Buttermilk Garlic Dressing/Dip

I grew up in the North Dallas area where there were so many great restaurants to choose from.  My family would go to church and then rotate between a few of our favorite restaurants for lunch.  One of my favorite restaurants is Houston's.  Then when my husband and I were dating, I found out his dad used to take him to Houston's all the time too.  So many Sundays were spent at this upscale restaurant.  My husband and I would go there on dates and on Sunday afternoons to keep the tradition going.  Houston's has many fabulous meal size salads and several homemade salad dressings.  I ate a few of their salads back in the day and would always get their buttermilk garlic dressing.  My husband's favorite thing on their menu was the Prime Rib sandwich that was served with shoestring french fries and he would order a side of Buttermilk Garlic dressing for dipping.  It was sooooo good!  Oh how I miss Houston's!  I tried to recreate their recipe and I think it's pretty darn close to perfect.  I added some cayenne pepper for some kick, or you can leave it out and enjoy the sweetness of the original.  I also use lite sour cream and mayonnaise...I'm sure Houston's doesn't use "LITE" anything in their restaurant.

My husband and I had salads for lunch yesterday topped with this fabulous homemade Buttermilk Garlic dressing.  I'm thinking about making some shoestring french fries for dipping just to make sure it really tastes perfect!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup lite sour cream
1 cup lite mayonnaise
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 large clove garlic, crushed (paste using knife blade and kosher salt)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 heaping tsp paprika
1 heaping tsp ground mustard
2 T white sugar
1/2 tsp (or more) cayenne pepper

Add all the ingredients to a bowl and whisk until smooth and creamy.  Add more buttermilk to thin if needed.  Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours so flavors will combine.  This is great served over a refreshing salad or used as a dip...for french fries, or veggies.  Enjoy!

Tip: Did you know you can make buttermilk using items you probably already have on hand? Just combine 1 cup milk with 1 T white vinegar. Let sit for 5 minutes, then use in your recipe. I used 2 tsp white vinegar for 3/4 cup milk for this recipe.

Hubby's lunch salad with sliced salami