Book Review: 350 Best Salads and Dressings by George Geary

There is a certain stigma that goes along with eating salad for a meal, as though it is indicative of our nation's bipolar attitude toward food. Salad-eating seems to connote choosing low-calorie over deliciousness, and draws to mind humans nibbling on food normally reserved for bunnies.

350 Best Salads and Dressings by George Geary puts these prejudices to rest, and proves that salads can be hearty and healthy, refreshing and flavorful. From the basics to much more creative fare, all of the recipes sound good, and many sound outstanding.

The book starts with a nice introductory section on the ingredients commonly used in salad that is quite thorough, with all kinds of information from how different vinegars are made to how to pick ripe mangoes or chiffonade basil. Another somewhat surprising section, and one that would really excite some people, is entitled Condiments. Who would have thought this book would have recipes for things like Chipotle Mayonnaise, No-Sugar Ketchup, or Bold Chili Sauce? Not I, but it really takes the versatility of the book up a notch.

I should admit that I have mostly been using 350 Best Salads and Dressings for inspiration rather than prescription, and the main reason for this is the dressing recipes. Now, I do not own a single bottle of salad dressing; I always make my dressing from scratch. But when I say I make my dressing, I mean that I choose a combination of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper, in varying quantities. It does not mean that I am willing to go out and purchase cream cheese, mayonnaise, buttermilk, hot pepper flakes, dried onion, paprika (okay, that I do have), garlic salt, caraway seeds, and hot pepper sauce, just to make something called "Cajun Spice Dressing." Over 150 of the 350 recipes are for salad dressings, and, let’s face it, if you are not thrilled about spending thirty bucks to buy various vinegars and spices that you will probably use a sixteenth of to make a salad dressing once, then you will likely not be trying a lot of these. On the other hand, if experimenting with obscure, ingredient-intensive dressings does get you excited, this is the book for you! And I will note that many of the actual salad recipes do have more simplified dressings included in the recipes.

But I don’t want to underplay the role this book has played for me as inspiration. Many of these recipes I might have seen elsewhere and thought, "Hey, that’s an idea for a salad," but to see them all in one place really makes me reevaluate the sheer breadth of salad options. For example, I think that just having this book in my kitchen is a major reason why I suddenly was inspired to use some leftover, cooked salmon from my dinner tonight for dinner tomorrow, by putting it on mixed baby greens with some chevre, dried plums, and a dressing incorporating a new ingredient for me: honey. I did not find this recipe in the book, but I just knew that George Geary would approve.

Article Author: Kerri Shadid

Kerri Shadid has a multifaceted interest in people, in culture, and in art. She recently finished her Master's in Humanities and Social Thought at New York University. She has undergraduate degrees from the University of Oklahoma in Letters and Political …

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