If you are into creamy “ranchy” salad dressings, this is a spectacular dressing.
I first fell in love with this type of dressing as a teenager. My family used to buy pizza from a Belmont Shore (CA) restaurant called Domenico’s. For them, it was all about the pizza. For me, it was all about the romaine salad with it’s creamy salad dressing redolent in garlic. Etched in my mind are vivid memories of driving up to the tiny alley parking lot behind the restaurant and my father giving me the money to pay for the order. (We didn’t have a credit card. Ours was a decidedly working-class family and times were very different.) I don’t think we ever ate inside the restaurant.
Too often (and sadly), I subscribe to Thomas Wolfe’s “you can’t go home again” ethos, but, honestly, I’m struggling with the thought of going back to Domenico’s to see if the current iteration of the dressing lives up to my memory. (An Internet search says that the restaurant still operates on Second Street in Belmont Shore and still proudly serves the Italian dressing for which the restaurant is famous. See the excerpt from the Domenico’s menu below. You go, Beverly!)
In the meantime, this Carrabba copy-cat dressing transports me back to my days with a teenage palate awakening to the food adventures that awaited me.
This recipe is a “take” on the Creamy Parmesan Salad Dressing that is a signature dish for Carrabba Italian Grill. Carrabba Italian Grill was first opened in 1986 in Houston. Over the years, the chain, under a partnership with Outback Steakhouse, has expaned to 200 locations. There are copy-cat recipes for this dressing all over the Internet. (Here’s one: Carrabba Creamy Parmesan Salad Dressing.)
Creamy Parmesan Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- For the Dressing:
- 1/2 C. mayonnaise
- 1/4 C. finely-grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 C. buttermilk
- 1 1/2 t. minced garlic
- 1 t. minced parsley
- 1/2 t. lemon juice
Directions
- Step 1 Mix ingredients. Chill until dressing thickens and the flavors marry. This dressing definitely improves on days 2 and 3 after it is prepared. I enjoy this dressing over romaine lettuce garnished with red cabbage (sliced thinly), cherry or grape tomatoes, and sliced bell peppers.
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