Tonight's salad dressing

On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 20:14:49 -0400, Julia Altshuler
<[email hidden]> magnanimously proffered:

Quoted message said:

Combine in blender:

Juice of 1 lime, about a 1/4 cup
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons cream cheese
2 cloves garlic
2 Tablespoons brown mustard
several sprigs parsley and cilantro freshly picked from garden.

It came out nicely thick, good for either tossing on salad or dipping
carrot sticks in.

Sounds great. But I don't have any brown mustard and can't remember
how it tasts. How would French Dejon do instead?

--

una cerveza mas por favor ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wax-up and drop-in of Surfing's Golden Years: <http://www.surfwriter.net>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Julia Altshuler <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Combine in blender:

Juice of 1 lime, about a 1/4 cup
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons cream cheese
2 cloves garlic
2 Tablespoons brown mustard
several sprigs parsley and cilantro freshly picked from garden.

It came out nicely thick, good for either tossing on salad or dipping
carrot sticks in.

--Lia

I'd add a pinch of sugar just to add a dimension to the flavours not
enough to truly sweeten it...say 1/4 tsp. But that's my personal
preference...Sounds very tasty.

--

The house of the burning beet-Alan

It'll be a sunny day in August, when the Moon will shine that night-
Elbonian Folklore

bob said:

On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 20:14:49 -0400, Julia Altshuler
<[email hidden]> magnanimously proffered:

Quoted message said:

Combine in blender:

Juice of 1 lime, about a 1/4 cup
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons cream cheese
2 cloves garlic
2 Tablespoons brown mustard
several sprigs parsley and cilantro freshly picked from garden.

It came out nicely thick, good for either tossing on salad or dipping
carrot sticks in.

Sounds great. But I don't have any brown mustard and can't remember
how it tastes. How would French Dijon do instead?

I imagine it would be fine. The surprising thing about the recipe for
me was that cream cheese worked so well as a thickener. It doesn't end
up tasting creamy. I don't normally think of cream cheese in a
dressing, but this worked.

--Lia

On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 21:19:38 -0400, Julia Altshuler
<[email hidden]> magnanimously proffered:

Quoted message said:

bob said:

On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 20:14:49 -0400, Julia Altshuler
<[email hidden]> magnanimously proffered:

Quoted message said:

Combine in blender:

Juice of 1 lime, about a 1/4 cup
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons cream cheese
2 cloves garlic
2 Tablespoons brown mustard
several sprigs parsley and cilantro freshly picked from garden.

It came out nicely thick, good for either tossing on salad or dipping
carrot sticks in.

Sounds great. But I don't have any brown mustard and can't remember
how it tastes. How would French Dijon do instead?

I imagine it would be fine. The surprising thing about the recipe for
me was that cream cheese worked so well as a thickener. It doesn't end
up tasting creamy. I don't normally think of cream cheese in a
dressing, but this worked.

That's one of the reasons I'm going to try it. By accident, we doubled
up on cream cheese when we last went shopping, one of our daughter's
has given us a few dozen limes from their tree, we have a ton of
parsley growing outside the kitchen and all the rest of the
ingredients (except the brown mustard) at hand. So it couldn't be a
better time to give your recipe a go. Today!

--

una cerveza mas por favor ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wax-up and drop-in of Surfing's Golden Years: <http://www.surfwriter.net>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

bob said:

That's one of the reasons I'm going to try it. By accident, we doubled
up on cream cheese when we last went shopping, one of our daughters
has given us a few dozen limes from their tree, we have a ton of
parsley growing outside the kitchen and all the rest of the
ingredients (except the brown mustard) at hand. So it couldn't be a
better time to give your recipe a go. Today!

Then I should warn you that I like that much raw garlic, but not many
other people do. You might cut back on it unless you're a garlic fiend
as I am.

--Lia

Quoted message said:

I imagine it would be fine. The surprising thing about the recipe for
me was that cream cheese worked so well as a thickener. It doesn't end
up tasting creamy. I don't normally think of cream cheese in a
dressing, but this worked.

--Lia

I would never think of putting cream cheese in a dressing. I'll have to
try it next time I have that little bit left. Thanks for the idea.

