From The House: Dijon Red Wine Vinaigrette

I have another “From the House” recipe for you to try!  This is an easy and yummy salad dressing that I started making years ago.  When I had my first child and was nursing him, I quickly learned that he was allergic to the milk that I was consuming.  So I starting eating very few packaged products and I ate a huge salad just about every day.  I would make enough dressing for each salad – then I hit myself in the head and decided to make a larger batch and store in a Mason jar. 

I like to serve this on a salad filled with apples, avocados, bell peppers, artichoke hearts; either thinly sliced red or green onions, and if I have some leftover in the refrigerator, sliced grilled chicken. 

Making a batch of this dressing is simple – I hope you do so and come back to share your feedback!

Dijon Red Wine Vinaigrette

Makes about 1 ½ cup dressing

½ cup coarse ground Dijon mustard

½ cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon sugar

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

In a Mason jar or small bowl, combine the mustard, red wine vinegar, pepper, and sugar with a fork or a small whisk.  While vigorously stirring the combined ingredients, slowly add the olive oil.  If you add it too fast, your dressing will “break” and there isn’t a really good way to recover from that.  When you stir quickly and pour slowly, you will achieve the success of nicely combined vinaigrette.

You may either serve immediately or store in a tightly covered bowl or jar in the refrigerator.  Before serving, you’ll need to shake or whisk again.

From The House Herb Butter

Here’s another “From The House” recipe for you to try.  I can’t take credit for it as that goes to the ladies from the Junior League of Atlanta.  This made from scratch Herb Butter is tasty and easy enough to modify with different herbs to your own liking.  It has been awhile since I made it, but used it this week to top a few grilled lamb chops. 

This is so versatile and stores well in the refrigerator.   I keep it wrapped in wax paper and store in a sealable container.  Use it on top of grilled chicken, grilled fish, and egg dishes.  Add it to hot pasta…hey, and why not use it on bread? 

Please give this a try and let me know what you think!

Herb Butter

Makes 1 Cup      

Recipe from True Grits by The Junior League ofAtlanta

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

1 shallot, minced

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/4 cup water

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

Combine the rosemary, shallot, and garlic with the water in a small saucepan.  Boil for 1 minute, strain and cool. You may discard the water.

Combine the strained rosemary, shallot, and garlic with the butter, parsley, salt, and white pepper in a food processor, process until smooth.  This can also be combined by hand – that’s what I did!  It saved me the step of cleaning the food processor. 

Shape into a roll on waxed paper, wrap, and chill until firm.  When ready to use, cut into slices.       

From The House: Orange Garlic Marinade

I’m excited to announce that I am adding a new section to my blog called “From The House”.  This page will feature recipes that are created from scratch such sauces, dressings, marinades, etc. that I frequently make in my  kitchen!  It is definitely a work in progress right now, but I will continue to add to it over time.

This first recipe is an easy marinade that is perfect to use on chicken prior to grilling.  The chicken then can be served alongside fresh veggies, quinoa, rice, or even on top of a salad to round out your meal.  I hope you will give this a try and come back to give me your thoughts!

Orange Garlic Marinade

For 4 -6 chicken breasts

1 cup orange juice

¼ teaspoon liquid smoke

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon minced ginger (I use the kind in the tube by Gourmet Garden)

Dash hot sauce

2 green onions, sliced

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ teaspoon dried basil

Salt & Pepper

Combine all of the ingredients with a whisk.  Lay chicken breasts flat in a large pan.  Pour marinade into the dish and flip over the chicken to cover both sides.  

Cover with plastic wrap and turn occasionally.  Allow to marinate for 6-8 hours in the refrigerator.  Grill chicken until done and discard marinade. 

I love serving this with a tossed salad, filled with carrots, mushrooms, radishes, apples, avocados, and artichoke hearts!  My boys eat way more meat if it is cut small for some reason!  Here is the finished product!