Alex Guarnaschelli's 3-2-1-1 Vinaigrette Is So Easy And Delicious We Know The Recipe By Heart

Early entrant to the celebrity chef scene Alex Guarnaschelli is a spectacular force in the kitchen. Whether in her role as one of the few American female chefs to ever head a three star kitchen in Paris, as a resident superstar on Food Network's "Iron Chef," or as an intimidating-but-kind judge on "Chopped," Guarnaschelli is ready to deliver. It is clear that she could cook most people under the table with her eyes closed, but she gifts us mere mortal home cooks with easily employable everyday gems like topping dishes with fresh scallions and her revelatory salad dressing that should make its way into your cooking arsenal stat.

Guarnaschelli leans into a 3-2-1-1 ratio for her quick vinaigrette. Though the combo is easy to remember, its punchy flavors are hard to forget. In a post on her Instagram account, Guarnaschelli explained that the base of the dressing relies on three tablespoons of good olive oil, followed by two tablespoons of red wine vinegar, one tablespoon of Dijon mustard, and one tablespoon of cool water. These ingredients get whisked together, and can even be made ahead, to brighten up just about any waiting salad greens with their bright and tangy flavors. Just the idea of her dressing is enough to trigger an anticipatory piquant expectation in the back of your throat.

Alex Guarnaschelli is no stranger to the allure of high-caliber components that make for great flavors. In fact, she still holds a candle for one of her most memorable meals served at a restaurant in Nice, France, that consists simply of well-made pasta lovingly swirled in hot pesto tableside. Clean, authentic flavors with a side of hospitality win her over every time, and her vinaigrette recipe is an invitation to make salad for a crowd that will wow on repeat.

To take the presentation and final salad texture up a notch, you could employ Bobby Flay's technique for plating the ultimate salad. Guarnaschelli's fellow Food Network partner in crime and frequent "Beat Bobby Flay" adversary advocates dressing the bowl, instead of dressing the salad. That is, pour the dressing, in this case the 3-2-1-1 vinaigrette, into the bowl itself and then add the greens, using your hands to massage the leaves and letting them absorb the slick coating rather than dousing them directly, which results in over saturation. This combo move is sure to lighten and brighten just about any salad from here forward, and you may be left wondering where these hacks have been all your life.