Casey's Blue Cheese Vinaigrette, a restaurant favorite, now made at home.

Casey's Blue Cheese Vinaigrette. The often choosen house dressing from a small family-run Italian cafe in California. Where they served pasta covered with their own fresh homemade red sauce, and always a salad of tossed greens. And this salad dressing...

There is a long history of our family and extended family working in the food industry. We have owned cafes, a food truck, worked in the research and development of new specialty food products, catered, worked, and managed school lunch programs and one of us even had a small Italian cafe in northern California. This vinaigrette is from the little Italian place that served their own house-made red sauce and along with this vinaigrette! 

The first time I had a tossed salad with Casey's Blue Cheese Vinaigrette I knew why Casey served it in his restaurant. Bold and delicious! To be honest, Casey had his own "secret" way to make this dressing, but I knew when I tasted my homemade (and much smaller batch version!) I had nailed it. And while he did share a few tricks for some of his dishes, I never got a recipe for the vinaigrette. Trade secrets, you know, they are everything in the restaurant business!

But let's talk salads, for a moment, shall we? For me, a salad needs to be tossed with the dressing, before it is served. A bowl of greens with dressing over the top often winds up being a dry surprise at the bottom of the bowl. Usually, the dressing is eaten with the top half of the salad, leaving naked lettuce, and not much excitement, at the bottom of your salad bowl. Which is why I believe in an actual, tossed salad...

Vinaigrettes like Casey's Blue Cheese Vinaigrette are not the most attractive part of a salad. They are definitely not like a creamy dressing that is put into a pretty serving dish and passed along with the salad. No vinaigrettes usually end up in shaker jars in the refrigerator. But don't let that ugly duckling reality fool you, a richly flavored vinaigrette tossed with the salad greens is not only delicious, it makes life easier! Plus you won't need to drench your salad greens on the top in the dressing for a rich and delicious salad at the bottom.

Some thoughts on this recipe:

The vinaigrette will remain liquid-y until the blue cheese melts into the vinaigrette. Not certain liquid-y is an actual word, but today it is!

If you enjoy a thicker vinaigrette, you could hold back on some of the buttermilk. 

Or up the mayonnaise for some of the oil. The whole idea of making your own salad dressing is to have it be exactly the taste and texture you want!

Ingredients needed for this recipe:

• red wine vinegar
• mayonnaise
• olive oil or oil of choice
• buttermilk
• garlic salt
• fresh ground pepper
• sugar
• parsley
• blue cheese crumbles

You will also need the following:

• measuring cups
• measuring spoons
• medium-sized mixing bowl
• whisk
• stick blender 
• silicone spatula
• storage jar or container with a leak-proof lid

Now we are ready to begin!

Casey's Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
by the seat of my pants

1/4 c olive oil or oil of choice, we often use avocado oil 
1 1/2 t garlic salt
fresh ground pepper
2 T fresh minced parsley or 1 T dried
1/2 t sugar
1/2 mayonnaise

1/3 c red wine vinegar
3/4 c buttermilk
1 c blue cheese crumbles

Whisk together the mayonnaise, seasonings, and oil until smooth. 

Whisk in half of the buttermilk, whisking until smooth and no lumps remain from the mayonnaise. 

Then add the rest of the buttermilk, red wine vinegar, and blue cheese. 

Whisk until smooth, and use a "mashing" motion to work the blue cheese into the mixture breaking apart some of the larger chunks of blue cheese, if desired. If you prefer a smooth vinaigrette, feel free to buzz the mixture with a stick blender. 

Decant into a storage jar. Refrigerate. 

Yes, we have made this many times through the years. 

To serve, shake to mix well in case of separation, drizzle over greens, toss gently, serve, and enjoy!

Storage options for Casey's Blue Cheese Vinaigrette. As with most vinaigrettes, you may store them covered in the refrigerator for a week to 10 days. 

UPDATE:  For your convenience, a "copy and paste" version of Casey's Blue Cheese Vinaigrette has been included below. 

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Printable "copy and paste" version:

Casey's Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
by the seat of my pants

1/4 c olive oil or oil of choice, we often use avocado oil 
1 1/2 t garlic salt
fresh ground pepper
2 T fresh minced parsley or 1 T dried
1/2 t sugar
1/2 mayonnaise

1/3 c red wine vinegar
3/4 c buttermilk
1 c blue cheese crumbles

Whisk together the mayonnaise, seasonings, and oil until smooth. 

Whisk in half of the buttermilk, whisking until smooth and no lumps remain from the mayonnaise. 

Then add the rest of the buttermilk, red wine vinegar, and blue cheese. 

Whisk until smooth, and use a "mashing" motion to work the blue cheese into the mixture breaking apart some of the larger chunks of blue cheese, if desired.

Decant into a storage jar. Refrigerate. 

To serve, shake to mix well in case of separation, drizzle over greens, toss gently, serve, and enjoy!

Storage options for Casey's Blue Cheese Vinaigrette. As with most vinaigrettes, you may store them covered in the refrigerator for a week to 10 days. 

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