Either way, Florence’s new campaign as the face of Wish-Bone has provoked me into creating a multi-part tutorial on salad dressings and marinades. Anyone who reads it will never have to buy a commercial product again.  

The most basic vinaigrette is one part vinegar, to which three parts oil are whisked into slowly to form an emulsion. This nucleus lends itself to endless variations, depending on your own tastes.

First, a note on oils:

I use extra virgin olive oil for almost everything (Trader Joe’s has frugalicious 1 liter bottle for $9), though canola or vegetable oils are a cheaper substitute.  If you have money for little luxuries, premium oils like walnut, almond, or avocado help to create wonderfully flavored dressings and marinades. Just don’t use so sparingly that you let the oil go rancid before the bottle is drained.  Even refrigerated, try to finish a bottle within six months of opening.

Second, a note on vinegars:

In the vinegar spectrum, plain white and apple cider will reliably contain the highest level of acidity, while rice wine can generally be counted on as the most mellow option. Red wine and white wine vinegars can vary widely depending on brand.  Balsamic’s relatively high acidity is masked by its natural sugars, which can be greatly amplified by reducing (by a slow simmer) the liquid by half.

In my opinion, a two-ingredient vinaigrette is best made with rice wine vinegar, unless your palate favors tartness. If you only have stronger vinegars in the pantry, some form of sugar will be a necessary addition to cut the acidity.

Beyond the oil and vinegar components of the basic vinaigrette, the flavor creations are limited only by your imagination and available ingredients.

Fresh or dried herbs make the most obvious complement to oil and vinegar. Crushed garlic and finely chopped onion or shallots are also standard fare.

For mustard vinaigrette, add a spoonful of dijon to your basic vinaigrette. For honey mustard vinaigrette, guess what else you add?

To make a cherry balsamic vinaigrette, simmer dried cherries in balsamic vinegar with chopped garlic and shallots. Use a hand-blender on low to mulch the cherries while adding the oil.

While a vinaigrette technically requires vinegar, citrus has enough acid by itself. To make a citrus vinaigrette, use half oil and half juice if using orange, grapefruit, or pineapple, or the usual 3-1 ratio for more acidic lime or lemon. Add complexity with a shot of cayenne pepper and/or ground fresh ginger.

Note: I say nothing about salt, pepper, and sugar above, but that doesn’t mean that you should leave them out. Unless stated otherwise, their addition is assumed. As always, let your tongue decide quantities.

When Rachel Ray first appeared as the public face of Dunkin’ Donuts, I faulted her only for her unfortunate taste in scarves. Hours of Rayesque trial-and-error would almost certainly fail to produce anything resembling such confectionary perfection at home, so it seems wise enough to leave mixing/baking/glazing work to the pros at Dunkin’ Donuts. Maybe endorsing a commercial food chain wasn’t the best move for her own branding, but, really, who doesn’t like doughnuts?

It’s not like she was using her culinary reputation to endorse a product filled with artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives, whose use supplants fresh ingredients in daily cooking.  No, that singular distinction of celebrity chef whoredom belongs to Tyler Florence, and his newfound love of Wish-bone salad dressing.  

Every refrigerator in America must hold at least one bottle of Wish-bone dressing of unknown origin and expiration date, which has created an aversion to the brand not entirely associated with its use of unpronounceable ingredients.  The door of my friend Julie’s fridge looks like a hospice for half-full bottles. Averaging about $3.50 a bottle, she has approximately $25 worth of unused salad dressing that will likely end up in the trash. While Julie is an extreme example, I’ve made salads in other people’s kitchens often enough to recognize that a majority of folks have at least one mostly full bottle they will admit “probably should be thrown out.”

When making dressing, you don’t have to mix it up 16 ounces at a time, which leaves less for waste.  Even if you did make it in 16-oz batches, the financial waste would be significantly less. Wish-bone Italian costs @ $3 for a 16-oz bottle, but you can make that much at home–using premium ingredients like olive oil instead of canola–for @ $0.50.   Perhaps Wish-bone charges extra for the Xanthan Gum, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Calcium Disodium EDTA, and Caramel Color used in its products.

In honor of Chef Tyler Florence’s impeccable culinary judgment, I am dedicating this entire week to homemade salad dressings and marinades.

