Introduction Dressings can transport you through every season and carry you to far-off places and cultures through their many diverse ingredients and surprising combinations of color, texture, flavor, and temperature. Oils and vinegars are the star players. Get to know the different vinegars and oils by tasting them. Extra virgin olive oil, canola, sunflower seed, grapeseed, walnut, and hazelnut oils, balsamic vinegar, apple cider, rice, sherry, red wine, and white wine vinegars — each one has its own distinctive personality and character. Given the dozens of commercial salad dressings available, it's so easy to simply open a bottled dressing without thinking about it. In fact, I have a handful of favorites that I use in combination with other ingredients to give them a lift. But making your own homemade salad dressing is the idea I want to put into your mind. It is so delicious, fast, and fun! Plus, you control the ingredients, all healthy and fresh. As you go through the recipes, watch for these icons at the top of the page: I hope that you find a dressing or vinaigrette — or many — that you really like and will incorporate into your own cooking repertoire.
