Dress The Holidays

These six astonishing salad dressings will not only brighten your dinner salads but they make exceptional gift-giving ideas for family, friends and co-workers.

Nothing says love than a home made gift right? Well these exceptional dressings placed in the right container make a great seasonal gift especially for those you have a hard time buying for. You know, the ones who buy every gadget as soon as it comes out. I hope you'll take the time to check out all six recipes. As I provide the link to each one I'll give you the shelf life (approximated based on my own experience). Remember though because there are not any additional added preservatives other than that in the mayonnaise used or from the acidity do not expect a 3 month or 6 month shelf life. You only get that with bottled dressings that are laden with chemicals.

Whether you choose a ball jar or another bottle or small jar of some sort, these dressings will look so pretty with a personalized label. I want to add that all of these need to be refrigerated so add your pretty label right before you wrap up the gift. Another nice touch is to include the recipe.

This Chart House original recipe is the BEST bleu cheese dressing I have ever had. It is creamy and just is a fantastic bleu cheese dressing. Because of the calcium disodium EDTA in the mayonnaise, this dressing has lasted in my refrigerator for about 3-4 weeks when properly covered. Although with as delicious as it is sometimes it's gone (eaten) within a week! And what a great homemade gift for those who enjoy bleu cheese. The recipe yields quite a bit of dressing and therefore makes it easy to create a few gifts.

This next Chart House original recipe for Thousand Island Dressing is super delicious. Very easy to make too. If you have this dressing you'll never want a bottled thousand island dressing ever again - you will be spoiled; I guarantee. Yes, it's that good! Again because of the mayonnaise it has a shelf life of about 2-3 weeks when properly sealed. But it's so good you'll want to eat salad every night of the week so shelf life won't be a problem. If you give this as a gift you'll also spoil the person receiving the gift. The recipe makes a lot of dressing and you can get a few gifts out of a batch.

 In the summer I love making grilled chicken Caesar salad. This Caesar dressing is from my Fannie Farmer cookbook and my go to recipe. I think you'll love it too. And for those who don't have the patience to make their own dressings, they will be most happy to receive some of this as a gift. The recipe does not make a huge amount and would fit perfectly in a small jar that you find at craft and hobby shops. I tried doubling the recipe and with this I would say it does not work as well. Therefore if you are gifting make the dressing in batches, one recipe at a time.

This Vinaigrette was used in my green bean and bacon salad I made during the summer. It has a long shelf life because of the vinegar (acid is a preservative) and makes a wonderful gift as well. I love this tangy and delicious dressing. Make a double or triple batch for gift giving. Gosh it's so easy to whip together!

A unique and delicious salad dressing is my Blackberry Dressing. It has a long shelf life in the refrigerator based on the ingredients that are in it. It's sweet and tangy and really has a nice pop of flavor. It's beautiful looking and would make a perfect gift that's not super expensive.

I remade this Poppy Seed Dressing last night for this post, but originally used it in a chicken salad recipe I put together with some left over chicken. This one is a bit sweet, but you can always cut back on the sugar and add a teaspoon more of vinegar if you like more of a tang. Again, the shelf life is good. About 3 weeks. The recipe makes a perfect pint of dressing and it is a recipe you could double or triple making it great for gift giving.