Restaurant Week extensions UPDATE!

My friends at BACVA (Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association) reached out to tell me that more than half of Restaurant Week participants are extending through to the 8th. Here is the link to Restaurant Week's site where you can check out all the restaurants: http://www.baltimorerestaurantweek.com/

Restaurant Week extensions

FYI: Today I received notes that Da Mimmo’s and Caesar’s Den are extending their Restaurant Week specials through Sunday, February 8th. Sotto Sopra Restaurant and Pazza Luna initially set up the extension on Restaurant Week to February 8th as well. If you’re in the mood for Italian food next week, you have some nice choices.

Let me know if you know of other restaurants that are extending Winter Restaurant Week.

Share your good experiences from this Winter's Restaurant Week!

Tip of the Week

Looking for something interesting and fun to do in Baltimore – check out www.CITYPEEK.COM.

Whether you are visiting Baltimore or live here, many of us turn to www.CITYPEEK.com for the latest on dining, hotels, and city events. Local resident Patti Neumann, CEO of CityPeek.com and former concierge extraordinaire, has for a number of years been one of the leading websites for travelers and locals to go to get up-to-date news about our city, New York, Washington, DC, the Shore and Philadelphia.

Recently, Neumann introduced CITYPEEK 2.0 geared to offer more to the locals and travelers with social media aspects of rating restaurants, booking hotel rooms and an interactive blog.

You know I’m all about food and dining is an important factor. There are few sites that offer information on dining and events here in Baltimore and I wanted you to be aware that www.CITYPEEK.com is one of those sites along with www.600block.com, www.localist.com and www.localwineevents.com. CITYPEEK does offer you the inside scoop on restaurants opening, what chefs are working where – the dining scene/gossip.

I asked Ms Neumann to describe CITYPEEK and she replied “ CITYPEEK really helps highlight the region’s natural assets from the view of someone who lives there also those who has visited the area themselves, and these add to the sense of value for those investigating what to do and where to spend their dollars. And, in this economy, you need reliable suggestions. CITYPEEK provides you with a snapshot of the BEST a CITY has to offer allowing visitors to check out other and review their favorites themselves. CITYPEEK is a foodie delight. It hosts some of the top venues in town and allows visitors to easily book tables through their partnership with Opentable.com. You can even book hotels worldwide with the same ease as Orbitz or Expedia, no fees!

Updates are current and the widely read e-news is also hosted as a blog. From NYC-DC-Philly, Baltimore and the Shore, CITYPEEK knows how to live like a local

CITYPEEK provides reliable, up-to-date information on some of the BEST
Restaurants, BEST Things To Do, BEST Places To Live and BEST Hotels in Town in an easy-to-read format.”

*******

There are so many great dining events happening in so many of our restaurants, it is hard to be on every restaurant’s e-mail list so my Tip of the Week is to bookmark these sites.

Looking for a great recipe to serve or to take to your Super Bowl Party - check out my recipe for Shrimp in Spicy Creole Sauce

Rock the house shrimp recipe - think Super Bowl

Shrimp with Spicy Creole Sauce

Want to rock the house with the BEST party shrimp dish? Here is a tried and true recipe for Shrimp with Spicy Creole Sauce. It is not dainty, extra napkins are needed because the shrimp are cooked in their shells. OOOH, the sauce, you want bread, lots of bread to sop up all the sauce. You WILL be licking your fingers for the last remaining hints of sauce.

Shrimp with Spicy Creole Sauce

Amount Measure Ingredient

-------- ------------ --------------------------------

1 Teaspoon paprika

3/4 Teaspoon pepper

1/2 Teaspoon salt

1/2 Teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 Teaspoon dried oregano

1/8 Teaspoon onion powder

1 Pinch cayenne pepper

1 Pinch dried thyme

28 uncooked large shrimp -- shells intact (21 -30 count is fine)

7 Tablespoons chilled unsalted butter -- cut into 1/2-inch

3 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 Teaspoons chopped garlic

Hot crusty bread

Combine first 8 ingredients in large bowl.

Add shrimp and toss to coat.

Melt 3 tablespoon butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and garlic; sauté until garlic is tender,about 2 minutes. Add shrimp; sauté until opaque in center, about 3 minutes.Add remaining 4 tablespoons butter; stir until melted.

