Salad dressing is a crucial finishing touch for your greens. But it can also quickly transform a marinade, dip, sandwich spread, or topping for pasta salad.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a big fan of homemade salad dressing.  I cleared my refrigerator of all the super market varieties years ago.  There’s good reason to make your own vinaigrettes.  Commercial varieties seldom use the best olive oil, are loaded with preservatives, and cost a bundle.

Making your own salad dressing, you get much more flavor and better ingredients at far less cost.  Experiment with ingredients and proportions until you get your own blend.  My favorite dressing is one that I used frequently at the Governor’s Mansion.  It was one of our most requested recipes: Mansion Basil Vinaigrette.

Here’s another one that I keep on hand for multi-purpose use.

Basic Balsamic Vinaigrette 

Ingredients:  Yields: 1 cup

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3/4  cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 3/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a Mason jar and shake to combine.  Or whisk in a small bowl and place in a container in your refrigerator.

Variations: (I usually add both the honey and the anchovy paste.)

Lightly sweetened:  Add 2 tsp. of honey (to taste) to cut the tanginess.

Up the Umami:  Add 1/2 tsp. anchovy paste (comes in a tube) to the vinegar in a blender before adding the other ingredients.  Or whisk vigorously in a bowl.