“Mapple” Salad Dressing

You know you’re a grown up when you start to like all the foods you hated as a child. Case in point: blue cheese, or any stinky cheese in general. The strong flavor and blue-green mold was a total turn off when I was a kid. I forget when my taste buds started to appreciate stinky cheese, but I now love it. I like how just a little bit adds big flavor to a dish.

Like this salad, an ode to seasonal flavors. I’ve been buying some fantastic apples at the farmers market – Honeycrisp, Macintosh, and Rome. I’ve been wanting to add them to recipes in addition to snacking on them. Fruit and blue cheese in a salad are one of my favorite combos (not Karl’s…). I stuck with the apple theme and created a dressing with apple cider vinegar for this month’s Recipe Redux – “Dressing for Success.” And what better addition to an autumn salad dressing than maple syrup, which just screams cooler weather to me.

• 1/4 cup sunflower oil (or other neutral tasting oil)
• 2 T apple cider vinegar
• 2 T maple syrup
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• pinch sea salt
• several turns of the pepper grinder

The immersion blender makes homemade salad dressing a cinch (thanks for convincing me Janel!), but you could always slowly whisk the oil in or shake in a jar to emulsify. I drizzled this dressing over mixed greens, chopped apples, crumbled blue cheese, and chopped walnuts.

I ate big bowls of this salad for three days straight – all by myself. Sometimes Karl just has to fend for himself for dinner

Check out all the other healthy dressings and spreads from my fellow dietitians and Recipe Reduxers:

• Carlene Helble-Carlene’s Figments – Roasted Eggplant Pepper Schmeer
• Deanna Segrave-Daly – Teaspoon of Spice – Sicilian Relish
• Cherie Schetselaar Grain Crazy – Fry Sauce
• Dr Barb – Nutrition Budgeteer – Jalapeno Ranch Dressing is Versatile & Healthier
• Elizabeth Jarrard- Don’t (White) Sugar-Coat it – Spicy Tahini Dressing
• Kara Lydon – Peace, Love, and Food – Edamame Hummus
• Kat Lynch – Eating The Week – Citrus Sesame Avocado Dressing
• Emma Stirling – The Scoop on Nutrition – Recipe Redux Kitchen Garden Salsa Verde
• Emma Cutfield-The Hearty Heart – Go-Go-Goji: Blood Building Salad Dressing
• Lisa @ Healthful Sense – Sweet Peanut Sauce & Dressing
• Regan @ The Professional Palate – Ponzu Sauce
• Danielle Omar – Food Confidence RD – Recipe Redux: Your New Favorite Vinaigrette
• Stephanie Howard – Give Them Something Better – Creamy Garlic Feta Dressing
• Nicole Ferring Holovach – Whole Health RD – Mapple Salad Dressing
• Kristen @ Swanky Dietitian – Italian Vinaigrette Artichoke Dressing
• Ann Dunaway Teh – Eat to Nourish, Energize & Flourish – Thai Basil Peanut Pesto
• Kristina @ Love and Zest – Spiced Pumpkin Dip
• Meg @ Meg’s Food Reality – Sweet Potato Hummus
• gretchen | kumquat – dairy-free ranch dressing
• Everyday Tastiness – Pistachio Butter
• Alysa Bajenaru – Inspired RD – How to Roast Garlic & a Recipe for Roasted Garlic Hummus
• EA Stewart-The Spicy RD – Creamy Triple Pepper and Kale Dip
• Liz Weiss & Janice Newell Bissex – Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen – Garden-Fresh Tomato & Avocado Salsa
• Jessica Fishman Levinson – Nutritioulicious – Butternut Squash Cream Cheese Spread
• Dianne Welland – Honey Fig Jam