Transfer shrimp to large bowl. Pour sauce over shrimp. Serve with hot French bread for dipping.

I can't remember where I got this recipe if I did I would give credit where credit is due. I just know I have been serving it for years to RAVES!

Serves 4 as an appetizer or 2 as a main course.

TIP: Keep a 2 lb bag of shrimp in shell in your freezer. New IQF (individually quick frozen) technology lets you take out exactly what you need. Thaw in a bowl of COLD water.

FYI: If you are photographing a finished dish do not eat it until you check the photographs for clarity. Hey, the shrimp smelled great and I couldn't resist them for breakfast

Simple, easy, delicious chicken recipe

This recipe is so simple, so delicious – guests were raving about it. In my search for a Scottish recipe to take to Robert Burns 250th birthday party this weekend I came across this recipe. I made about 16 chicken thighs. I seasoned the chicken pieces well with salt and pepper and browned them off in the original 4 tablespoons of butter and transferred them to my large casserole dish. I tripled the honey and lemon juice but only used 4 full sprigs of fresh rosemary. I like working with chicken thighs because they remain moist and are more flavorful. You can choose any type of chicken pieces you want.

Honey Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:
4 chicken pieces

salt to taste

fresh ground pepper to taste
2 ounces (½ stick) butter
4 tablespoons clear honey (1/4 cup)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
4 sprigs fresh rosemary

Equipment:

Sauté pan

Tongs

Dutch oven or oven-ready casserole dish with lid

Method:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Heat the butter in a sauté/frying pan and brown the chicken on all sides. Transfer the chicken to lidded casserole. Drain off fat from your sauté/fry pan and add the honey, lemon juice and rosemary sprigs and boil it for a few minutes and pour over the chicken. Cover the casserole/Dutch oven and put it in the oven for approximate 25 minutes.

The recipe is from http://www.rampantscotland.com-I have made adjustments.

TIP: When you are asked to brown chicken or any other product you want to do this with high heat. You will know the product is ready to turn when it no longer sticks to the pan.

Do you have a tasty, simple, rave-receiving chicken recipe you are willing to share?

New addition at Woodberry Kitchen

Just got a note from Chef Jill Snyder that she is working at Woodberry Kitchen. She used to work with chef Spike Gjerde. It is like a homecoming. Good fortune Jill!

The snickerdoodle catastrophe

There is nothing Barack, Superbowl or Oscars in this story. It is a story of shame, my shame. Read on….

You are wondering why my posts have been light it is because I’m helping a friend out in her kitchen in DC where she makes a lunch for between 25 to 40 Harvard University Center for Hellenic Studies fellows and employees every day. Her part-time staffer is off on paternity leave and you don’t leave a friend hanging.

My day in the kitchen starts at 5 a.m. and if I am lucky I get out at around 3 p.m. I cut and dice, wash and dry, and don’t sit down the entire time. I’m amazed I can keep up with my friend who moves at a mile a minute.

3 days back-to-back

I didn’t say breaking my back though I feel like I am with the strenuous kitchen work. On day one, one of my projects was mise en place the dry ingredients for her snickerdoodle cookies. She is precise on how she wants the dry ingredients measured and I followed her instructions implicitly. She makes up the cookie dough and refrigerates it to be baked on the next day for dessert.


Day 2: My chef friend pops a couple trays of the snickerdoodle cookies in the oven. When Sylvia (nickname Szzyl) goes to rotate the cookie sheets they have all blended together in one big glob. She starts to angst as to what is wrong with the cookies. Was it too little flour, too much sugar, was it because she refrigerated the dough overnight, too much baking soda, not enough backing soda, too little cream of tartar.

Meanwhile, I’m embarrassed that I probably measured something wrong – me the cookbook author and semi-recognized food columnist. Once the globs cooled she tasted them and said the baking soda was correct and in her best estimation it was the measurement of the cream of tartar that threw the dough off. She made a new batch of dough and refrigerated some and baked the rest. They turned out.

Unfortunately the diners got Costco raisin oatmeal cookies for dessert with their lunch today.

Day 3: Well it isn’t here yet but my only redemption for the big screw up is if her refrigerated dough doesn’t turn out and I don’t think that is going to happen. I am just sooo EMBARASSED.

