Catalina Dressing

This is from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook and tastes especially delicious with (spicy) arugula and grated sharp cheddar cheese and tomatoes (mixed in with the other lettuce if you're not a big arugula fan). I also like to add chopped green olives and/or hard-boiled egg. This tastes very similar to the Russian Salad Dressing that I posted but is a lot less trouble! Sweet and tangy--if you don't forget the vinegar like I did last time! Also, you must use white wine vinegar--don't try to substitute anything else.

2/3 cp vegetable oil
1/4 cp ketchup
1/4 cp sugar
1/4 cp white wine vinegar
1 T grated onion (the recipe recommends using the large holes of a box grater, but I just use powdered onion)
1/2 tsp Worcestershire
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp Tobasco

Shake all the ingredients together in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and allow to sit for 1 hour, shake vigorously to recombine before using. The dress can be refrigerated for up to 7 days.  Bring to room temperature, then shake vigorously to recombine before using. (I'm sure I've had this longer than a week in the fridge and it was fine. What is in there to go bad? Just the oil and it's refrigerated so...)

Russian Salad Dressing (James Beard)

This is Mom's favorite dressing. It tastes delicious with endive and arugula. She swears she got it out of James Beard's American Cookery, but we can't find it in there anywhere!

1/4 cp sugar
3 T water
1 1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
2 1/2 T lemon juice
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T vinegar
1 cp salad oil
1/2 cp catsup
1/4 cp grated onion

In a saucepan, cook sugar and water until it spins a thread, about 230°. Cool syrup. Combine remaining ingredients; add syrup and whisk to blend well. Chill thoroughly.
Makes about 2 cups of Russian dressing for salad.