SPICY THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
A kicky blast from the past, made new again. Crunchy, devilishly dillish, creamy-sweet dressing that will take you back with pizzazz.
You're thinking I'm going a little too retro for you, aren't you? Think again. This isn't your mama's Thousand Island Dressing!
When I was growing up, from when I was the apple of my Dad's eye to when I was so very worldly and sophisticato in my teens (oh the glorious confidence naiveté of being 18!) Thousand Island was the ONLY choice of dressing. Period. Standard fare at home, from a bottle, and even on those special occasions when Mom and Dad treated me to a fancy dinner out at Hy's Steakhouse, "Thousand Island please". And thank-you!
Since then, from Caesar to California Dill to aged balsamic and fruity, cold pressed virgin olive oil I haven't even thought of Thousand Island in years. 'Til the other day when I was wanting a good salad fix, but didn't feel like fussing at all with the dressing.
Easy peasy it was to make. A couple of hours or so to laze in the fridge so the flavours all got to know one another. And ta da. Oo ee oo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang. Dappled over crunchy hearts of romaine...... flavour, texture, nostalgia and scrumptiousity hit us hard. And good! Try it and let me know if it does the same to you.
KICKY THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup ketchup
1 medium-largeish sized dill pickle, finely diced
1 hard-boiled egg, shmushed up good
2 1/2 tablespoons vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons sweet onion (or any garden variety onion), grated or finely minced
1 - 2 teaspoons sambal oelek (Asian chile paste) - you decide the heat factor
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried dillweed
2 good pinches of sea or Kosher salt
Whisk, whisk, whisk all ingredients in bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 4 days....if it lasts that long. Serve with your favorite greens.
(Oh oh! I feel a rather intense craving for a homemade Rueben sandwich comin' on. I guess I better whip up another batch of our now favorite retro dressing!)