Our Favorite Salad Dressings

 The household All-Star salad dressing recipes have already been published here:

Maple Mustard Vinaigrette

Creamy Balsamic Dressing

We generally have one of these two on hand at all times. Occasionally, though, we'll mix it up. These are good ones:

Simple Caesar Dressing

• 3 Tbsp oil
• 5 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp prepared mustard
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Combine all in a jar with a lid and shake.

Warm Caesar Potato Salad

• 12 small new red potatoes, unpeeled, scrubbed and cut into quarters
• dash cider vinegar
• 1/2 c olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 c fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp prepared Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp chopped anchovies (optional)
• 1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

Boil potatoes in water with a dash of vinegar until tender but not mushy. In a large skillet, heat the oil and cook garlic 2 minutes. stir in remaining ingredients except potatoes and Parmesan. Stir potatoes into warm sauce in skillet, sprinkle with Parmesan and serve. 6 servings.

Orange and Sesame Dressing

• 1 c fresh orange juice
• 1/4 c red wine vinegar
• 1/2 c canola oil
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tbsp minced fresh dill
• 1 medium clove garlic, minced

Combine all in a jar with a lid and shake. Makes scant 2 cups.

Creamy Parmigiano-Reggiano Dressing with Garlic and Basil

From the Splendid Table

• 1/3 c wine or cider vinegar, or to taste
• 1/2 to 2/3 c extra virgin olive oil, or to taste
• 1/4 tsp Asian fish sauce (nam pla or nouc mam)
• 1/2 c freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (or substitute a good domestic Asiago)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 c thinly sliced chives or green onion tops
• 10-15 fresh basil leaves, torn
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 generous tbsp sour cream
• salt and pepper to taste

Blend all in a bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning. Will keep for 5 days, stir before using. Makes 2 cups.

Refurbishing the Porch Furniture

 We acquired this furniture 14 years ago from the previous homeowners when we bought the house, and who knows how long they had it. The cushions, in particular were starting to show wear and small stains, and we were tired of the small-check blue gingham. We decided to look for replacement furniture.

Before

I did some shopping, and most of the furniture I found was either plastic (and woven plastic "wicker" which was even worse) or hollow aluminum. The metal furniture that was even somewhat acceptable cost several thousand dollars. I couldn't find anything in wood or a natural material- as the old saying goes, they just don't make stuff like they used to. I looked again at the frames on our furniture, made from bent cane or bamboo, and realized that even though parts of it were sun-faded and dried out, it was well-made and sturdy. I decided to try to treat the wood and see if new cushions could be found. 

Extreme fading in the most sun-exposed areas

Fading, dried out finish

Repairs needed on joint bindings

We carried the furniture into the garage where I could work on it. Everything got a thorough cleaning, and I did a couple minor repairs with glue. While I could have spray painted this without too much effort, I wanted to preserve the wood look. To try to actually refinish or re-stain all of the pieces, with all of their surfaces and joint bindings would have been maddening. I went to a local paint store for advice, and the sales guy recommended I rub on a couple coats of this product to freshen the finish.

It was easy to use with a rag, and I took a couple of hours to go over every surface with two coats. It didn't completely eliminate the sun fading, but it did improve the overall look with minimal effort.

The color and finish look better after the wood treatment

Next, it was time to look into new cushions. I was worried we wouldn't be able to find replacement cushions of the right size, but I found some at Hom furniture made out of Sunbrella fabric intended for exposed areas. We ordered a set of 5, which were not cheap at just over $800. They are 1" wider than perfect- you can see we had to compress them slightly to fit, but they are very comfortable to sit on. I listed the old cushions on Craig's list for free, and someone came to pick them up.

New cushions

Now on to the lamps. They came with the furniture from the former owners, and were shiny blue glass with big lampshades. Good quality, we were just tired of the look. Again, I looked at buying new lamps and was surprised by how much they can cost. I decided it was no risk to try to paint these and see how they came out. Painting glossy glass is tricky, so I had to prime them well. I used a taupe paint I already had on hand, then I sponged a darker glaze on top.

2-3 coats of primer needed on the glass

I found a website to help me estimate shade shape and size, then it took awhile to find lampshades the right size- I found some at Target, but they had long stock outages, so it took a couple months before I could order them. At $20 each, they were a bargain.

Now the porch furniture is updated, and more in line with our style. I'm happy with how it came out, and with the DIY savings.

Monster Cookies

 I generally make these once per year, which makes sense when you see the quantity.

The original recipe is from a church cookbook we got as a wedding gift, the Salem Sampler II, and believe it or not, I worked out this version as HALF of the original version. There is a more reasonable "anyday" version to follow.

Monster Cookies (big batch)

Note: This will make too much dough to fit in a large Kitchen Aid mixing bowl. I use a hand-held mixer and a very large ceramic bowl we got as a wedding present from my wonderful uncle Malcom and aunt Rochelle. Use 4 cookie sheets if you have them- that way you're dropping dough while a pair is baking, and allowing  a few minutes to cool on the sheet before transferring to a rack. You'll run out of rack space quickly, so then move them again to another surface or storage. These freeze wonderfully, and can last some time frozen.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb (2 sticks) butter

2 1/3 c. brown sugar

2 c. white sugar

6 eggs

2 2/3 c. creamy peanut butter (you'll need a large jar, like Jiff or Skippy, not natural style)

1/2 Tbsp vanilla

1 Tbsp corn syrup

4 tsp baking soda

9 c. oatmeal (I use quick rolled outs, the better part of a large 42 oz container)

1/2 c. flour

8-12 oz chocolate chips

1 lb M&M's

Preheat oven to 350 (convection bake works well for this recipe).

Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and blend. Add PB and blend, add everything except the chips and M&M's and blend. Add the chips and M&M's and blend just until combined. Drop in large (or very large) spoonfuls on cookie sheets (mine are about scant 1/4 c. per drop). Bake about 8-12 min or 8 min on convection (timing varies based on the size of the cookies, etc.) You want them chewy and not overbaked. Cool for a bit, or until you run out of space on the rack. We store these in 1 gallon ice cream buckets. Freezes well.

Makes about 112 large cookies,but I can't be certain, as there were cookie monsters around while I was baking the monster cookies.

Sane-version batch of Monster Cookies

The proportions of this recipe are slightly different than the version above, but I've tested this and it's good.

1 stick butter

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. white sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 c. peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp corn syrup

2 tsp baking soda

4 1/2 c. rolled oats

1 c. chocolate chips

1 c M&M's

Make as above.