How to Make a Vinaigrette Dressing

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Todd Gray
Executive Chef/Co-Owner, Equinox
http://www.equinoxrestaurant.com  
202-331-8118

Since opening Equinox in 1999 to universal acclaim, Todd Gray has emerged as one of the surest culinary talents in the nation's capital, as well as a tireless champion of sustainable farming and fishing practices, and a passionate promoter of local, mid-Atlantic foods. Gray practices what he preaches every day, and Equinox is widely acclaimed as an oasis of sophisticated yet unpretentious seasonal cuisine.

With an artist's vision of the beauty in both his raw ingredients and his finished plates, classical training in culinary techniques gained in DC's top French and Italian kitchens, and a down-home Virginia boy's appreciation for food that just plain tastes good, Todd Gray is the culinary mastermind of Equinox, infusing the atmosphere with his passion for the bounty of the Mid-Atlantic. Todd continues to work with local farmers developing food of all varieties, form lettuce to beef, taking personal stock in the animals and produce being raised.

Gray's cooking has earned him five nominations for the prestigious Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic award from the James Beard Foundation. He also is a four-time nominee for Chef of the Year from the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington. Equinox has consistently been rated one of the city's top restaurants by many local publications, and has appeared on numerous "best of" lists in national epicurean magazines. Equinox has achieved Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence six years in a row, and is consistantly recognized with the Award of Excellence from the Distinguished Restaurants of North America (DiRoNa). Todd has also just received a nomination for Chef of the year through the RAMW for 2008

How to Make a Vinaigrette Dressing

 

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How to Make a Vinaigrette Dressing

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons of minced shallot
1 1/2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 ounces of Vallejo wine
1 ounce of honey vinegar
2 ounces of almond oil
2 ounces of extra virgin olive oil
Black pepper
A pinch of sea salt

Instructions

Add the shallot, lemon juice, wine, honey vinegar, almond oil and olive oil to a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and whisk everything together.
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Transcripts

Todd Gray: I am Todd Gray and I am showing you how to prepare seared Diver Scallops with roasted beets and garden herb salad. Lets prepare the vinegarette for our dish. We will start with one-and-a-half table spoons of minced shallot that I have previously minced. The total of which is about 3 whole shallots. The juice of one-and-a-half lemons, put this onto our manual juicer, rotating, catching all of the seeds and I need to pour, leaving us just with the bright citrus juice. To do our second half, now for the second lemon, this is about one-and-a-half table spoons of fresh lemon juice. Take that, pour that in. We add Vallejo wine, sweet wine. We are putting about ounce-and-a-half of Vallejo wine, honey vinegar, an ounce of honey vinegar. If you dont have honey vinegar you can use raspberry vinegar. Now we add our almond oil, two ounces of almond oil, well again walnut oil, hazelnut oil would be a great substitution. two ounces of extra virgin olive oil, fresh cracked black pepper and a liberal pinch of sea salt. Take a whisk, carefully whisk this together.

Now that we have completed our vinegarette, we will next sear our Diver Scallops.

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