Recipe Swap: Recipes to dress up your summer salads

Last week at the senior center my friend Joan Weeks shared her interest in salad dressings with me. She and her son, Rob, have several salad dressing recipes they enjoy making and offered to share them with us. Today I have included those recipes and a Thousand Island dressing recipe from the Thousand Island Hotel in New York, where the dressing was presumably served for the first time. I hope you enjoy all of today's selections.

Avocado Dressing I

1 small or 1/2 large avocado, very ripe

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 tablespoon lemon juice

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

4 to 6 drops Tabasco sauce

Mix all ingredients in blender until thoroughly combined. Chill and serve over lettuce or other salad.

Avocado Dressing II

1 avocado

1/4 cup salad oil

1/4 cup vinegar

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup blue cheese

Salt and pepper, to taste

Dash Tabasco sauce

Mash avocado. Combine oil and vinegar. Combine these with all remaining ingredients. Serve on lettuce.

Basic Lebanese Salad Dressing

This recipe comes from the cookbook for the Phoenicia restaurant, which although now closed is familiar to many in the Cape Girardeau area.

3/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup lemon juice

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Mash garlic and salt together. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until required.

Celery Seed Dressing

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 grated onion, about 2 tablespoons

1/3 cup vinegar

1 cup salad oil

1 tablespoon celery seed

Mix all ingredients together. Serve over fruit salad of any type.

Chart House Bleu Cheese Dressing

3/4 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 1/3 cups mayonnaise

4 ounces bleu cheese, imported Danish, crumbled

Combine the first six ingredients and blend for two minutes at low speed. Add mayonnaise and blend for 30 seconds at low speed, then increase speed to medium and blend an additional two minutes. Slowly add the blue cheese and blend at low speed no longer than four minutes. Refrigerate for 24 hours before serving.

Fruit Salad Citrus Dressing

1 cup sour cream

1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese

1/2 cup pineapple juice

2 teaspoons lime juice

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons grated orange peel

Combine all ingredients in blender for 15 to 20 seconds. Makes about 2 cups. Chill and serve over the fruit combination of your choice.

Honey Fruit Dressing

2/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon celery seed

1/3 cup strained honey

5 tablespoons vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated onion

1 cup salad oil

Mix dry ingredients. Add remaining ingredients except oil and mix well. Pour oil slowly into mixture beating constantly until thoroughly blended. Yields about 1 pint.

Sherry French Dressing

1 small garlic clove

2 small white onions

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sherry wine

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

3/4 cup live oil

Lemon juice

In a mortar, pound the garlic and onions, all finely chopped, with sugar and salt. Add wine vinegar, sherry and white pepper. Slowly beat in olive oil, 2 tablespoons at a time, until thoroughly blended. Add a few drops of lemon juice to taste.

Vinaigrette Dressing

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon prepared English mustard

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup tarragon vinegar

1 tablespoon chives or green onions

2 tablespoons pickle relish

2 hard cooked eggs, chopped finely

Combine first five ingredients. Add chives or onions, pickle relish and chopped eggs and blend until well mixed. Serve over any type salad.

Spinach Salad Dressing

2/3 cup oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon seasoned pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine all ingredients and blend thoroughly. Ideal for serving on any spinach salad of your choosing.

Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad

1 cucumber, dark and slender

1 tablespoon sesame oil

Fresh ginger

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons vinegar

Cut cucumber in half lengthwise. Slice and marinate in ginger and oil at least 10 to 15 minutes. Make dressing with ginger, sugar, and vinegar. Place cucumber on plate and toss with dressing just before serving.

Picante Dressing

1/2 cup Picante sauce

1/3 cup Italian dressing

1 teaspoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons fresh ginger

Mix all ingredients. Great on chips or as a spicy salad dressing.

Authentic Thousand Island Dressing

Many variations of this recipe exist, but this version has been a favorite in Alexandria Bay, N.Y. (the Heart of the Thousand Islands) for nearly 50 years.

3 eggs

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon white sugar

1/4 cup white vinegar

1 pinch ground cloves

1 quart mayonnaise

3/4 cup sweet pickle relish

1/2 cup chopped black olives

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Cover and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, cool, peel and chop. In a medium bowl, whisk together the chopped eggs, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, vinegar, cloves, mayonnaise, relish, olives and red pepper until evenly blended. Chill and serve spooned over fresh greens. Store in the refrigerator.

Have a terrific week, and until next time, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at news@semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701. Recipes published have not been kitchen-tested by Southeast Missourian staff.