cover image Salad Dressings!

Salad Dressings!

Jane C. Dieckmann. Crossing Press, $8.95 (151pp) ISBN 978-0-89594-223-4

As Dieckmann (Use It All: The Leftovers Cookbook reminds readers in her pithy introduction, savory salad dressings begin with the best available ingredients: carefully selected mustards, oils, vinegars, etc. She offers 100 recipes for mayonnaises, vinaigrettes, dairy- and vegetable-based and sweet dressings, toppings and salads. The sweet-sour honeyed vinaigrette complements sliced red cabbage; and onion cream dressing, a chunky combination of red onion, eggs, bacon, sugar, red-wine vinegar and heavy cream, enhances spinach salad. Dieckmann provides renditions of classic recipes, but her specialties are creations like poppy-seed mustard dressing for citrus salads and the versatile yogurt and fruit juice dressing. There are some reduced-calorie versions that retain distinctive flavors and textures. BOMC and Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book Club alternates. (April 28)