Green Goddess Dressing

Since I have more time on my hands (not as much as I would have thought - corralling that child is a full-time job in and of itself) I started trying a few new recipes (all very easy, no fuss).  The first is Barefoot Contessa's Green Goddess dressing.  Now, this dressing is essentially some herbs with sour cream and mayo, so...yeah.  It's fatty goodness.  It's a dressing but would work just as well as a dip: even our picky kid dipped some asparagus in it and ate it (must be a one-time thing as I have doused veggies in cheese in the past and she wasn't having it).  We served it with some chicken and asparagus from the grill.  It's bright and summery with a slight tang from the lemon juice and anchovy paste (I had this on hand - go figure - but read in some reader comments it can be made without), and the perfect pick-me-up on a dreary day.  Don't shy away from the salt content (I paused a bit): it's needed to cut through the creaminess and unmuddle the flavors.  You'll get big basil, onion and lemon notes. Enjoy!

Green Goddess Dressing
Courtesy of Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients
1 cup good mayonnaise
1 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts (6 to 7 scallions)
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)
2 teaspoons anchovy paste
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup sour cream

Directions
Place the mayonnaise, scallions, basil, lemon juice, garlic, anchovy paste, salt and pepper in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the sour cream and process just until blended. (If not using immediately, refrigerate the dressing until ready to serve.)