Instead of using the store bought salad dressings that I have in the fridge, I usually try to create my own vinaigrette. After making a red wine vinegar vinaigrette for the leftover flank steak on top of a bed of organic salad, I decided to create this honey-spicy mustard vinaigrette the next day.

Bear in mind that the measurements I’m posting below are just my estimates. I am an "eyeballer" kind of cook.

INGREDIENTS : double the ingredients if you’re making for more than 2 bowls of salad.

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tbsp spicy brown mustard
• 3 tbsp honey
• juice of 1 quarter lemon (1 small wedge)
• salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl, combine the mustard, honey, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Whisk everything together while slowly pouring the olive oil. Keep whisking until everything is mixed together.

Drizzle the honey-spicy mustard vinaigrette in the salad. I find that the organic salad mix is the best.

The best thing in making a vinaigrette is that you pretty much have everything in your pantry. As long as you have a bottle of extra virgin olive oil, the possibilities of salad dressings that you could create are endless.

(Image : DJW / Robust Cooking)

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Honey-Spicy Brown Mustard Vinaigrette

Wish-Bone Salad Spritzers come in 7oz. bottles in nine flavors: Balsamic Breeze, Italian Vinaigrette, Red Wine Vinaigrette (my favorite), Caesar Delight, French Flair, Raspberry Bliss, Asian Silk, Ranch, and Honey Mustard Buzz. Complete nutritional information is available on the Wish-Bone Web site.

Salad Spritzers retail for around $2, but there are usually point-of-sale coupons or coupons in the Sunday coupon inserts.

^{(photo courtesy of Wish-Bone)}

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Wish-Bone Salad Spritzers

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Fresh Herb Vinaigrette

Nicoise Salad (salad in the style of Nice, France) is one of my favorite summertime dishes. It makes use of summer’s fresh produce; it’s healthy; and it’s cool and refreshing on a hot sultry day. You can vary the recipe somewhat to suit your family’s tastes and to accomodate what’s fresh at the market, but this is my favorite variation:

Nicoise Salad

• Romaine lettuce
• Hardboiled eggs, cut in 1/8s
• Cherry tomatoes or small, vine-ripe tomatoes, cut in wedges
• Boiled new potatoes
• Black olives, ideally Nicoise olives (they are the tiny, black olives available in jars)
• Canned tuna packed in water, drained and flaked (You can also use fresh, grilled tuna in pieces)
• Capers
• One or two anchovy filets
• Green beans, steamed and cooled

Assemble the ingredients over a bed of lettuce. Traditionally, this is a composed salad. (that’s where the ingredients are artisically presented in individually sections rather than all mixed together.) Drizzle with Mustard Vinaigrette (see recipe below). Serve with crusty, whole grain bread and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

Sandy’s Mustard Vinaigrette

• 6 Tbsp. good quality Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
• Fresh thyme sprigs, finely chopped
• Fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• Freshly ground white pepper

Top all ingredients in a glass jar. Screw on lid and shake until the dressing is emulsified (thickens), about 20-30 seconds.

^{(photo © Newscom)}

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Nicoise Salad