by Tierney O'Hara

Created on: July 24, 2009

Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing

Like most families, we share our favorite recipes with each other. Like most families, we have a slew of pretty good cooks who love to take a recipe and put their own individual stamp upon it by adding or changing ingredients.

The following recipe started off purely Sister Pat's, before morphing into a family affair with relative after relative tweaking the original recipe until they created one they liked better than Pat's version.

Personally, I love the pure, bright taste of Pat's Blue Cheese Dressing. I still vote for it as number one, but my husband loves the version with the added garlic. My cousin loves the one with the hot pepper flakes.

I wonder which version of Blue Cheese Dressing you'll like the best - anyhow, feel free to join in and alter this basic recipe to your own personal taste buds.

The One and Only Original Sister Pat's Blue Cheese Dressing

Into a blender combine, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, one-inch square of lemon rind, 4 ounces of blue cheese, 1 cup sour cream and 3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil.

Add kosher salt and cracked black pepper and blend until you see the consistency you like the best. I like some of the blue cheese to stay in chunks, so I don't overdo the blending.

Or if you don't have a blender you can grate the lemon rind, then add all the ingredients into a bowl and mash with a potato masher until mixed.

Mom's Additions to Sister Pat's Blue Cheese Dressing

Use Sister Pat's recipe but add in one clove of grated garlic and a pinch of nutmeg.

Aunt Sue's Adjustments plus Mom's Additions to Sister Pat's Blue Cheese Dressing

Start off with the "Mom's Additions" version of Sister Pat's recipe and stir in one-half teaspoon of dry mustard and a pinch of hot pepper flakes.

Uncle Bob's Version of Sister Pat's Blue Cheese Dressing

Use Sister Pat's recipe but instead of one cup of sour cream, use 3/4 cup of sour cream and 1/4 cup of mayonnaise and no lemon peel! Reduce the olive oil from three quarters of a cup to one third of a cup of olive oil. Do not blend but hand stir leaving large chunks of cheese.

Any of the above recipes make a really delicious salad dressing, but you can also use this dressing beyond the salad bowl. Try mixing it in your mashed potatoes or twice baked potatoes for an extra rich treat.

Or take a loaf of Italian bread and split it in half. Butter the cut edges and place thin slices of tomatoes over the top until completely covered. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Thinly spread the blue cheese dressing over the top of the tomatoes and then broil until the top turns brown and bubbles. Cut into strips and have as an hors d'oeuvre.

This dressing is good to the last drop, so if you only have a tablespoon of dressing left, don't throw it out, stir it into your scrambled eggs and garnish with chives. Enjoy!

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