Iceberg Lettuce with a Simple Cream Dressing

I had done an earlier variation of this dressing that Jacques Pepin has in his Fast Food My Way cookbook. This one, from The Supper Book: 10th Anniversary Edition, starts with cream but uses more vinegar and adds sugar for a sweet touch and leaves out the salt and pepper.   I used half and half, by the way, which is as creamy as we get around here and is usually reserved for my coffee.

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup light cream

Easy enough to adjust for the quantity you need as it’s just equal parts sugar, vinegar and cream.

Jacques Pepin’s, which he credits to his mother, has no sugar and less vinegar.

• 1 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Out of curiosity, I looked in Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition – 2006 to compare. Theirs has sugar and vinegar as well as poppy or celery seeds.

• 1/4 cup vinegar (cider or white wine are suggested)
• 1/4 cup sugar (so far the same as The Supper Book)
• 1 Tbs milk
• 1 Tbs heavy cream
• 2 tsp celery or poppy seeds
• salt and pepper to taste

If memory serves, 2 Tbs milk/cream would be half the 1/4 cup called for in the other recipes.

I love comparing different recipes for the same thing, especially something so simple as this salad dressing.  I haven’t made the one from Joy yet but can say both the others are good.  I used half in half when I made the Pepin version as well. The Supper Book’s is sweeter for sure, but I ended up salting the salad a bit as it seemed to need something.

Anyway, a nice simple dressing whether you add the seeds, skip the sugar, play with the proportions a bit or whatever. Whisk the ingredients together until a bit frothy and pour on the greens. I’ve used Boston lettuce and iceberg lettuce.

Does anyone have any other variations of this? I don’t think my mother ever thought to make a salad dressing with cream, I have to say. She was strictly an oil and vinegar maker, which she mixed up nearly every night, but for a treat we’d sometimes have blue cheese.  I still like her vinaigrette the best.

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