Ranch Dressing
I don’t think I’ve ever told you this…but I’m kind of a sauce girl. Like, if there isn’t a sauce involved I’m roughly 60% more likely to not be interested. While I’m here I might as well confess my deep-seated love of a restaurant ranch. I’m not above turning a blind eye to those ingredients for that sweet first dip of a chicken tender. Live, we must, and to that end— a ranch that marries that borderline addictive (in the most positive, healthy way, haha) magical restaurant ranch quality, sans all the gross ingredients.
This ranch is heavy on the dill and chives- a must, in my opinion. I love the bright, grassy, pickle-y notes from the dill coupled with the chives. Because the chives are mild, do not skimp! We want that herbaceous oniony flavor dispersed throughout the dressing. There’s garlic involved, but not too much, because while we’re not making a garlic dressing here, the slight punch from the garlic brings some much needed zest to the creamy, herby backdrop. Speaking of zest, that of 1 lemon is involved. I firmly believe that in every situation, if you don’t zest your lemon before juicing, you’re missing out on half the flavor experience. From the pantry section we’ve got a healthy dose of onion and garlic powder, which, turns out, in my opinion, is what gives this dressing its ranch-y vibe. This brings me to an important unimportant topic: Whole Milk vs. Buttermilk. This is totally a matter of preference. I’ve heard a lot of people say buttermilk is what makes a ranch, and TBH, that’s a hard disagree for me. I know, I’m getting real controversial here. Just in my personal preference, I find that when I add buttermilk, sure, it’s good, but it’s a dominant flavor profile. When I’m in the mood for a ranch, I want the herbs and aromatics to be the star. If that’s you, go whole milk. If you know buttermilk is your jam, do it, I love that for you. So glad we got that out of the way! ;)
Beyond the above my other recommendation for this recipe is grabbing some airtight glass jars and making a big batch because this stuff tends to go quick. Perhaps because it’s hard to find things it’s not delicious with. Beyond all the delicious things one can dip in this goodness, my favorite way to have this ranch in on a giiiiiiiant salad. Preferably a huge wedge with perfect tomatoes, crispy bacon, and red onion. Like, honestly, there’s probably more on that salad but I was starting to feel like I was listing salad bar accoutrements. I digress… I don’t need to tell you what to pair with ranch, I’m just here to say this is the ranch you should pair it with.
Ranch
Makes roughly 3 cups
Ingredients
1 1/2 c mayo
1 c sour cream
2 cloves garlic, grated or finely minced
2 T dill, finely chopped
2 T chives, minced
1 T garlic powder
1/2 T onion powder
Zest of 1 lemon (roughly 1 teaspoon), plus 1 T lemon juice
1/2 T Worcestershire sauce
Whole milk, to desired consistency
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
In a large glass jar (or your preferred mixing vessel), combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, garlic, dill, chives, garlic powder, onion powder, lemon zest and juice, and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk thoroughly, and season to taste with salt and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper. While whisking, stream in the milk until your desired consistency is reached. Store in an airtight glass jar for up to a week in the refrigerator. I love making this at least a day in advance before I want to use it because it really gives all the herbs and aromatics a chance to marry.
Truly the most delish accompaniment to all of the raw summer goodness coming out of the garden. I’m always a salad gal but man, am I ever in this heat. Benjamin (the 10 month old one, hehe) and I will pop out back to water the garden in the morning, because turns out, if I want anything to remotely thrive back there, it’s a 2-a-day watering situation. Sure I’m just standing out there wielding a hose, albeit wearing a 22-pound guy (who is wearing a sunhat and all the sun-blocking things and has a fan FYI), but dang it if that doesn’t feel like a full on workout. All of that is to say, it’s always a salad girl summer over here, but now more than ever, because get that oven away from me. Most dinners consist of some sort of marinated, grilled protein (some favs: balsamic chicken thighs, grass-fed steaks dry aged in herbs, salmon + a lemony compound butter) and a ~big salad~ usually mostly arugula, thinly sliced apples, homemade croutons with a good sprinkle of sumac, lots of avocado, green and purple onions from the garden, and big old shavings of parm. Also, this garlicky, shallot-y, lemony vinaigrette. That is the summer move around here. One, because it’s DELICIOUS. Two, because, quite frankly, there’s a lot I’m trying to simplify, and let’s be real- dinner is coming every day. Every. Day. I used to delight in that fact, and why the heck wouldn’t I? I had all the time in the world to plan and execute elaborate dinners- on a weeknight, mind you. Usually at around 10am it hits me- whaaaaaaat am I doing for that meal that shows up every evening without fail? I started dinner at 10:30 this morning because I actually could not stand the idea of getting to the afternoon and knowing I would have that staring me in the face by 5pm. ‘Twas one of those up in the night with the baby nights last night that thankfully, the frequency of has been less and less, but let’s just say, mom is not cute today! Currently 4pm, and let’s just say if I didn’t have that sauce rolling on the stove, I might be tired enough that the thought of dinner elicits tears and a panic takeout order. Nobody needs either of those.
Here’s to doing the doable portion each day. For me right now, that means watering the garden between diaper changes, playing, and making applesauce, and knowing that my energy levels might be such that this is more of a bulk batch ranch season of life, and less of a let’s make homemade pasta at 3pm season of life.
