Reviewed: Apr. 7, 2012

I made a version with a few changes, but it was AMAZING! If anyone lives around Northern Illinois and knows about Portillo's salads, it tastes really similar to their chopped salad dressing if you cut back the sugar to 1/4 C, and add oregano and about a half a tablespoon of horseradish. Thank you so much for posting this. It is a great dressing!

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Reviewer:

kristen

Reviewed: Mar. 29, 2011

Well, I've never eaten at the "Double Nickel" but their dressing is pretty good. I don't think I'd qualify this as a "sweet Italian" vinaigrette, but more of a "sweet mustard" vinaigrette with a bit of a kick from the red pepper flakes. I cut the recipe in half and knew right away that 1/2 cup of sugar was going to be waaaay to sweet so I used 1/4 cup (2 Tbsp. of Splenda). I upped the red pepper flakes a bit and used white wine vinegar. I didn't have corn oil so I used olive oil and half that amount - 1/2 cup. I put everything into my mini-food processor and gave let it go. Since it was a bit on the thin side I added 1 & 1/2 tsp. of dijon mustard. Next time I will most likely cut back even more on the sugar....but overall the sweet and spicy can be adjusted to one's personal taste. Very good over mixed greens.

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Reviewer:

Jillian

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Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA

Reviewed: Mar. 26, 2011

This is a good dressing once you cut back on the sugar. I cut the amount of sugar in half and it was a nice balance of hot and sweet. As written, it was just too sweet for me but that one change made the difference. Thanks for sharing, Anna :)

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Reviewer:

collegechef08

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: College Park, Maryland, USA

Reviewed: Mar. 23, 2011

I cut this recipe in half and scaled the sugar to 3 tablespoons. Plenty sweet enough! Gave it a whirl in a mini food processor and used it on a simple garden salad. We liked it and will try in a larger quantity for a pasta salad. I also used canola oil not corn.

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Reviewer:

What's for dinner, mom?

Cooking Level: Expert

Reviewed: Jul. 22, 2008

This dressing is wonderful. I marinate diced chicken in it for an hour then fry it until it carmalizes which doesn't take long. Then I serve it on a bed of lettuce with diced celery, cucumbers, tomatoes and cheese! YUM! Great cool meal on hot summer days

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Reviewer:

Nickelbillsrules

Cooking Level: Professional

Reviewed: Apr. 21, 2008

I've actually eaten at the Double Nickel!! This dressing was great, but I did as others suggested and cut back on the amount of sugar, heaped the tablespoons of ground mustard, and used white wine vinegar. Will definitely use again. Thanks for the recipe!!

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Reviewer:

FOODFAVOR8

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Lubbock, Texas, USA

Living In: Dallas, Texas, USA

Reviewed: May 4, 2007

I almost didn't try this because the reviews were reserved... but I'm glad I did because I absolutely LOVED it. At the suggestion of others, I cut back slightly on the sugar, but since I'm a fan of poppy seed dressings and other sweet concoctions. I didn't think this was too sweet unless you drown your salad. Use it sparingly and you'll be fine. I really liked the garlic flavor and the tang that the red pepper gave this recipe - I'll be making it regularly. Thanks!

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Reviewer:

LFeeley

Reviewed: May 1, 2006

I did not care for this, it is simply too sweet. I scaled the recipe to 10 servings then further reduced the sugar from 1/3 to 1/4 cup. I wasn't too bad the first night, but after sitting in the fridge over night it was like eating candy on my salad.

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Reviewer:

Navy_Mommy

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Ocean Springs, Mississippi, USA

Living In: D'iberville, Mississippi, USA

Reviewed: Mar. 1, 2006

When I mixed this up (and it was a snap in the food processor, 1 star for that!), I tasted it and thought waaaay too sweet! Since it makes a lot, I went ahead and tossed the salad with it and everyone liked it, a lot. It has just the right heat to go with the sweet and it works. Different from the usual, but good. I know I will try this again, but recommend the recipe be cut in half for first time users as it makes a lot and the sweet/hot combination might not be to your liking. The only substitution I made was red wine vinegar for white vinegar.

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