I love ranch dressing. I have always loved it, and still firmly believe that many foods are really just a tool for getting the ranch to your mouth. Many years ago I started noticing that when I ate appetizers or salad with it, I would start to feel crappy and lose my appetite before my main dish arrived.

Of course, it turned out that the store-bought ranch and mixes were loaded with MSG. I did eventually find some brands that do not have it, but after a while I get tired of them. I started making my own, but the results were hit and miss, and it was a lot of work. Finally I found a recipe that looked good. I tweaked it a bit to suit my taste. It consistently turns out great, and it’s quick and easy.

You’ll notice that I reduced the mayonnaise and increased the sour cream. That’s one of the problems I have with the better stuff I have found in stores – it just tastes and feels too heavy on the mayonnaise. I also reduced the dill and increased the onion powder. When I made it with the full portion of dill I found it overpowered the flavors.

I prefer to use my homemade sour cream, which is made the same way as crème fraîche and crema Mexicana. From what I have found so far, they are one in the same. I’m still trying to find more on that and figure out if there is supposed to be some subtle difference that I’m missing in my reading or what. I plan to write a post on that in the near future.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup homemade sour cream (or crème fraîche, crema Mexicana, or half store-bought sour cream and half buttermilk)
• ½  cup mayonnaise
• ½  teaspoon dried chives
• ½  teaspoon dried parsley
• ½  teaspoon onion powder
• ¼  teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼  teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1/8   teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

Whisk together all ingredients. I like to do this in the container I am going to store the dressing in. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes so it’s nice and chilled and the flavors are well blended.