Cooking tip of the week

Knowing how a vegetable grows tells you the proper way to boil it. The rule is a simple one. If the vegetable grows underground then you put it in cold water and bring it to a boil ( i.e. potatoes, carrots, parsnips) and if a vegetable grows above ground you add it to boiling water (i. e. string beans, corn).


Added tip: Do not put a lid on a pot that is cooking any green vegetable, it will turn grey.

Chocolate, chocolate everywhere and it can be yours

What if you could have all the chocolate you could consume in one evening? Every type: bittersweet, semi-sweet, dark, milk, single origin, organic and white (that isn’t real chocolate but I will concede on its name). The chocolate might be accented with alcohol, fruits, nuts and cheese. There will be chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, chocolate candy, pies with chocolate, chocolate beverages and then savory dishes with chocolate. It is a chocoholic’s dream come true.

What if you could have all the chocolate you could consume and you can walk away feeling good about yourself? By attending this evening of chocolate beyond your wildest dreams you would be helping to provide health care, health-related services, education and advocacy for the homeless – one of their dreams comes true.

Why don’t you gather up your friends and family on Thursday, February 5^th to attend this evening of bountiful chocolate at the 18^th Annual Chocolate Affair. Everyone can party to great music, find great deals in the silent auction and enjoy the offerings of 50 restaurants, caterers and chocolatiers. (*See the list below)

TV’s Top Chef alumni, Chef Jill Snyder, celebrity co-chair, will even be doing a cooking demonstration. Dick Steiner, Bill Gross, Tony Ware and Spencer Horsman will perform strolling magic, while Bellydance Delight will spice up the evening with a special performance. What’s more, models will showcase more than 100 custom fashions by Victor Rossi Couture & Ready-to-Wear.

Guests can get their groove on listening to the steel drum sounds of Tropical Heat, get out on the dance floor with a masterful mix of ‘70s and ‘80s tunes by DJ Guy Flynn, or chill to music of jazz pianist Marcus D. Smith.

Or, they can unwind in The Sweet Spa area featuring hand and foot reflexology treatments by Sole Healing’s Steve Steinberg, and DK Salon’s Beauty & Relaxation Station with face painting, hair styling and massages by “Baltimore’s Best” Masseur Timothy Green.

Gentlemen - are you open to suggestion? Celebrate Valentine’s Day early – every woman loves chocolate, avoid the crowds at the restaurants, enjoy live entertainment. It is a bargain and will make your lady think you are a thoughtful, caring and creative soul - you definitely will score points.

For more info:

WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009 - 6:00 to 9:30 p.m.

(VIP pre-reception opens at 5:30)

WHERE: M&T Bank Stadium - South Club Level Lounge

TICKETS: $75/person or $140/couple in advance; $85/person at the door.

$150/person for Chocolate Angel ticket, which includes access to a pre-event reception with
the honorary co-chairs, VIP parking , a “Heavenly Gift Bag” and special recognition.

Contact: 443-703-1396; http://www.chocolateaffair.org/

*Participating Vendors:

Akbar Palace Restaurant

Baltimore-Washington Beer Works

Belmont Conference Center

Bistro Brownies

Bonefish Grill

Bouillabaisse Cafe

CakeLove

Canton Dockside

Ciao Bella Restaurant

Charles Levine Caterers

Charles Street Gourmet

Chef’s Expressions: Command Performance Catering

Cuisine Catering & Event Planning

Dogwood Cafe

Dominion Ice Cream

Extravagant Events Catering

Family Inn Bakery & Deli

Fin Steak and Seafood

Gertrude’s Restaurant at the BMA

Glarus Chocolatier

Greg's Bagels

Hershey Entertainment and Resorts

House of Audre'

Innovative Gourmet

King’s Contrivance

La Tasca

Lindt Chocolatier

Linwood’s Restaurant and Catering

Ma Petite Shoe

Meli

Mezze

Moore’s Candies

Naron Mary Sue Candies

Oh My Chocolate

Parfections

Patron XO

Pitango Gelato

Recipe for Results

Sascha’s Catering

Sofi’s Crepes

SugarBakers

Sweet Fortunes

Taharka Brothers Ice Cream Company

Tapas Teatro

Testimony Tea

The Brewer's Art

The Fudgery

Traditions By Pamela

Tru Chocolate

Water for Chocolate Catering, LLC

Watson Caterers

We Care Baltimore

I'm getting my chocolate fix on that evening, I hope you will join me.

