Okay. Firstly, sorry, but let me get this out of the way so that we can have fun! Let me just quickly say this. I’m not Italian. I’m not Greek. Not anywhere near Mediterranean at all. Not a single bone of any. I’m Scottish, Irish and Swedish, mostly. So no one decapitate me, please, for this recipe, as it wasn’t intended to represent any nationality. And breaking any sacred, traditional, generation-to-generation “laws of cooking”, is never my intention.

I just toss everything that I personally like into a bowl and enjoy. Just as I hope you all will, too! 😀

I have had a “few”, ahem, shall we say, “criticisms”, in the past from a specific nationality that I will not mention, that left irate, snarky and very rude comments on my blog. Life is too short for that nonsense. Anything and everything should be enjoyed, and cooked and baked to how we each personally like it, right? Right!, I say! 😀 😉 So. With that warning of future nasty posts being removed immediately….moving on! 😉

As fall weather has hit, and we have been battling nasty colds, it seems that we have been feeding our fevers a little too much. I’ve also had a severe case of the baking bug hit, and have been sneaking Halloween candy day and night. We bought one large bag as we don’t hardly get any Trick-or-Treaters. We only had our first victims ring the bell last year after being here for 5 years. But when the Halloween candy comes out….we can’t resist. And we still hang on to the hope that, this will be the year for Trick-or-Treaters!

Anyways….

….I did a very bad thing.

I ate all of the Halloween candy.

All of it. I did. (Ok, I had a little help.) But…oopsie. 😀

(I know I’m not alone in this. Don’t lie. You bought a bag way too early and did it, too. 😉 )

Sooooo, we bought another big bag. (For the 3 kids we may or may not get this year.) And all of this means – – time for a “few” salads to balance us out again! 😉 Easily done! 😉

Our local grocery store had all of our favorite salad fixings on sale, and my hubby got there bright and EARLY! He loves to meet his buddies that run the deli at the crack of dawn, because they’re always having a blast and cooking up crazy breakfasts and adore my Tom to pieces. They always share what they’re concocting with him, and are very generous in giving him “little” taste testers of everything he asks to buy, too! Good people, and they all have so much fun! 😀 (And he’s FULL when he gets home, so I’m off the hook for making a  huge Saturday or Sunday breakfast for one weekend! Ha! 😉 ) I’m not much of a breakfast girl anyway, unless it’s for supper. 😉

So anyways, back to the salad thing.

My hubby Tom is SOLD on my homemade French Dressing, so I whipped him up a batch of that and boiled him a few eggs to crumble on top of his salad, as that’s how he enjoys his (carnivorous and cheese factory-laden) “rabbit food”.

I, on the other hand, wanted to make myself a new salad dressing! I know. Shocker! Ha!

Since our salads were going to be including lean roast beef sliced paper thin, the VERY last of the garden tomatoes, red onion, sliced black olives, finely grated baby carrots, the other two cheese he brought home from the deli, havarti and sharp cheddar, all piled on top of fresh lettuce, I wanted to make a new dressing for myself. A rich, thick and creamy dressing using some feta that I happened to find in the freezer when I was rearranging it the other day. You know, just one of a million mental post-it notes that have taken over our brains.

I LOVE feta cheese and thought that it would go quite nicely with roast beef! And that. It. DID.

My hubby is NOT a fan of feta, but even he said, after actually wanting to give it a taste when he saw how good it looked, that it was, and I quote, “VERY good!”

(Insert Totally Shocked Face Here….Twice.)

I do grow my own herbs and dry them to use in the winter, so you can either use fresh, fresh-dried, or purchased. I REALLY prefer to use fresh lemons, too, I mean, don’t we all. But they are pathetic here and very expensive this time of year. So, if you have access to fresh lemons, go with that, adding a little at a time until you achieve the taste you want. For the rest of us…well, the concentrate works when that’s all you have to use.

It’s a minute amount, so no need need to cry or call the food police.

Be thankful for what you have. Always. As it could be gone tomorrow.

This salad dressing turned out wonderful. Completely beyond what I had in my head! It’s thick, rich, FULL of flavor and cheese, and looks and tastes like something that you would receive in a fancy restaurant that costs a fortune. You know the kind. The ones with real linen tablecloths crisply starched, real candlelight, and fancy leather menus with brass corners and no prices! 😉

It’s thick and rich enough that it has multiple uses, too. It would be perfect for a wedge-style salad. Just cut your head of lettuce into wedges and place them standing up on large salad plates or small dinner plates. Place rolls of paper thin-sliced prosciutto next to one side, top the prosciutto with wedges of ripe tomato, thin slices of red onion and/or bell pepper, and ladle the dressing over the top of the lettuce wedge letting it drape down. On the other side you could garnish the plate with a small bunch of parsley, a fresh lemon wedge, assorted olives, a nice warm roll, and wah-lah! A company-perfect presentation!

And since it is nice and thick, it could also be served as a dip with your favorite crudités! Just place this dip into a pretty bowl onto a platter or plate, and surround with raw sweet baby carrots, celery sticks, bell pepper strips, fresh mushrooms, thin baby asparagus spears, raw turnip sticks, fresh broccoli and cauliflower florets, cucumber sticks and whatever other fun things you’d like to add!

It’s quick, easy as can be to make, and frugal, using minimal ingredients. I have NOT had better at any restaurant that I’ve been fortunate enough to have visited, and would be very proud and confident to serve this to even the best and pickiest of company! 🙂

I hope that this salad dressing and dip is another keeper for you, your family and friends! No need to buy purchased, and it’s rich enough that it can go a long ways if needed. Hope you all enjoy yet another one of my homemade salad dressings! Take care! 😀

*Be sure to check out the rest of my homemade salad dressings!

Yield: approx. 1 pint

Rich & Chunky Feta Cheese Salad Dressing & Dip

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Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy mayo
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 large clove garlic, very finely minced, (I use a garlic press for this)
• 1 Tbl. basil pesto
• 1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice concentrate, (*a little more if using fresh-squeezed)
• 1/2 tsp. chardonnay
• 1/2 tsp. dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. dried minced onion
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
• 1 cup medium and finely crumbled feta cheese

Instructions

In medium-sized bowl, whisk ingredients until well very mixed.

Stir in feta until well mixed also, but leaving cheese very lumpy. (Don't over mix.)

Notes

*If a thinner dressing is desired, stir in a little milk, half and half, heavy cream, buttermilk, or chardonnay, 1 tsp. at a time, until desired consistency. Taste, and add more seasonings if needed.