In my opinion, one of the essentials to cooking is being able to make a simple and tasty marinade or vinaigrette. Packaged marinades and dressings are something I can’t get behind because of the additives and extra sugar, also, we never at them growing up. When I was working as a cooking coach, I often told my clients that the first thing to learn, because it’s simple and accessible, is how to make a homemade dressing. Ingredients as basic as lemon, olive oil and salt suffice on a salad or summer chicken on the barbecue. Red wine vinegar, olive oil and salt over my grandmothers famed string bean and potato salad. The best part is that these are all staple ingredients in the home, from the countertop to the pantry.

Now, as time went on I / my family evolved to adding dijon mustard and natural sweeteners like honey and maple syrup, which work well when you want a salad dressing to dovetail into a marinade for, let’s say, salmon. My all time favorite is using a lot of herbs and garlic, a bunch of lemon and a touch of honey to make the perfect vinaigrette/marinade, especially for spring anything from veggie based or grain salads to fish.

Our family has another history with packaged salad dressings, one that dates back to 2002 when my brother Louie was bringing home his then girlfriend for a family meal. Christina only ate salads with Wishbone dressing, something my mother abhorred and could not wrap her head around. Why would one put chemicals on their fresh lettuce??

To this day, I can distinctly remember sitting in the kitchen, with my mom, when my brother broke the news.

Louie: Mommy, Christina’s coming to dinner on Sunday. She only eats Wishbone Italian. She’s not gonna eat your salad if you go and put olive oil and vinegar all over it. Pick it up from the grocery store when you go shopping.
Mom: Are you crazy, Louie? You want me to bring that crap in this house? What kinda taste does this girl have?
Me: Cracking up – because my mom didn’t even know this Wishbone salad dressing loving chick had a kid. Bottled dressing was the least of my mom’s problems…

Lou drops his bombs in phases. Rightly so, he broke it to my mom about the salad dressing first.

The end result, my mother gave in and purchased the Wishbone Italian Dressing.

Next to Christina’s plate – and Louie’s – because he wouldn’t let his girl ‘Bone alone – sat a bowl of salad. A small bottle of Italian Dressing was strategically placed between the two bowls, a clear indicator that sharing is, in fact, caring.

But, might I suggest, that if sharing is caring, share the good stuff. Share the high end extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemons, herbs and quality vinegars. Indulge your senses and palate with fresh flavors, clean tastes and an oily yet tangy treat that will allow your vegetables to sing.

Garlic Lemon Herb Vinaigrette/Marinade

4 large cloves of garlic crushed or minced
1 1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup fresh parsley finely chopped
2 tablespoons of honey
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 2 lemons
1/3 cup of olive oil

—Whisk all ingredients together and drizzle over a salad of your making
**I love this over salmon and grain salads in particular

Dijon Vinaigrette
3 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons of dijon mustard
1 clove of garlic, minced or pressed - preferred
1 tablespoon of honey or maple syrup
1 teaspoon of salt
Freshly ground black pepper

—Whisk all ingredients together and drizzle over a salad of your making
**I love this over salmon and grain salads in particular

Basic Lemon Vinaigrette
Juice of 2 lemons
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt

—Whisk all ingredients together and drizzle over salad of your making
*I like this on pasta salads with raw or roasted veggies, or over any green salad containing lettuces that are more bitter like escarole or arugula

Sweet + Tangy Citrus Vinaigrette
1/2 up of extra virgin olive oil
Zest of half an orange + the juice of the whole orange
Zest of half a lemon + the juice of a whole lemon
1 clove of garlic, minced or pressed - preferred
1 tablespoon of honey or maple syrup
1 teaspoon of salt
Freshly ground black pepper

—Whisk all ingredients together and drizzle over salad of your making
*Yummy over any grain salad, steamed veggies and can even be used to marinate chicken!

A Few of My Favorite Vinaigrettes