Made From Scratch: Creamy Parmesan Dressing

So, yeah, clearly I am slowly easing my way back into blogging after the New Year. Our holiday break culminated in attending the wedding of one of my dear friends in Chicago, which was an excellent way to ring in 2016. And then we returned home, and what had been the sniffles turned into a dreadful cold. Happy New Year to me, indeed.

Long story short, aside from plenty of roasted chicken (and the subsequent chicken noodle soup), not much was happening culinarily in our kitchen last week. But I am finally feeling better, and after a couple weeks of holiday eating (read: lots and lots of cookies and countless away-from-our-home meals), I am actually looking forward to returning piles of vegetables to my diet.

But, any good pile of vegetables could use a delicious dressing to bring all the flavors together. This simple creamy Parmesan dressing does just that, and it works just as well as a dip for carrots and celery sticks as it does as a dressing for greens or shredded vegetables. And, with just a simple direction to whisk all the ingredients together, it doesn't get much easier than that.

Creamy Parmesan Dressing
makes 1 1/4 cups

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Whisk together all of the ingredients. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper if desired.
2. Store any leftover dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Made From Scratch: Citrus Poppy Seed Dressing

While the weather outside is anything but tropical, I am so happy to find the grocery stores full of citrus fruits -- navel oranges, blood oranges, cara cara oranges, tangerines, tangelos, clementines, the list goes on and on.

On a recent grey day, I couldn't help but fill my shopping basket with piles of the brightly colored fruits. I immediately made plans for a citrus salad (coming later this week). But, as I was working on the salad ingredients, a chicken-or-the-egg question arose -- what came first, the salad or the dressing?

In this case, the salad dressing came first. I had a delicious poppy seed dressing not too long ago, and I  wondered if I could make my own version from scratch. As is the case with many food items, the answer was a resounding "yes!"

Since I had those aforementioned piles of citrus on hand, I added a little citrus flair to the dressing in the  form of blood orange zest and blood orange juice -- although any type of orange would do, I would lean more toward a sweeter-tasting orange given the amount of vinegar in the dressing.

Citrus Poppy Seed Dressing (printer-friendly version)
makes 2 cups (about 12 servings)

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon grated white onion
1/2 teaspoon blood orange zest
1 teaspoon fresh blood orange juice
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1. Add together the sugar and vinegar in a small sauce pot. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves, about 1-2 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, and stir in the salt and mustard. Let the mixture cool for 15 minutes.
2. Add the cooled mixture to the bowl of a food processor fit with a metal blade. Add in the onion, orange zest, and orange juice, and process for 20 seconds to incorporate.
3. With the food processor turned on, slowly pour the oil through the chute, and continue processing until the oil is fully incorporated. Add the poppy seeds and process for 10 seconds.
4. Pour the dressing into a container with an airtight lid. The dressing can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

What's On the Side: Tzatziki Sauce

Friends of ours were heading out of town last week, so they gifted us with some of the bounty from their CSA share. Among the vegetables we received were a couple of cucumbers, and my first thought was to put them to use in a tzatziki sauce. Tzatziki is a cold sauce made from thickened yogurt mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil, lemon juice, and fresh herbs. It is common to Greek, Bulgarian, Turkish, Armenian, and Middle Eastern cuisine and is often served as a dipping sauce or as an accompaniment to grilled meats.

I used fresh parsley from my herb garden in this recipe; other commonly used herbs include dill, mint, or thyme.

Tzatziki Sauce (printer-friendly version)
makes about 2 cups

1 small cucumber, seeded and grated
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 large clove garlic, grated
2 cups nonfat Greek yogurt
juice from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

1. Place the grated cucumber in a colander and toss with the sea salt. Set the colander over a bowl and place in the refrigerator to let the excess water drain from the cucumber (at least one hour).
2. Carefully press any excess water out of the cucumber with the back of a spoon.
3. Place the cucumber into a serving bowl. Stir in the grated garlic, Greek yogurt, and lemon juice. Stir in the olive oil. Then stir in the chopped parsley. Season to taste with black pepper.

(adapted from this Ina Garten and this goop recipe)

What's On the Side: Wild Rice with Sausage and Dried Cranberries

After our adventure gathering wild rice earlier this autumn, I knew that I wanted to include this ingredient in our Thanksgiving feast. While paging through the November issue of Eating Well last weekend, I came upon a recipe for Wild Rice Stuffing with Apple & Sausage, and used it as inspiration for my wild rice dish. This side dish turned out to be all sorts of Wisconsin-centric, as it included not only wild rice, but also bratwurst from locally-raised Berkshire pigs, locally-grown leeks, and locally-harvested and dried cranberries. The sausage and leeks add a nice savory flavor to the wild rice, which is complemented quite well by the sweetness (and tartness) of the dried cranberries.

Wild Rice with Sausage and Dried Cranberries (printer-friendly version)
makes about six servings

1 cup wild rice
2 cups filtered water (for cooking the rice)
1 cup chopped bratwurst, casings removed
1 leek, chopped (white and light green parts only)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
sea salt
ground black pepper

1. Cook the wild rice according to the package's instructions. (I cooked mine in my rice cooker using the "brown rice" setting.)
2. Meanwhile, remove the casing from the sausage and chop into small pieces.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until browned. Remove from the heat and place the cooked sausage on a paper towel-lined plate to remove any excess fat.
4. In the same skillet, saute the chopped leek until softened, about 2-3 minutes.
5. Combine together the cooked wild rice, cooked sausage and leeks, dried cranberries, and pecans. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.

(inspired by this Eating Well recipe)