Toss grape tomatoes in olive oil and spread out on a pan or cookie sheet before sticking under a broiler for 7-10 minutes. Then set aside to cool.

Toast the orzo in a dry pan set over a medium flame, shaking to toss every 30 seconds or so. This will imbue the pasta with nutty overtones, which intensify the longer it is toasted. The pieces of orzo will individually darken as they toast, but do not expect to achieve a consistent browning overall. For a mild flavor, remove from heat when most achieve some shade of tan. I like to leave at least a handful toasting to dark brown, so they add a hint of stronger flavor and give the dish a speckled look. After toasting, cook orzo according to directions on the package.

Using a fork, toss cooked and slightly cooled orzo with roasted grape tomatoes, chopped arugula, splashes of lemon juice and olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.

Arugula is my favorite leafy green, but I have no delusions convincing me that it is the most economical. But you don’t need a mound of salad to enjoy arugula; its strong peppery flavor means that it can also be used in small amounts, like an aromatic herb. For this dish, a handful can be enough to add flavor and visual appeal.

Watermelon is the perfect ingredient for fruity frozen summer drinks.  The meat produces such a large volume of juice that one medium-sized fruit can make watermelon margaritas for an entire party. Also, frozen chunks of watermelon blend more smoothly than ice, and won’t dilute a drink’s flavor.

Last night I made a watermelon daquiri, using this incredibly yummy Dogfish Head Honey Brown Rum a friend brought me from a visit to the microbrewery and distillery in Rehobeth Beach. Some fruity drink aficionados would take issue with using anything but light rum in a daquiri, but I enjoy the flavor dark rum adds to any cocktail.

Watermelon Daquiri

1. Blend chunks of frozen watermelon with the juice of one or two limes, a generous shot of triple sec, and copious amounts of rum.

2. Pour into glass and garnish with anything that won’t impede direct route to mouth. (It’s all about priorities!)

A watermelon margarita is essentially the same thing, but with tequila instead of rum.

Watermelon Mimosa

If you’re not a fan of pulp, skim the thick top off the watermelon juice after you mulch the fruit. Beyond that key tip, is it even really necessary to explain this “recipe”?

1. Top a glass of champagne/cava/sparkling wine with the juice of blended fresh watermelon.

2. Drink

A juiced watermelon can also be served in excellent non-alcoholic cocktails, of course, though Señor Cuervo would strongly advise against it. After mulching with a blender and skimming off the heaviest pulp, keep the juice in the fridge and add to seltzer or soda for a spritzer, or mix with lemon juice for watermelon lemonade (no extra sugar required!).

And it doesn’t hurt that Safeway had them on sale for $3.99 this week….

Making watermelon popsicles is as easy as you could imagine. Just slice up fresh watermelon into chunks roughly the size and shape of large popsicles. Push a popsicle stick into one end, individually wrap in plastic, and stick in the freezer for a couple of hours.

Of course I usually dispense with the formality of popsicle sticks and individually wrapped pieces, opting instead for a container of chopped and frozen pieces to stick my face in whenever I come home faint from DC’s relentless heat wave.

If you want to do something special for a party, cookie cutters could turn watermelon into fun-shaped mini-pops. Kids could eat on toothpicks, or you could use them as fruity ice cubes for a fancy cocktail.

Despite my eternal love affair with mayonnaise, I am not a big fan of the buckets involved in making standard issue potato salad. But for serving large numbers at summer BBQs and picnics, the cost-per-serving ratio of potato salad makes it a logically frugalicious menu item. This one with red onion and dill is a healthy alternative to the typical picnic fare.

Chop or slice some red potatoes (or whatever is on sale) and boil in salted water. After they’ve cooked, drain and leave uncovered to let water evaporate from them.

Whisk together olive oil and apple cider vinegar at a 2 to 1 ratio, plus enough honey to soften the acid. Add finely-diced red onion, chopped dill, salt, and pepper to suit your tastes. For me, half a medium red onion and a healthy handful of dill would be good for 8-9 potatoes.

Pour the mixture over the potatoes and still in the fridge to chill. You could serve right away, but I like to make it a day ahead so the flavors have a little time to soak in, and the vinegar breaks down the potato a bit.

