GoodTrue Salad Dressing

There is a word for when you hear a phrase in a song and you sing it that way for years and then one day you see the phrase written down and...you've been doing it wrong. The Not Nice Kid sang, "Ho ho the missing toe, Hung where you can see, Somebody waits for you, Kiss her once for me," all through Christmas until we figured out what she was saying.

Turns out? It's not GoodTrue dressing. It's Gertrude's. Gertrude's Dressing. My sister-in-law, JA, has been in this family for 15 years and I always thought it was...GoodTrue. Damn.

Many years ago, the mother of a friend of JA's would go somewhere and someone would make this dressing for her. (Good guess is, it was Gertrude.) The friend's mother eventually got the recipe, and then passed it on to her daughter. And when JA grew up, she got the recipe and now she makes it for us. This is one of those trademark things and it is GOOD. No matter what you call it.

GoodTrue Salad Dressing

This is a "double" recipe...halve it for personal use. Or make the whole thing and give some to someone just to be nice.

In a small bowl combine:

1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
Then...shake in some crushed red pepper flakes and tarragon.
Let this sit.

In a larger bowl whisk together:

2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup hot water

Then add:

1/2 cup lemon juice
3 teaspoons horseradish
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
4 teaspoons prepared mustard
2/3 cup ketchup

Then stir in the basil/vinegar mixture.

Then add:

1 cup various vinegars (garlic, red...whatever's on hand)
4 cups oil (JA uses Wesson Best Blend)

Pour the dressing into a container and put it up in a cabinet. Let it sit for at least two days and do not refrigerate. Over time it keeps getting better and better.