I was recently contacted by Girard’s, asking if I’d like to try some of their newest flavors of dressings. I love dressings and sauces… so of course I was game. I tried to come up with ways to use the dressings aside from just for salad:
The first one made an appearance in one of my school lunches – bottom right cup is shredded cabbage & carrots, tossed with some of the apple poppyseed dressing. The sweetness was really nice with the veggies (the rest of the lunch is fairly standard for me – turkey/asiago sandwich, mozzarella sticks, chocolate sticks, and a bit of zucchini gratin in the top right.
Another day, I marinated boneless/skinless chicken thighs overnight – two in the apple poppyseed, and two in the creamy balsamic dressings. Then I roasted them for a little bit in my toaster oven (too hot to bother with the full oven, besides it was just 4 small chicken thighs).
I took one of them, put it over a ramen brick that I’d quickly flash-cooked in boiling water (no, I didn’t use the MSG packet),
then cooled on a plate for a little bit.
Drizzled a little more balsamic on top, and yumm! Kind of like a ramen salad but not crunchy 🙂 Really tasty this way – to be honest, of the two as marinades for the chicken, the balsamic came through in the taste of the chicken much more clearly.
One of the other chicken pieces – I chopped up and tossed on top of a plainly cooked brick of udon (originally frozen), then drizzled more balsamic (I am totally in love with this dressing; can you tell?) on top. In the side cups are roasted zucchini, cut up honeydew and three golden rainier cherries (my favorite!).
Last was an idea from my favoritest buddy Jenn – I mentioned the dressings to her and she said “Apple poppyseed makes me think of pork chops,” so I said, “Okay, done!” and bought some pork chops (yes, they’re kind of fatty – don’t worry, I cut that off before I ate it), marinated them overnight in the apple poppyseed dressing, then roasted them in my toaster oven (ditto the reason above) for a little bit. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top before serving, and hot damn, this was delicious!!! (The veggies are just more roasted zucchini, and some roasted potatoes/carrots from something else I made that didn’t quite turn out the way I wanted.) I would definitely do that again in a heartbeat… noms!
Why do any of you even care about this? Well, how about this: Girard’s has generously offered up five (5) prize packages to some lucky readers! Yes, that’s right, it’s a giveaway!!!
How to enter:
Tell us below how you plan to use the dressings – share ideas, tips, hints, recipes, whatever!!! Be creative, be unusual, be boring, be plain, be whatever you want to be! Use a real email address because that’s how I’ll contact you. You have until midnight EST on August 22, 2010, to enter!
I’ll use random.org to pick a winner from the comments that adhere to the directions. There are FIVE PRIZE PACKS!!! so you should enter because there’s a high probability of winning (last contest I held, only about 30-40 people entered, that’s really good with 5 chances to win!).
Good luck!!!
I received no monetary compensation for this post and am under no obligation to post this, and informed Girard’s beforehand that should I choose to post about the dressings, I would post my honest opinion, positive or negative. I have not yet had a chance to try the other two dressings, or I would have included my opinion of those as well. Please note that these dressings do contain a fair amount of sugar and lean on the sweet side of dressings, so if you prefer savory, this might not be to your liking.
CT says
oooh… those pork chops sound good! I think I would try the peach mimosa with pork tenderloin medallions.
Aimee says
I’ll have to look for this next time I go shopping. I like making my own dressings but since I love eating little salads in my bentos I’m all for finding new dressings!
Feisty Foodie says
Congratulations! You were one of our winners. Instructions have been sent via email how to claim your prize. Thanks for entering!
Kay says
I think I’d go a similar route to you, and use them mostly as marinades for chicken and pork. Some pasta salad would be good for the summer also!
carol says
my favorite use for salad dressing is to marinade chicken and other meats and then grill. Also for healthier options, sprinkle over quinoa and diced cucumbers and tomatoes and feta. Salmon grilled with salt and pepper and finish with a nice drizzle of the sauce. I particularly love salad dressing that is more to the sweet side!
Jenn says
Ooohh, I’m glad the pork chop idea worked out. I’m so entering this. B/c if I win I am so trying that combo.
I’d like to try that champagne one as a flavoring for a full roasted chicken. A local grocery store near me does a white wine and herb seasoned roasted chicken. I wonder what a champagne one would be like?
Feisty Foodie says
Congratulations Jenn! You were one of our winners. Instructions have been sent via email how to claim your prize. Thanks for entering!
Nicole says
I LOVE their salad dressings…I would probably try the champagne one in a strawberry chicken salad- or like most people use them as marinades. A hwole roast tenderlion with the apple poppyseed as a glaze…yummy…
Feisty Foodie says
Congratulations Nicole! You were one of our winners. Instructions have been sent via email how to claim your prize. Thanks for entering!
Lizz says
I like to use dressing as dips for cut up carrots & cukes. I know – I’m boring! but it’s such a great snack!
T.C. says
I’ll eat my burger and fries with one of the dressings if I win. Well, it should go nicely with the lettuce & tomato at least.
An dI could use more salad in my diet. Ha.
Hungry says
Mmm, champagne dressing. I haven’t tried this but some people put marinade in ground meats for burgers, meatbloaf, meatballs, etc for extra flavor.
LKPNYC says
I would love to try them as marinades! Also, the Mets glass made me smile–I have the same one (allegedly pilfered from a local bar)!!!
skippymom says
Besides using as a marinade on pork and chicken – I can see marinading London Broil in the Champagne and grilling it. YUM I would also love to use them as dipping sauces for fresh veggies in the kids lunches. Fancy.
Love you use of it in the coleslaw.
Feisty Foodie says
Congratulations SkippyMom! You were one of our winners. Instructions have been sent via email how to claim your prize. Thanks for entering!
Goats says
Oh man—champagne dressing??? hmmm….filet mignon. Would that work well? I will hopefully find out! The only wet marinade i’ve been using is teryiaki soy vei…..I love that stuff on steak! And fish!
Feisty Foodie says
Congratulations Goats! You were one of our winners. Instructions have been sent via email how to claim your prize. Thanks for entering!
dean says
I would use the peach on some fish or poultry.
I’d make a bomb italian sandwich with pepperoni, salami, prosciutto, mortadella, deep fried crimini mushrooms, and a salad of cherry tomatoes, romaine, and pancetta bits lightly dressed in creamy balsamic on a garlic+olive oil hero. Topped with mozzarella slices and whatever herbs are in the dressing. and — why not — a fried egg on top
Allison says
I’d like to try them as marinades for chicken or pork, like you did. Sounds like it turned out really well and I’m always looking for new ideas for chicken (like different marinades).
Sharon Irwin says
The Peach Mimosa dressing stands out to me. Since the dressings are on the sweet side, here’s what I’d do… place frozen peach slices in a sauce pan and heat up. Once heated, I’d pour some of the dressing in and heat that up as well. Then I’d take the mixture and put over slices of angel food cake and garnish with mint sprigs. Optional: scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Amber says
Definitely as marinades for chicken.
Linda says
I recently was on a united airlines flight , and had gotten 2 Girards dressings I would love to purchase but cannot find anywhere. Can I get then from you ?
One is Thai sesame Aioli mayo sauce with cilantro & lemon grass
Look forward to hearing from you
Thank you
Linda Parlette
Feisty Foodie says
Hi Linda,
Have you tried emailing Girards directly? I don’t actually work for them so unfortunately I am unable to help you. Good luck!