Any great salad dressing recipes out there?

I've been trying to make my own salad dressings, so I can control the amount of salt and sugar in them -- but so far, the only one that I'm happy with is a simple oil-and-vinegar: I soak some dried basil in red wine vinegar, add fresh-ground peppercorns (all colors!), a touch of salt, a touch of Splenda, and (very important) a good squirt of lemon juice. Sometimes I even mix in some grated parmesan if I'm going to use it all up right away.

So the basil dressing works for me -- but try as I might, I cannot come up with a good honey mustard dressing. My latest attempt started with some Annie's Organic Honey Mustard, which sounds wonderful, but smells very strongly of... y'know... mustard.

So if the mustard itself is so sour and harsh... then where do you get that smooth, creamy, slightly sweet and slightly tangy flavor I love so much in some restaurant dressings?

If you have some honey mustard dressing secrets -- or any other dressing recipes you love -- please share!

I really like fresh, light salad dressings... ones that are quite simple but tasty!

At the moment I tend to make a lime and olive oil one with chilli seeds, salt, pepper, honey and herbs... but there's no fixed recipe. Roughly it goes:

1/2 Lime rolled til squishy and squeezed
2 Tblspoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 Honey (runny or warmed up)
and a pinch of all the rest...

It goes really nice with fresh tuna

I don't have much in the way of creamy mustard-type dressings, but here are some of my favorites:

Creamy Caesar Salad Dressing

3 cloves garlic, peeled
3/4 cup light mayonnaise
2 teaspoons anchovy paste
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
salt and pepper, to taste

Mince 3 cloves of garlic, and combine in a small bowl with mayonnaise, anchovies, 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Serve with romaine lettuce, croutons, shredded parmesan cheese, and chopped red onion.

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This is the whole salad, but it's so good I wanted to share.

Mandarin Orange and Pecan Salad

Dressing: (You can make this ahead. Keep it chilled, but bring back almost to room temperature before tossing with salad.)

2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
1 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley
3-4 dashes Tabasco sauce

Salad:
Greens of your choice (enough for about 8 people)
1/3 c. chopped scallions
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 c. chopped "sugared" pecans

For pecans, heat small skillet over medium heat. Add pecans and about 1 tablespoon sugar. Stir and watch closely until sugar begins to melt. Turn down heat and continue to stir until sugar is completely melted. Watch carefully; they can burn very quickly. Remove from heat and cool completely. (You can make these ahead too; keep tightly covered at room temp.)

For salad, whisk sugar, vinegar, salt, pepper, and Tabasco together until the sugar and salt completely dissolve (I usually let it sit about 20 minutes at this point to give them time to dissolve). Whisk in oil. Combine all of the salad ingredients. Whisk dressing and toss well with salad.

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Spinach Salad Dressing (a lighter version)

1/3 cup sugar (I use less)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cider vinegar
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. canola oil
4 tsp. prepared mustard (I use Dijon)
1 tsp. salt (I use less)
1/2 tsp. coarsely ground pepper

Combine everything in a blender or food processor; cover and process until smooth. Serve over fresh spinach or your favorite greens. Store leftover dressing in the fridge. Makes 1-1/3 cups.

Nutritional Analysis: 2 Tbsp. dressing equals 56 calories, 3 g fat, (trace sat fat), 0 cholesterol, 260 mg. sodium, 8 g carbs, trace fiber, trace protein.
Diabetic Exchanges: 1/2 starch, 1/2 fat.

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Smoky Thousand Island Dressing - a lighter version

1/2 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. sweet pickle relish
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. hickory barbecue sauce
1 tsp. prepared horseradish
1 tsp. prepared mustard
1 tsp. Liquid Smoke

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients; stir until well-blended. Store, covered, in the refrigerator. Makes 14 tablespoons.

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Honey-Celery Seed Dressing

3 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. paprika
¼ tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
¼ c. vinegar
1/8 tsp. dried onion
1 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp. celery seed

In blender, combine honey, mustard, paprika, salt, lemon juice, vinegar, and onion. Slowly add oil, while blending, until thick. Stir in celery seed. Cover and store in refrigerator. Just before serving, spoon Dressing on your favorite coleslaw and toss until coated.

