Saturday, May 27, 2023

The Salad Dressing That Taught My Children to Love Salad + Homemade Brioche Buns and More Recipes for the Long Weekend

Last summer while visiting my parents, I discovered my children liked salad. Having generally not loved the salads I had served them up until this point, this was both a shocking and welcomed discovery.

They were eating my mother's Greek salad, and as I watched them gobble up chopped Romaine lettuce leaves, halved cherry tomatoes, and slivered red onions, I wondered: How? Why?

As I thought more, I realized it had to be the dressing, which my family credits to my Great Aunt Phyllis. It's a simple Dijon mustard vinaigrette, not unlike many of the dressings I had made for them before, but it calls for a higher ratio of oil to vinegar as well as a small amount of sugar, both of which help soften the acidity.

My siblings and I loved our mother's Greek salad as children, and the more I thought about the dressing, the more my children's enthusiasm for the salad made sense: the dressings I had made them up until this point had just been too sharp. Moreove, the inclusion of chopped shallots and garlic, which I love in dressings, likely provided a little too much bite. Alas.

Incidentally, in addition to this recipe being child-friendly, it's also perfect for early cooks because it requires no chopping and no juicing. It's a simple mix of red wine vinegar, mustard, salt, sugar, and olive oil. That's it!

In recent weeks I've taught two of my children how to make the dressing and doing so has brought back vivid memories of being in my childhood kitchen, working from my mother's handwritten copy of the recipe, whisking together the dressing while my mother finished the last of the dinner preparations, snagging a slivered red onion from the salad bowl, dunking it into the dressing, and loving the zing I felt in the back of my throat.

Friends, this recipe has lived on the blog for years, but on an old page that's buried in the archives. It was time to pull it out and give it a refresh. I hope you approve.

Simple Greek Salad Dressing

Memorial Day Weekend Recipes

Many people associate Memorial Day weekend with the onset of grilling season, and if you are in this camp, you may find this Marinating & Grilling 101 guide helpful.

In this post, I've rounded up all of my favorite recipes for a late spring gathering, including this simple grilled chicken recipe, this grilled Romaine Caesar salad, and this mixed berry galette.

Wishing you all a wonderful long weekend as we remember and give thanks to the many men and women who gave their lives in service to our country.

Memorial Day Weekend Recipes