Salad isn’t my favorite. I’ll eat salad and occasionally enjoy salad, but it’s not a dish I love to make for myself. A few weeks ago I found a cookbook in a free box at a garage sale called “The Riversong Lodge Cookbook” by the renowned Alaska chef, Kirsten Dixon. In this beautiful book she has a recipe for a creamy herb vinaigrette in which she includes heavy cream. It never occurred to me to add cream to a salad dressing, but it sounded like a great idea.

So I whipped together a vinaigrette and used rice vinegar instead of my typical lemon juice to tame the acidity a little. I had some pistachios, craisins and chèvre so I tossed those in with some salad greens. It’s now my favorite salad of all time.

Use whatever types and quantities of salad fixings you prefer, but I recommend including something sweet because it pairs nicely with the honey in the dressing.

Salad Creamy Honey Vinaigrette

Makes about 4 side salads

Ingredients for the vinaigrette:

• 1/4 cup high quality olive oil
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar (or white wine vinegar would work too)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons cream
• Pinch of dried oregano
• Salt and pepper, to taste

For the salad:

• Salad greens of your choice
• 1/3 cup shelled pistachios, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped
• Chèvre or freshly grated Parmesan, as much as you prefer

Add all the vinaigrette ingredients to a liquid measuring cup and use an immersion blender to blend until it’s emulsified. Assemble your salad in a large bowl and toss well with the vinaigrette. Serve immediately. Save any extra dressing in the fridge for up to five days or so.