Join us beginning Saturday, October 19th from 9 a.m. to Noon at the Carmel Winter Farmers Market.

Ranch Dip or Dressing

While bottled salad dressing certainly has its merits (convenience!), I have always been drawn to the idea of making my own at home.  I have tried several varieties over the years, some great and a few that make me want to stick to the store-bought options.  This summer, I had a bottle of ranch that had just a smidgen left in it; knowing that it would soon be empty, I knew this would be a perfect time to kick the bottle for good.  The next time we had salad, I pulled out a few recipes to quickly consider and compare and settled upon the one below.  I have made it several times since then, and I think it will be a keeper.  

Ingredients
  • 1/2 c sour cream (plain yogurt/Greek yogurt also work well in place of the sour cream)
  • 1/4 c mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp each of dried dill, granulated garlic, and onion powder (helpful note below with the onion powder)
  • ~1/4 tsp each of dried parsley, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 
  • 1-2 TBSP buttermilk (if you are making a dressing, rather than a dip, add a few extra splashes until the desired consistency is reached, being sure to mix in between each addition)
Directions 
In a small mixing bowl, combine all ingredients.  Once mixed, taste, and add any additional salt or black pepper as needed.  Chill and serve.

Note on the onion powder: due to its hygroscopic nature (or, tendency to absorb moisture; a term I actually remember from my food science days), my onion powder is always hard-as-a-rock clumpy.  I used to try and break up the clumps, rather unsuccessfully, with a fork and then one day had an 'aha' moment--I now use my microplane to grate the clumps into the soft, powdery texture it was intended to be.  

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