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Horseradish Dressing

3 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar (or cider vinegar)
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1-2 Tbsp. prepared horseradish (to taste)
1 Tbsp. celery seed
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Mix vinegar with sugar until it dissolves. Mix in remaining ingredients and taste for seasoning. You can use Splenda in place of the sugar, low-fat sour cream, and low-fat mayonnaise. Add the horseradish until you're satisfied as some people may not like a lot of the horseradish.
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I'll look through some of my cookbooks to see if I can find a nice honey-mustard dressing for you. I know that I've made marinades with honey and mustard, but don't remember much in the way of salad dressings.

Penzey's spices (penzeys.com) makes very good dressing mixed which you just have to add the wet ingredients. I've been buying many of them for years and am quite pleased with the results.

No I don't make salad dressing just buy it! But speaking of salad dressing. My hubby just got home from a business trip in Vegas. He told me that at dinner with some clients at a steak restaurant, the chef made the ceasar salad right in front of them and poured and poured Vodka in the salad!! I had NEVER heard of that before!! Just crazy, you can get drunk on a salad in Vegas. DH said the salad was good, OF COURSE IT WAS GOOD I think that is the strangest thing I had ever heard of going into a salad..

For what you're trying to do, I think you'll have to start with real mustard seeds and forego prepared mustards since the vinegar and salt in them may throw off what you're trying to accomplish. But if you have the time I don't think it would be too difficult.

I don't eat dressings myself. They always have a strong flavor or smell and I'm extremely sensitive to that. I jut put so many other veggies and fruit on a salad that there's plenty of moisture.

I really don't like store-bought dressings so I make a very simple one:

Vinegar (any flavour you like)
you can use some lemon juice if you have it, if not, no worries.
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard,
salt and pepper to taste,
herbs (oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary - whatever flavour you prefer)
You can add some poppy seeds if you want, I don't.
Then slowly add a stream of oil while whisking (I use vegetable or grapeseed oil because I find olive oil too heavy). The slow addition of oil will emulsify and you'll have a nice thick and creamy dressing.

This will keep in the fridge for quite some time. It is also lovely just drizzled over sliced tomatoes or cucumbers.

Try this Google search for yogurt based salad dressings. Use low fat yogurt and you don't add oil. So very calorie friendly.

Yogurt Salad Dressing Recipes

Delicious thread!... .... ... ...

Whatever they make Annie's Goddess dressing from! That's my favorite. Also a lime and sesame dressing I found once, loved it, but I can't remember where I bought it . I'm very picky about salad dressings, so I always buy a bunch and end up not liking them. There is one I just got that looks like it would be easy to make. The ingredients are:
Water, canola oil, cider vinegar, orange juice concentrate, garlic, and onion. It's yummy!

Oh my gosh! I want to come for dinner at allll your houses! These sound so good. And all these ingredients I'd never thought of! Lime and honey, mandarin oranges, applesauce, orange juice, yogurt, and... vodka? "OF COURSE IT WAS GOOD!"

And the idea of starting with pure unadulterated mustard seeds is brilliant! I even have a mortar and pestle somewhere, if I can find them!

Okay, I'm going to print these out and check that link Linda gave me, do some experimenting, and report back. Thank you all so much!

If you can't find your pestle and mortar just put them in an envelope of paper/foil/film and bash them with a rolling pin...stress relieving, satisfying and a good work out just before you eat

Honey Mustard Salad Dressing (using regular mustard)

1/2 cup vinegar
1 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon finely chopped onion
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon minced parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil

In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, mayonnaise and mustard. Add sugar, onion, honey, parsley, salt and pepper. Slowly pour oil into mixture while mixing briskly with a wire whisk. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Note: You may have to stir right before serving, too, if the oil separates.

This is delicious! It also got great reviews at allrecipes.com!