Italian Vinaigrette...be it Balsamic Red Wine, or White Wine

Next time you're at the store and need an Italian salad dressing, pick up the bottle and turn it over.  Can you pronounce everything on the label?  If you can, you're better than me.  I usually have a problem with at least two of the chemical binding ingredients.  They all have separated with the oil on the top and everything else on the bottom.  Sure, you can shake the tar out of it and it'll mix a little, but if you don't work quickly, it'll separate again and you're salad will just be oily.  Oil is lighter than water, so as more oil droplets touch each other, they have a greater tendency to float upwards out of the water and settle on top.  Oil and water just don't mix.

Or do they?

There is a technique you can employ that will force the two diametrically opposed liquids to stay suspended. We can create an emulsion.

What's an emulsion?  By definition, it is a way to vigorously mix two liquids until one is so inter-disbursed into the other that it can't separate itself from the other fluid.  In the case of a vinaigrette, we're whipping up the oil so much, that the oil goes from being one large blob into miniscule bits.  Bits so small that they can't escape the vinegar surrounding them.  Therefore, no separation.

If it was just purely oil and vinegar, there is a chance that it may separate.  To ensure that won't happen, we're going to add an emulsifier, or a small ingredient that's viscous enough to prevent the oil from grouping together an floating out.  It could be eggs (which is what's used in mayonnaise to keep it smooth) or honey.  But in our recipe, we're going to add just a little bit of dijon mustard.  We won't put in enough to alter the taste, but the chemicals inside the mustard will thicken the vinaigrette and wrap the oil droplets in a coating that will prevent them joining back up and floating to the top.

Professional chefs can whisk up an emulsion in a few minutes in a large bowl.  But me... well, I'm lazy.  So instead of enhancing any carpal tunnel issues I may have, I'm going to let my blender do the work for me.  They key is to whip the liquids with the dijon mustard for at least 1 minute.

From start to finish, this will take you three minutes to prepare and will taste much better than the bottles off the grocery store shelf.

Italian Vinaigrette

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

1 cup olive oil (light or extra virgin, your choice)
1/3 cup red wine or white wine vinegar, your choice
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pepper
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (only if you want a balsamic vinaigrette)

Pour the ingredients into a blender and blend on low for 30 seconds, then on high for 30 seconds.  Pour into a serving container and pour over salads or use in a marinade.  Store in a cool dry place and use within two weeks.

See, simple and fast.  You've got enough dressing for the family, or more than enough for spicing up a pasta salad.

So forget the bottled stuff at the store and make your own in a few minutes at home.