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Vinaigrette

Vinaigrettes are oil based dressings (as opposed to others made with mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, etc.) with a bit of some acid.

See Vinaigrette Jar for my preferred recipe.

Notes

A vinaigrette is generally:

• vinegar
• this could be red/white wine vinegar, or sherry, or lemon/lime juice. see below for balsamic.
• oil
• this is frequently olive oil, but plenty of other oils work.
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste

The ratio of vinegar to oil is classically 1:3, Jacques Pepin recommends 1:4, and some people do up to 1:1.

There's also often dijon mustard added (somewhere between .5:1 or 1:1 with the vinegar). There's also frequently raw shallot or garlic (use your brain and don't go nuts, for a served side salad maybe a clove of garlic or a small shallot).

Jacques Pepin notes that for a leafy green salad it's desirable to have a somewhat broken sauce. If a sauce is completely emulsified when it goes over the leaves it will just stick to them as opposed to coating them and running down.

if you really want a non-broken sauce:

• If using garlic or shallot, either smash or dice them.
• Add together garlic or shallot (if using), dijon mustard, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
• measure out the amount of oil you want vs. the vinegar mixture. add a very small amount (like several drops) of oil and whisk until completely incorporated. add like the same amount plus a few drops and incorporate. then a little more. you can start going faster the more you've already incorporated.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Generally you don't need to use 100% baslamic vinegar for the vinegar portion of a salad dressing. That super sharp kinda cloying balsamic taste is from this.

Zany Ideas

Ideas to zhuzh up vinaigrettes. Some from this Youtube comment by TorahBoy1

• Lemon or lime juice + zest for very lemony or limey flavor
• Honey or maple syrup
• Replace some/all the vinegar with alcohol like brandy, gin, whiskey
• A small amount of heat with red pepper flakes
• Pesto, particularly with lemon