Creamy Italian Dressing

When we had family over for the holidays, I wanted to make a few homemade dressings to go along with our dinner salad.  I knew they enjoyed both Italian and Ranch dressings .  I also knew they were used to the store-bought dressings and that it can be hard to switch to homemade.  With the Standard American Diet (Ironically, the acronym spells SAD), we can become used to the really bad sugar/high fructose corn syrup/preservatives/chemicals in everything.  When you have something homemade without all the chemicals, it's not always a pleasant experience for the person who is used to the store-bought stuff, especially if you make your own mayo.  I have yet to conquer that and have it taste/look good, sigh.

I already have good Italian and Ranch recipes, but I thought....hmmmmm, maybe a creamy Italian might be nice, too.  I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com.  It's somewhat unusual, but it tastes pretty decent. Kinda reminds me of the dressing I make for my broccoli salad, but with Italian seasonings.  My cousin ate two helpings, so I'm assuming it was good!  My uncle used the last bottle of store-bought ranch I ever plan on buying. (Actually, I'm using it to wean my child into using the homemade one). Didn't even try my homemade stuff, harumph!  My aunt, my husband and I opted for my "Olive Garden" Dressing.  I liked that I could serve good tasting homemade dressing without all the added crud I can't even pronounce.  Even if my mayo wasn't homemade, it's still a much healthier option!  Here's what you'll need:

1C Mayonnaise (Not Miracle Whip)
1/2 Small Onion, grated
2T Red Wine Vinegar
1T Sugar (or sugar substitute)
3/4t Italian Seasoning
1/4t Garlic Powder
1/4t Salt
1/8t Ground Black Pepper
Xanthan Gum (pictured, but not used...I thought it would need to be thickened...it didn't)

Start by grating your onion into a bowl.  I couldn't manage to take a picture while doing it, so here's the finished product. I used 1/4 of a large onion.  This is the hardest part of making the dressing, really.

Next, dump in all of the other ingredients.  Hard, huh?! 

And lastly, mix!  That's it!  Super easy and cheap!  Sure beats running to the store to pay 5 times as much for a nutritionally inferior product, doesn't it?

You can pour yours into a nice little dressing container like I did.
Don't forget to label it and put the date on it. Painters Tape works well
for this as it removes easily.    This made a little more than a cup and serves 8.
Refrigerate at least an hour or two to let flavors marry.

The only thing I thought this recipe needed was perhaps to be blended to smooth out the teeny tiny lumps of mayo.  But I was in too much of a hurry for that.  I had company coming!

This should last at least a week, maybe two in the fridge.  My guess is that if you lacto-ferment it first, it'll last a long time.  But as previously stated, I'm still too leery to dive head first into that pool.  Still doing my homework on that subject!  When I know more, you'll know more, I promise!

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