Cooked Salad Dressing - Gramma Hoover's Recipes

 

Some time back I scanned my Gramma Hoover's recipes from her write-in cook book. I posted them eventually on a photo storage site that I use so that family could access them. I am going to share them with you as well. :-) I have not tried many of these, so just be forewarned that I don't know how some of them will turn out for you. Others have stories or are family favorites and I may mention that when I post them.

Today I'm sharing the first recipe in her book, which happens to be one for cooked salad dressing. The blank recipe book itself was given to her in 1960 according to what she wrote in the front, so these recipes are all at least that old, and most or many are older. As you can see from the picture, this particular recipe came from Better Homes and Gardens, a magazine that has been around for years. 

This recipe came to her from Ginny, and I believe this to be a fellow missionary, Ginny Stier (sp?), who was a good friend of my Gramma's.

I grew up with recipes like these where you were actually expected to know some things from your experiences of cooking. To help out a little bit, I have added a few Editor's Notes in brackets with "EN:" to let you know it's an addition.

Salad Dressing

1/4 C. sugar (or less)

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. mustard

1/4 tsp. paprika

2 Tblsp. flour

4 egg yolks (or 2 eggs)

1/2 C. vinegar

1/2 C. water 

3 Tblsp. butter or salad oil

Blend sugar, salt, mustard, paprika and flour.

Add egg and beat until smooth and well-mixed.

Add vinegar and water.

Cook over hot water until thick and smooth. [EN: in a double boiler, stirring often.]

Add butter, remove from fire, and chill before using.

If salad oil is added it may be stirred in while hot or cold.

1 C. sweet or sour cream, plain or whipped may be added. 

[EN: Be sure to mix well after the additions where it isn't specifically mentioned.]

MSG-free Seasoning Mixes – Taco, Onion Soup and Ranch

 

Check out these great seasoning mixes.  They came from a Facebook page called Southern Gal’s Tips & Tricks.  There are quite a few interesting recipes there.  These that I’m passing on are really great for those of us with MSG intolerance, since these particular mixes are hard to find without it.

Taco Seasoning:
1/2 cup chili powder
1/4 cup onion powder
1/8 cup ground cumin
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon sea salt
Put ingredients into a jar and shake.

[My note: Chili powder does sometimes refer to a blend of red pepper powder and other spices – often including MSG.  For this recipe I’d suggest just using straight red pepper powder.  Choose yours based on the heat level that you want.]

Dry Onion Soup Mix:
2/3 cup dried, minced onion
3 teaspoons parsley flakes
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
Mix all ingredients in a jar, then give the jar a good shake. I’d recommend shaking the jar to mix the ingredients well before each use.
Use 4 tablespoons in a recipe in place of 1 packet of onion soup mix. Store this in a dry, cool place.

[My note: If you have access to an Indian store, you might want to try using dry fried onions in this to give it more of a French onion taste.  I don’t know exactly what they call them, but they are pre-cooked and browned.]

Ranch:
5 tablespoons dried minced onions
7 teaspoons parsley flakes
4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Mix together and store in an air tight container.
For dressing: Mix 2 tablespoons dry mix with 1 cup mayonnaise and 1 cup buttermilk or sour cream.
For dip: Mix 2 tablespoons dry mix with 2 cups sour cream.
Mix up a few hours before serving, so the flavors all blend.

Salad Dressing – Creamy Citrus Dressing

Due to health issues and concerns we try to avoid a lot of things in our diet.  It is necessary that we avoid MSG (monosodium glutamate), which is in many store bought salad dressings.  We also make a point of avoiding high fructose corn syrup, which also appears in many store bought foods.  My mom made a lot of homemade dressings when we were growing up (probably because they are cheaper), so it wasn’t a big challenge to us to make all our dressings at home when these things became an issue. 
I enjoy inventing my own dressings.  They may well be repeats of other people’s efforts, but that isn’t surprising since there are so many thousands of recipes available on the internet now! :-)  I hope to post some of my recipes for salad dressing here this summer since summer is a the time of year for fresh fruits and veggies.  Enjoy!
--------------------------------------------
Creamy Citrus Dressing
1/2 C. sour cream
1 C. mayonnaise
Buttermilk or yogurt if needed to thin
2 Tbl. toasted sesame seeds
Sugar or natural sweetener to taste
1-2 Tbl. lemon or lime juice (fresh is best)
2 Tbl. orange juice
1/2 tsp. ginger paste
Mix all ingredients till smooth.
This dressing is especially good on lettuce salads with fruit in them – think strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, etc.  It might also be good on a fresh fruit salad.
 
You can sprinkle the sesame seeds on top if you prefer.  It is prettier this way. :-)