Orange Muscat Champagne Vinaigrette

~Ok, first off- faaaaaancy, right? ;-) Come on. Anytime you throw in words rarely used outside of the foodie world like "muscat" and then you throw in "champagne" too? Pssssh...I could charge $18 for per plate just with these words in the title. I'll let you in on a secret. The orange-muscat-vinegar part is already in a bottle. At your local Trader Joe's. 

I'll let you in on another secret. It's painfully; like PAAAAAAINFULLY easy making your own vinaigrette. As long as you have an acid, a fat, and a few flavoring agents- you're set. At a dinner party, my host provided tons of salad greens, but forgot about the dressing. I whipped up a garlic, herb vinaigrette using white vinegar and yellow mustard. And it was still better than any store-bought dressing. 

So for those of you who are still dabbling or prefer measurements, here's a dressing that sounds so much more impressive than the work that goes into it. I'm sure those of you studied the French method find my use of sugar and/or jar, deplorable. To that, I say- it's my kitchen. Asians prefer our food not so brash, so I use sugar to temper the vinegar. I use the jar because, why not? It's going to end up in a jar anyway, so why waste a bowl? Homecook here, folks. Not sloppy, just efficient.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Orange Muscat Vinegar (Trader Joe's)
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 1 garlic clove- smashed and finely minced
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro- finely minced

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and whisk throughly. Alternatively, you may also combine all ingredients in a small/medium jar, tighten the lid, and shake thoroughly.
2. Taste and adjust seasoning according to taste. 
3. Store in a sealed jar, in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.