--
Queenie

*** Be the change you wish to see in the world ***

On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 21:50:38 -0400, Julia Altshuler
<[email hidden]> magnanimously proffered:

Quoted message said:

bob said:

That's one of the reasons I'm going to try it. By accident, we doubled
up on cream cheese when we last went shopping, one of our daughters
has given us a few dozen limes from their tree, we have a ton of
parsley growing outside the kitchen and all the rest of the
ingredients (except the brown mustard) at hand. So it couldn't be a
better time to give your recipe a go. Today!

Then I should warn you that I like that much raw garlic, but not many
other people do. You might cut back on it unless you're a garlic fiend
as I am.

Thanks for the warning ... and for the recipe!. Funny thing is, it
never occurred to me that there was too much garlic in the recipe when
I first read it. I usually add more garlic than a recipe calls for!

Anyway ... it's nice to know there's another garlic fiend around. Pass
the parsley ...

--

una cerveza mas por favor ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wax-up and drop-in of Surfing's Golden Years: <http://www.surfwriter.net>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Julia Altshuler said:

Combine in blender:

Juice of 1 lime, about a 1/4 cup

Must have been one big honking lime. Unless it's a Meyer lemon,
I rarely get more than 2T (if that) out of a single lime. Our
"regular" limes have been really [censored] lately.

-sw

Steve Wertz said:

Must have been one big honking lime. Unless it's a Meyer lemon,
I rarely get more than 2T (if that) out of a single lime. Our
"regular" limes have been really [censored] lately.

The things we'll do for rfc. I still had 2 limes in the fridge. I'm
looking at one as we speak. I also got a tape measure out. It is 7.5"
around the narrow way and 2.5" across. It doesn't seem that big to me,
about the size of a normal lemon. It is a lime, not a lemon. The
sticker says the variety is "Susie." The label isn't exactly the same
as the last one on this page:
http://www.nationalfinder.com/fruitlabels/S/index-S.htm , but I'm sure
it is the same variety. I was hoping for a picture of the lime but
didn't find it, but it is normal looking, mostly green with a yellow blush.

Trick for getting more juice out of a lemon or lime. Pierce it, then
warm it in the microwave for a few seconds. Slice it in half, then use
a fork to help squeeze. I like a regular juicer if I'm juicing a lot
but prefer the fork for a single one.

--Lia

On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 20:14:49 -0400, Julia Altshuler
<[email hidden]> magnanimously proffered:

Quoted message said:

Combine in blender:

Juice of 1 lime, about a 1/4 cup
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons cream cheese
2 cloves garlic
2 Tablespoons brown mustard
several sprigs parsley and cilantro freshly picked from garden.

It came out nicely thick, good for either tossing on salad or dipping
carrot sticks in.

I've got all the ingredients sorted out, but it would help to know in
what order you put them into the blender and if you crushed the garlic
first.

Also - would a Magimix do the job just as well. My blender is great
for smoothies and making soup, but I'm wondering if it might whip up
the dressing too much.
--

una cerveza mas por favor ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wax-up and drop-in of Surfing's Golden Years: <http://www.surfwriter.net>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Tue, 31 Jul 2007 02:20:52 GMT, Steve Wertz
<[email hidden]> magnanimously proffered:

Quoted message said:

Julia Altshuler said:

Combine in blender:

Juice of 1 lime, about a 1/4 cup

Must have been one big honking lime. Unless it's a Meyer lemon,
I rarely get more than 2T (if that) out of a single lime. Our
"regular" limes have been really [censored] lately.

-sw

We have a Meyer lemon tree in the back garden that is a prolific
producer and seems to thrive were no other tree could grow. The only
problem is, I can't stand the taste. We give them away by the sack
full and buy our Lisbons and Eurekas at our local fruit & vege shop.

Just as soon as we get our windbreak trees established (we live on a
hill by the sea and get very strong, salty winds) one of the first
trees we plan to plant in the orchard area is a Lisbon lemon.

--

una cerveza mas por favor ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wax-up and drop-in of Surfing's Golden Years: <http://www.surfwriter.net>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

bob said:

I've got all the ingredients sorted out, but it would help to know in
what order you put them into the blender and if you crushed the garlic
first.

Also - would a Magimix do the job just as well. My blender is great
for smoothies and making soup, but I'm wondering if it might whip up
the dressing too much.
--

Other methods might work just as well, but here's the way I did it. I
squeezed the lime into a glass measuring cup so I could notice how much
juice I got. I poured the oil into the same cup so I could see that I
was putting in the same amount of oil as I had lime juice. Then I
tossed in the mustard. Until that moment, I thought I'd be stirring it
together with a fork, but I remembered that it doesn't always emulsify
that well, and I wanted something thicker. I had cream cheese on my
mind and decided to use that.

