A few friends stopped over recently after a hike up Shirley Canyon. I offered them a beer, but didn’t have much to offer in the snack department. I broke out a box of Ritz crackers and after a couple sips of beer, I scooped some blue cheese salad dressing into a little bowl as a dip. It worked well, but I’ll need a new batch of dressing.
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“By using the garlic press, I am adding the juice of both the garlic
and the onion, which works more flavor into the final dressing.”
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My friends thought the blue cheese dressing was the best ever. I’m sure the hike had something to do with that, but it is wicked good. They were asking what made it different from most blue cheese dressings. Of course, they were referring to blue cheese dressings made by chefs and cooks and not the dressings you get at most sports bars, which is poured out of a gallon jug.
Over all, there is probably only one main thing that is done in this recipe that I’ve never seen with any other recipe. I use a garlic press for the garlic and the onion. This makes a difference. In all other recipes I have made, mostly dried garlic and onion powder are used or, at best, some chopped garlic and onion. By using the garlic press, I am adding the juice of both the garlic and the onion, which works more flavor into the final dressing.
And the type of cheese matters to me. I don’t like to use blue cheese that comes already crumbled. Does it make making the dressing easier? Of course, but I’ve noticed a couple of differences between using crumbled blue cheese and grating it myself. Many of the crumbled blue cheeses still have some of the scum that you can often find around the outside rind. When I get a small chunk of cheese that has that film, it really turns me off. Also, you get more flavor out of the cheese when it’s freshly grated.
OK, here is the last thing to think about that might upset a few people. This holds true for a lot of recipes, but it is especially important for salad dressings. Because everybody’s taste buds are different, make things how you like them. There are always going to be subtle differences in the cheese, garlic, onion and pepper, as well as, in the vinegar. Once you find a recipe that works for you, make sure you or whoever made the batch, is the one that always makes it.
In a restaurant, I will always have the same person make certain things — the salad dressings for one. I will get the last say on if it needs any changes, but once that person makes it a few times, he or she tends to get it right. Eventually, he or she is making the dressing by taste and consistency more than by the recipe.
Take this recipe and use it as a guide. The amounts of ingredients are close to what goes into my batches, but after the sour cream and mayonnaise, just remember those subtle differences. The next time you make it, vary the other ingredients ever so slightly until you get it perfect for you.
Enjoy.
Blue Cheese Dressing
1 to 24 oz. sour cream
12 oz mayonnaise
3 garlic cloves, pushed through garlic press
Onion, pushed through a garlic press, 1½ times the amount of the garlic
¼ C red wine vinegar
1 T fresh ground black pepper
½ t salt
12 to 15 oz. blue cheese, freshly grated
Add the sour cream and mayonnaise to a bowl. Add garlic, onion, vinegar, pepper and salt. Whisk or fold until well mixed.
Taste this. It’s your base, what makes the dressing. This is the taste you want to duplicate.
Grate the cheese into the mix and fold it in.
Smitty is a personal chef specializing in dinner parties, cooking classes and special events. Trained under Master Chef Anton Flory at Top Notch Resort in Stowe, Vt., Smitty is known for his creative use of fresh ingredients. To read archived copies of Smitty’s column, visit chefsmitty.com or TheTahoeWeekly.com. Contact him at tmmsmitty@gmail.com or (530) 412-3598.
