[W.DeBord]

I'm not sure if other people have noticed this too, my question might sound silly if you haven't come across this....

There are two restaurants we frequent that have a slightly different ranch dressing then the rest of the restaurants in the world (from my limited small experience). 'Out Back' is the one of them that most of you will be familar with. I swear their ranch dressing has a spicey kick to it (I love it, but can't reproduce it).

Let me diegress abit.....I THINK (although you'll all probably tell me I'm wrong) that most places buy their ranch dressing. It's usually the seasoning packets we all buy except commercially it's a bigger envelop of seasonings. NO? (I'm not talking about fine dining establishments (they don't usually have ranch dressing), Just average restaurants.

The spice isn't pepper. I'm pretty certain of that! Sometimes I wonder if it isn't red pepper (which is different tasting then fresh ground black), yet it seems a bit more complex than that.....

Help? I'd love to reproduce this at home, does anyone know what I mean (have you been to Out Back), what's different with their ranch dressing?

[Peachcreek]

I worked at a steak house that made their own Ranch dressing without mix. We ground yellow onion, celery, garlic and a little parsley through a Hobart attached food grinder. Mayo, buttermilk, pepper and salt. I think its the pureed celery/buttermilk combo that gives it that distinctive "Ranch" flavor. Since I don't write down recipes, you will have to play with it a little. You could also try TSR for the Hidden Valley recipe. Good luck and Merry Christmas.