This is Not a Sponsored Post

Over the past few months, I've noticed an uptick in compliments aimed in the direction of my salads, even when they are of the run-of-the-mill leaf-and-tomato variety. "What is in this?" My friend Todd asked early on in the summer, referring to his bountiful helping of greens. "I need the recipe for this," my neighbor (and genius filmmaker) Ed said, after I assembled a veggie-loaded lunch for us mid-shoot. "Mom, this is legit good dressing," said my 12-year-old a few days later, going back for seconds and thirds. (Seconds and thirds of salad. What the what is happening here?)

I finally figured out what was going on and I'm pretty sure it has to do with that legit good salad dressing.

The story starts back in the spring, when I treated myself to a week of Marley Spoon, the meal-kit delivery service that has recently partnered with Martha Stewart. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned in these digital pages how nutso the family went over one of those meals, bacon-wrapped chicken tenders with salad and croutons. The kids had zeroed in on the bacon part, but I was focused on the salad. What exactly was it that made that salad so delicious? It had all the usual ingredients: Fresh greens, Dijon, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper. (I added honey to the dressing because I felt it was slightly too puckery.) The only thing that was different, I realized, was the Dijon. In spite of making a mustard-based dressing almost every night of my life, I had never developed any real loyalty around one particular brand. I had gone back and forth between Grey Poupon, Maille, Ingelhoffer, Trader Joe's, a seemingly never-ending fleet of artisanal (non-Dijon) ones like Tin and Sir Kensington. But the meal kit came with Grey Poupon packets, so the next time I was in the mustard aisle, that's the one I picked up. And it's the only one I've used for my dressings since then.

The funny part of the story is that I've been sitting on my Grey Poupon discovery for about two months now, and instead of jumping right on to the keyboard to tell you about it, I fretted. I fretted because I couldn't figure out how to write post without sounding like it was sponsored, like I'm getting paid (by either Marley Spoon or Grey Poupon) to tell you about how much I love it. How many of you just assumed that was the case until just now? Anyway, I'd like to assure you that it's not. All mustard opinions are my own, unpaid for, and totally legit.

Legit All-Purpose Salad Dressing

1/4 cup lemon juice (from about 1 1/2 lemons) 1 1/2 teaspoon Grey Poupon Dijon mustard 1 1/2 teaspoon honey kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 1/3 cup olive oil

Add all ingredients except olive oil to a small bowl or jar. Shake or whisk until combined. Shake in or whisk olive oil until emulsified.