes.
Turn off the heat and transfer the cooked veggies to a 2-cup glass measure cup. You should have about 2 cups total.
Dip/Dressing/Condiment Preparation:
Put ½ cup of the cooked veggies in a blender, ideally a Vitamix which produces a much more homogenous mixture. Reserve the remaining veggies for other recipes, or just increase the proportions here to make more dip/dressing/condiment.
Add the salad dressing. For the Vitamix, set the speed to Variable 1. Turn the machine on, then increase the speed to Variable 10 over about three seconds. Process until very smooth, just a few seconds more.
Transfer the blended ingredients to a bowl. Add the sour cream and pepper, then whisk to mix. Store until using.
Source: Brian O’Rourke
Monogamy and Vinaigrettes
Do I support monogamy? You betcha. Cause Suzen has informed me of the long, painful death I would experience. Not that I need to be threatened. I mean, do I look like Newt Gingrich?
On the other hand, a man is entitled to a little variety in life. When I met Suzen, I was so impressed with the salad she made. Her own, private, secret recipe for a perfect vinaigrette. I love it. I still do.
But, it’s been 25 years. A minimum of 100 salads a years with that vinaigrette. Let’s see, that’s hundreds, no thousands of times I’ve experienced those flavors.
I’ve dropped hints. “Did you see that salad thingy in The Times?” Or, “What kind of salad are we having tonight?”
Finally, I bombed hints. I would leave cookbooks open, turned to a page for a great salad dressing idea. I bought ingredients. In desperation, I bought Perfect Vinaigrettes by Linda Dannenberg.
All to no avail. So, today, I am taking a step forward and announcing that I am doing other vinaigrettes. I still love my wife, but I have my needs.
My journey began last night with this very clever twist on the traditional vinaigrette. It appealed to me for two reasons. First, there is no vinegar, just lemon and lime juice. Second, it calls for chopped mint and parsley. Just a few feet out my front door, we are growing both. So, I was already prepared to try this vinaigrette.
It is delightfully distinct and different. I followed the recipe carefully, because the combination of mint and parsley is essential to the flavor, yet you do not want to lose the citrus overtones. I served this dressing over a plate of sliced tomatoes and onions. It will be fabulous with market fresh greens as well.
Lemon-Lime Vinaigrette
Yield: serves 4
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 teaspoon minced onion
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped mint
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Preparation:
In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, lime juice, onion, salt, and several turns of pepper. Stir until the salt is dissolved. Add the mustard, then slowly whisk in the oil, whisking until the mixture is emulsified. Stir in the mint and parsley and serve immediately.
Source: Perfect Vinaigrettes by Linda Dannenberg