Tom Colicchio and Snapple

A restaurant is where you go to fill your piehole. Is that not a definition of a restaurant? There is so much more we expect from a restaurant; well prepared food, value added pricing, excellent service and a stimulating environment in which to enjoy it all. We all want to be loved and remembered, like the TV series Cheers, where everyone knows your name - we want the “Norm” greeting and to be treated well.

Chef Tom Colicchio of Top Chef, a great chef and restaurateur, tells the story of a customer who came into his restauarant with an unusual request. The customer asked the server for Snapple Ice Tea. The server went back to Tom smiling and told him of the customer’s special request. Colicchio took a couple dollars out of his pocket and told the server to go across the street and buy the ice tea. The Snapple beverage was served in a glass; the customer knew he got what he wanted and became a regular. Click HERE for the video.

How about sharing your restaurant raves where the restaurant went the extra mile. Help support my positive mood and I promise to write another story.

Too much sauce - cooking pasta correctly

Do you drown your pasta? To truly appreciate pasta it should not be swimming in ragu, the sauce. I want to impart some pasta cooking tips.

1. Always cook your pasta in plenty of well salted boiling water.
2. Cook your pasta for ½ the time written on the box directions.
3. Reserve one cup of the of the pasta boiling water for each pound you make.
4. Use heated plates. If you put hot pasta and sauce on a cold plate the sauce will break, become watery. TIP: Put the colander on top of your dinner plates, and strain the pasta over them.
5. Put the pasta back in the pot with the reserved pasta boiling water and equal amount of pasta sauce. Stir the pasta and reserved water over the heat. Cook for approximately 2-3 minutes so the pasta is al dente (to tooth) and the liquid has been absorbed and coating the pasta..you want it to be chewy not soft or mushy.
6. Take it off the heat and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil and freshly grated parmesan cheese.
7. Plate the pasta and top each portion with about ¼ cup of sauce.

Sotto Sopra's Top Chef season

Top Chef Season 5 featured two chefs from Baltimore, Melissa Harrison and Jill Snyder. Both are shining the light on our local contemporary Italian restaurant, Sotto Sopra.

First, Chef Jill Snyder, formerly of Red Maple, is working closely with Executive Chef Bill Crouse broadening her knowledge of Italian cuisines.

Chef Melissa Harrison, formerly of Baltimore and BICC graduate, has posted three of her favorite restaurants here in Baltimore on the Top Chef website and Sotto Sopra was among the three, others being Charleston and the third, the Italian-American cuisine of Little Italy, Chiapparelli’s.

For more info:
Sotto Sopra Restaurant
405 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
410.625.0534
http://www.sottosopra.us/

Top Chef Restaurant Finder - Click HERE

Whopper Virgins SNL Style

I couldn't resist posting the video from Saturday Night Live. The ad agency for Whopper Virgins should get a bonus.

Purple hummus and Wacco weekend giveaway

Purple Rain, no – Purple hummus. Tahina’s Restaurant in Owings Mills is offering FREE purple hummus and chips each Monday in honor of our fabo Ravens team. Tahina’s Middle Eastern inspired food will be on special until the Ravens get to the Super Bowl.

Tuesday: FREE Heap of Fries*

Wednesday: FREE Drink*

Thursday: FREE Dessert*

Friday & Saturday:

WACCO Weekend Giveaway- FREE $5 Gift Card with $5 Purchase

Sunday: Buy 1 Pocket or Salad, Get 1 Free

*with the purchase of any pocket sandwich or salad.

Pita any team going against our Ravens! Read more about Tahina's-Click HERE

Tahina’s

10450 Owings Mills Blvd (Next to Best Buy)

Owings Mills, MD 21117 ( home to the Raven’s Camp)

410 363-2299

www.tahinas.com

Food Fight

Elvis's gluttony - Tip of the Week

Since today is the anniversary of Elvis Presley’s birth, I was trying to think of a food tip that would be relevant to his birthday. I was astonished to read that on a daily basis Elvis consumed approximately 94,000 calories more than what an elephant consumes, which was noted at 50,000 calories. I guess we can rank the ‘hunk-a-hunk’ up there with the infamous glutton, Diamond Jim Brady.

Tip of the Week

Don’t eat 94,000 calories a day, if you do, that white jumpsuit of yours with rhinestones isn’t going to be as flattering and you might be mistaken for Liberace’s piano. Instead of the world adoring you, you will become the world.

