Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Honey Red Wine Vinaigrette

I very RARELY make a homemade dressing. I have a huge selection of bottled dressings in the grocery aisle, so why bother? Well, special occasions may be a good reason to try a homemade dressing. After being assigned to bring a salad to my in-laws for Christmas I went in search of the perfect salad. After finding a recipe for Candied Walnut Salad on Our Best Bites, I followed their link to Honey Red Wine Vinaigrette. It seemed simple enough.

In the craziness of Christmas, my husband and I were frantically getting ready for a trip to his parents at 10 pm on Christmas Eve. I was candying the walnuts for the salad and my husband quickly was able to assemble the dressing ingredients. Now in our family, I am numero uno in the kitchen. My husband can pretty much make himself some chicken nuggets, but otherwise the kitchen is MY domain. So apparently putting together a homemade dressing isn't too difficult!

I didn't make any nutritional changes to this recipe. With dressings, unless you are eliminating or decreasing the amount of oil that is in the dressing, your best idea is just to limit the amount that you are using. I calculated the nutrition facts for a 2 Tablespoon serving, but I would estimate that I had actually half of that on my salad portion. I also substituted apple cider vinegar for red wine vinegar (because that's what I had!) and I added a Tbsp of poppy seeds just to add a little pop on the salad.

Honey Red Wine Vinaigrette


1/2 cup red wine vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
1/2 cup honey
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp fresh coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 cup canola oil

In a blender combine vinegar, honey, garlic, salt and pepper. Place lid on blender and blend on high. While blender is running, add oil in steady stream. Store in refrigerator for up to 2-3 weeks. Shake well before serving.

*** I also added 1 Tbsp poppy seeds although did not include that in the nutrition facts.

Per 2 Tbsp serving:
125 calories
9.1 g fat
194.6 mg sodium
12.5 g carbohydrate
0.1 g fiber
0.1 g protein

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