Creamy French Salad Dressing

I've never been a big French salad dressing fan.  But when I worked at a now-defunct restaurant in Red Wing, MN, the owner had a fabulous French salad dressing recipe.  And as if it couldn't get any better, he took it one step further and made a separate French dressing with bleu cheese crumbles included.  Being  an aficionado of bleu cheese, this really tugged at my heart.

This was a wildly popular dressing at Old-Fashioned Foods (you can find a couple of his recipes at www.foodman43.blogspot.com).  I wish he would have continued his blog.  He had so many good recipes (the best sausage gravy you'd ever try and he made the sausage from scratch) and he was known for his soups (the best chicken & dumpling soup which I could never replicate in a non-commercial amount).

This is the best dressing you could imagine for a classic wedge salad of iceberg lettuce, crumbled bacon, tomatoes, and bleu cheese (or the dressing with crumbled bleu cheese) or really for any garden-type salad.  So if you're a fan of French dressing or simply a tolerator, give this a try.  You won't be disappointed.

CREAMY FRENCH SALAD DRESSING

1 cup Hellman's mayo (I use half regular and half lo-fat)
1/4 cup tomato juice or V8
3/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried chopped onions
1/4 tsp finely minced fresh garlic
1 Tbsp tarragon vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp sugar
crumbled bleu cheese, optional

Combine all ingredients and whisk until smooth.  Let chill at least a few hours to allow the flavors to meld.  Keep refrigerated.