You don’t have to diet; you just need to eat wisely. Julia Child said it most eloquently, “moderation.” She ate well and lived into her 90’s.

Read more on Julia Child and her recipe for Shark Repellent

Baltimore Restaurant Week Menus

Aah yes, 09’ Baltimore Restaurant Week starts Friday, January 23^rd and ends Sunday, February 1^st with prefix menus at discounts throughout the week. A large number of restaurants participate offering a 3 course lunch for $20.09 and 3 course dinner for $30.09.

My Rant

The menus for Restaurant Week are imperative to me as to my choices but alas half the restaurateurs don’t care enough to post their menus. Why bother to participate? Do you understand the message you are sending by not posting a menu? Afraid of food product increases then put a disclaimer – ‘menu subject to change’, at least we have an idea of what you are offering. Come on folks, this is cash flow for a notorious slow time of the year or is business that good you just don't care or are just hoping for the overflow to fill your restaurant?

I am usually on the side of the restaurateur but not this time. You are about 2 weeks out from the start of Restaurant Week and no menu, seriously – POST YOUR MENU.

Which restaurants are you going to and did they post their menus?

Anthony Bourdain spotted in Baltimore

This afternoon on Elizabeth Large’s blog, Sean posted “Um... in COMPLETELY unrelated news, Anthony Bourdain is filming in Baltimore (No Reservations) with his Russian friend Samir. Just saw him at Penn Station. Even THEY commented on the Man/Woman thing...” It took me a minute to figure out he meant the sculpture outside the train station.

The outspoken, gruff chef turned celebrity’s new season of No Reservations premieres tonight on the Travel Channel at 10 p.m. I am a big fan of Tony Bourdain, his writing and his 'what you see is what you get attitude.' I subscribe to his personal fan page and also No Reservation’s fan page on Facebook and have received an invitation to watch the No Reservations premiere this evening along with thousands of others.

Meeting Anthony Bourdain

I had the pleasure of seeing and meeting Anthony, a moment long gone from his memory but lingering in mine. It was at the first StarChef.com conference in New York, two years ago.

I couldn’t have looked worse if I tried. I had fallen two days before the conference and sprained my ankle very badly, leaving me in a cast and walking with a cane. Had I not fallen, I had planned to be in New York City the day before. I was left to catch the early morning train, around 5 a.m., with my clothes in a backpack because I needed to walk with the cane. What makeup I might have put on disappeared and my hair was a wreck – not a pretty picture.

When I arrived at the conference, there was no concierge service so the backpack of clothes remained over my shoulders as I manipulated my way around all day.

Bourdain opened the conference for chefs talking about his expectations for staff in his kitchen. He explained that during the hiring process he would ask the applicants what music they listened to and if they replied Billy Joel he wouldn’t hire them. He was thoroughly engaging, just as you see on TV.

Well, in all my glory, frizzy hair, no make up, cast, cane and backpack I chatted up Tony. I’m surprised he didn’t hold up his fingers like the cross, as to keep the demon away. My purpose was to see if he would donate a recipe for the cookbook I was co-compiling for Microplane that benefits the National Kidney Foundation (YUM-Tasty Recipes from Culinary Greats). He so generously jotted down his e-mail address and I remember it because it was so apropos to what he has written. He wore a black T-shirt with an illustrated skull with a chef’s toque on top of it and below it a chef’s knife with dripping blood. I asked him if he was going to sell those T-shirts, he just smiled. You can probably see the t-shirt in some of his past episodes.

So long story short, I wrote Tony a couple of e-mails and never heard back but other culinary greats at the conference came through with recipe donations: Elizabeth Falkner, Dorie Greenspan, David Myers, Norman Van Aken, José Andrés and my friend, Nick Malgieri who was on stage that day.

How many cookbooks do you own?

If I were to put a number on the cookbooks I own I would approximate it to be about 200. I am a cookbook addict and need to attend the Betty Ford Clinic. My cookbook compulsion links heavily with my other addiction of purchasing plates, platters and pitchers. (Alliteration intended) Unfortunately there is no support group for cookbook addiction – so I’m reaching out to you to see how many other fellow cookbook junkies are out there.