Tofu is a good and economical source of protein. When finances are strained, protein too often becomes a luxury item. At $2 a pound, tofu is cheaper than all but the least desirable cuts of meat, though the amount of protein doesn’t translate exactly. Also, an unopened package of tofu has a shelf life of a couple of months. It’s low in calories, high in iron, and has almost no fat. Studies have indicated that it can help lower cholesterol too!  Now about that little issue of making it taste edible…

First, you have to go for the firm or extra firm tofu. Squeeze all the water out of it that you can, or leave it to drain overnight, then chop into cubes or logs roughly the size of your finger.

Make a marinade of sesame oil, soy or tamari sauce, crushed garlic, grated ginger, and a little sugar or honey. Put tofu pieces and sauce in sealable bag or container so you can move it around to get a full coating on everything. The longer you leave it to marinate, the deeper the flavor will penetrate–just make sure to give it a turn occasionally.

They taste best slow-roasted at 275ish for over an hour, but during the summer, they get 20 minutes at 450. You can tell when they’re done because the corners and edges start to look a little different after they’ve lost all their water.

As well as a perfect finger food for parties, they’re great snacks and are great tossed in salads. They stay good in the fridge for a couple weeks, so I always make in large batches.

I have no idea who conceived the brilliant notion of transforming a Bloody Mary into hors d’ouevres, but my friend Emma Daly gets credit for introducing me to the perfect finger food. 

Grape tomatoes work best for hors d’ouevres, but cherry ones will do if they’re on sale. Just keep in mind that there are technically more ‘servings’ in a pint of grape tomatoes if you’re making it for a party spread.

For the marinade, mix up all the ingredients you would put in a bloody mary–minus the tomato juice.

vodka

Worcestershire sauce

sherry

lemon juice

ground horseradish (not creamy)

celery salt

onion powder

Tabasco or other hot sauce

Since the aim is to be frugalicious, feel free to skip the celery salt and onion powder if it’s not something you would normally use and you don’t feel like buying it. In fact, as always, feel free to add or subtract any ingredient based on availability and/or your own tastes.

Slice a cross-hatch on one end of your tomatoes and put them in a dish. Pour enough marinade in to submerge them fully and then stick in the fridge overnight. Drain before serving, but keep the marinade to use again. It can be frozen.

If you’re not looking to make a finger food, this basic recipe can be used in many ways. These tomatoes can add a nice pop to an otherwise ordinary salad, or simply pair them with thickly chopped celery. I’ve also been thinking that a big marinated tomato could make a good summer side dish. Kind of wonder if you’d need to poke some small holes to help the marinade get past the thicker skin. If anyone tries that out, let me know how it goes.

This renewed dedication was prompted by the release of my friend Nancy Trejos’s new book Hot (broke) Messes, which I highly recommend, of course. She wrote a bit about me and this website, which I guess officially makes me a hot broke mess. Nancy has been prodding me to resume food blogging before her book sends new readers to my site, so here I am.

Coming soon: How to make Bloody Mary tomato hors d’ouevres, toasted orzo with roasted tomatoes and arugula, and the best (dill) potato salad in the world!

Paneer is a basic acid-set, unaged “farmers” cheese common in South Asian cooking. It could be considered a cousin to the queso blanco used in Latin American cuisine.

Since it is essentially no more than milk fats separated from the whey and strained, paneer has a creamy simplicity that makes it perfect for a variety of uses.  Add it in cubes to Indian dishes such as mutter paneer or saag paneer, marinate in olive oil and spices for hors d’oeuvres, or don’t drain the whey thoroughly and mix in herbs and/or spices for a flavored cheese spread.

And did I already mention how easy it is to make?

Take a gallon of whole milk and heat just until it starts to steam. Turn off the heat and start slowly pouring in an acidifier, such as lemon juice or white vinegar, while gently stirring the milk.  You’ll be able to tell when you have enough acid because the white milk curd chunks will be separating from the watery whey.

Most recipes will tell you to pour the curds into a cheese cloth, but I’ve found that a clean t-shirt or kitchen towel let’s you extract more liquid without squeezing the cheese through the little holes.

For a really solid block of cheese, keep squeezing out the whey until the curds are of a consistency that tends to peel cleanly off your cloth, rather than sticking in a ricotta-like mess.  Then just mold the curds into a container and put in the fridge for a few hours to set.

For the frugalicious foodies who are keeping track of the dollars and cents, note that a $3.50 gallon of milk would make you more than a pound of fresh paneer.