Favorite Salad Dressings

My friend Alana asked for the recipe for the Cafe Rio Creamy Cilantro Dressing that we used with the sweet pork and lime-cilantro rice the other night. This dressing is one of our favorites but we do it slightly differently than the recipe that Ali gave me. So below you will find the Cackalacky Kitchen version. I thought while I was at it I would jot down a few other of our all-time favorite dressings. These are dressings that I simply can't live without.

Cackalacky Kitchen Creamy Lime-Cilantro Dressing
(We use this dressing any time we want to make a southwestern salad. Usually this means a green salad with any or all of the following: grilled chicken/avocado/tomatos/corn/black beans/red bell peppers.)

1 packet buttermilk Ranch dressing mix
1C mayo
1/2 C buttermilk or milk (we used 1 full cup this last time and it was a bit too runny)
juice of 1 lime
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 bunch roughly chopped cilantro
2 tomatillos
hot sauce or red pepper flakes to taste

Put everything in the blender and let it rip! Make it several hours ahead of time to allow it to thicken. *OK, there are two ways you can cheat on this recipe...if you want to really cut corners, use 1 cup of bottled Ranch dressing in place of the mix, mayo and milk, and halve the rest of the ingredients (or use 2 cups and keep the rest the same). Or you can use 1/4 cup salsa verde in place of the tomatillos.


Best Friend Dressing
My mom is blessed with the most amazing group of friends who she's known since their college days at Manhattanville. This recipe came to me from her dear friend Tena Kavanagh, who got it from their other friend Julie Empson. I love and admire this group of women so much. This dressing is perfect on a simple green salad. Cucumbers, green beans, celery, bell pepper, tomatoes, carrots, etc. It is essentially a simple vinaigrette, with a secret ingredient. Most people will not taste the curry but somehow it makes it irresistible.

2 T vinegar
6 T olive oil
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
pinch of sugar
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 t Dijon mustard
1 T mayonnaise
1/4 t curry powder

Whisk all ingredients together, or what I do is put it all in a small mason jar and shake, shake, shake. The mayo works as an emulsifier to keep the oil and vinegar from separating... you can use that little trick whenever you make a vinaigrette.


Katie Carpenter's Spinach Salad Dressing
2 T toasted sesame seeds
1 T poppy seeds
1/2 cup sugar
2 t dried minced onion
1/4 t paprika
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil (not olive oil)

Mix all ingredients together. Toss with spinach, sliced strawberries, craisins, apples, mandarin oranges, and toasted almonds. This is Ryan's favorite salad.