The fix

When the Jessica’s BiscuitCookbook Catalog would arrive my body would literally SHAKE with anticipation. What NEW cookbooks by my fave chefs or cooking instructors were being offered at strong discounts? I would move on from the new cookbooks on to the sale section, cookbooks for $5 or less. I would circle the cookbooks I wanted, narrow my choices and place an order within the hour. And, technology, wonderful technology, giving me Amazon.com – where else can you get a cookbook for a $1 or less.

The lust

I am grateful that my lust for the printed recipe has not left me washing automobile windshields at traffic lights or down at the ports selling my wares to visiting sailors for cash to support this addiction. Nowadays, I receive many cookbooks for free through my food styling for the authors and through the cookbook publicists who forward advanced copies. I still buy cookbooks.

I remember meeting a gal at one of my cooking demonstrations who admitted her addiction had her up to 2,000 cookbooks. In retrospect 200 cookbooks isn’t that bad although I must come clean and admit to my subscriptions to Gourmet, Bon Appetit, Food and Wine, Saveur, Sante, Plate and Intermezzo magazines.

Brethren

My foodie sisters and brothers out there you know the need, the want, the uncontrollable compulsion and lure of the cookbook. To you that new cookbook is like the best novel ever written. Whether you cook from it isn’t relevant, it is subconsciously tasting the ingredients and imagining the aromas as you turn from page-to-page.

You can’t pass a book store without lingering 30 minutes in their cushy chairs perusing the latest Lidia Bastianch or Ina Garten tome. My best cookbook find was a GORGEOUS book co-authored by Michael Ruhlman, author of The Making of a Chef and Chef Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin Restaurant called A Return to Cooking at Ollie’s Discounts. The cookbook was not priced and there was no other copy, so the checkout gal charged me $3.95. Even used, today, the book is $17.92 and they are reissuing it in May, 2009 in paperback.

Space, the last frontier

Space in my home is at a premium because of this addiction. The breakfast room shelves are filled (see photo), cookbooks are both on top and under my desk and in the office bookshelves. Let me not forget the 10-15 Asian cookbooks I lent the high school ProStart culinary team I’m mentoring that have to come back into the fold. And the cooking magazines fill all the other nooks and crannies.

At times I try to be good, I give away cookbooks to deserving foodies only to have the husband return from a flea market or yard sales with double the number of cookbooks given away. My house has become the last frontier looking for space and the cookbooks are like the Tribbles from Star Trek, who like bunnies, keep multiplying.

So answer my question, how many cookbooks do you own?

Food Trivia: Today, January 3rd is Chocolate Covered Cherry Day - I'm sure I have a recipe somewhere.

Love to Cook – Join my Love to Cook group on Facebook http://tinyurl.com/6uy2ds

Tip of the Week - Caesar Salad Dressing Recipe

My tip for the week is how to make a delicious Caesar salad dressing without using any raw or coddle egg yolk. Dijon mustard takes the place of the egg yolk to become the emulsifier. Here is my simple recipe – I don’t normally measure it but here goes.

CAESAR SALAD DRESSING
1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp of Dijon mustard
A pinch of salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 small clove of garlic minced
3 tablespoons lemon juice or sherry wine vinegar
½ to 3/4 cup of quality extra virgin olive oil

Mix the Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, salt, fresh ground black pepper, minced garlic and the lemon juice or sherry wine vinegar. Slowly wisk in the extra virgin olive oil until the dressing fully emulsifies (gets thick). Taste the finished product and adjust salt, pepper and/or lemon juice or vinegar.

This can be made in advance and refridgerated.

Adjusting your acid in this dressing and herbs creates many different vinaigrettes, i.e. red wine vinegar and oregano for a dressing for a Greek salad, Balsamic vinegar for a Italian Caprese Salad.

The components in a vinaigrette are:
-Acidity (vinegars, lemon juice, lime juice, orange juice etc.)
-Emulsifier (I always use mustard)
-Oil (Extra Virgin, Walnut, Vegetable, Canola, whatever your oil reference might be)
-Seasonings (sea salt, fresh ground pepper, dried herbs, fresh herbs, spices etc)

Oil to Acid ratio 3 to 1 or 4 to 1 (I like my dressing more acidic so I usually use 3 to 1)

Don't want to miss a post from the Dining Examiner then you can subscribe to have it emailed to you. Just click on the envelope logo below the story where it says subscribe.