(The dog had an infection that caused her to need to be taken outside a
lot which meant I'd been up all night with her and spent the morning at
the veterinarian getting pills which turned out to be bigger than the
dog likes to swallow. I looked in the fridge for something that would
make the pill go down easier, knew that she doesn't like peanut butter
and landed on cream cheese. I had cream cheese on my mind because I was
already thinking of it as a problem solver. See how recipes are created?)

I got lazy or something and decided to use a blender. As long as I
was using the blender, I figured I could toss in some garlic so I did.
I didn't crush it first. After it was blended, I tasted it, liked it,
and remembered that I had herbs in the garden and that cilantro goes
particularly well with lime. I considered chopping the herbs and
putting them directly on the lettuce leaves but must have gotten lazy or
experimental again. I ran outside, picked the herbs which turned out to
be mostly curly parsley, gave them a quick rinse and tossed them in the
blender. It came out thick and a tad chunky.

--Lia

On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 20:14:49 -0400, Julia Altshuler
<[email hidden]> magnanimously proffered:

Quoted message said:

Combine in blender:

Juice of 1 lime, about a 1/4 cup
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons cream cheese
2 cloves garlic
2 Tablespoons brown mustard
several sprigs parsley and cilantro freshly picked from garden.

It came out nicely thick, good for either tossing on salad or dipping
carrot sticks in.

Well ... I gave the recipe a try and the texture is, as you say, good
for dipping carrot (and celery) sticks into. Unfortunately, I used
Dijon mustard and the taste has overwhelmed everything else - even the
garlic. I'm still going to serve it tonight (along with some other
dips I made for tonight's pre-dinner party drinks).

The garlic is what saves it IMO. Then I'm prejudiced.

I also added a few pinches of sugar and another tablespoon of cream
cheese (because ours in New Zealand is not as thick as what I remember
products like Philadelphia Cream Cheese being).

I also ended up using the blender because it's far easier to clean
than the Magimix. Worked perfectly (although I ended up crushing the
garlic first).

Before I try making it again, I'll try finding brown mustard. If I'm
not mistaking it for something else, I seem to remember that brown
mustard has a sort of smoky taste and isn't nearly as [censored] as Dijon. I
might also try a little Hot English mustard (made up from powder) or
some good, hot horseradish sauce instead of mustard.

To me, the joy of new recipes and experimenting is that I get to
sample, sample, sample and taste. It's one of the best excuses I know
to eat more than I should and not feel guilty about it.

Thanks for the recipe.

--

una cerveza mas por favor ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wax-up and drop-in of Surfing's Golden Years: <http://www.surfwriter.net>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 20:14:49 -0400, Julia Altshuler
<[email hidden]> magnanimously proffered:

Quoted message said:

Combine in blender:

Juice of 1 lime, about a 1/4 cup
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons cream cheese
2 cloves garlic
2 Tablespoons brown mustard
several sprigs parsley and cilantro freshly picked from garden.

It came out nicely thick, good for either tossing on salad or dipping
carrot sticks in.

--Lia

The dressing was a complete success. My mistake was judging it on how
it tasted on its own. Used as a dip for carrot and celery sticks it
was a huge success. Guests would go "yummm" and asked "where did you
find this?" And when I told them I'd made it, I got asked for the
recipe! There was none left!

Once again, thank you Lia. I told our guests I got the recipe "off the
internet" since none of them has the slightest idea what Usenet is.
But one of our friends wanted to know "where" on the internet, so I
told him about Usenet and will be going over to their house later this
week to show him how it works - and subscribe him and his wife to rfc.
I will certainly be making this dressing again - our daughter and
son-in-law brought over even more limes from their trees!

If I can't find brown mustard, then I'll try halving the Dijon and see
what it tastes like (with a piece of carrot or celery this time!). On
the other hand, using what I thought was too much Dijon didn't seem to
phase anyone else and it did taste great used as a dip. In fact, the
friend who wanted to know about newsgroups said, "I bet this would be
wonderful used as a salad dressing."

My only mistake was leaving out the parsley (because I got rushed and
forgot it). Next time I'll try it on its own and then try a little bit
with chopped coriander leaves (or parsley).

--

una cerveza mas por favor ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wax-up and drop-in of Surfing's Golden Years: <http://www.surfwriter.net>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~