Leahs Fresh French Tarragon Salad Dressing

This is one of my staple homemade salad dressings I have done for years and finally decided to share here - I learned this one while traveling to the French Riviera and seemed to be on every salad we ate - creamy but not naughty - neat thing, if you do this in a blender, you can actually make a 'light' version - see directions - otherwise great to serve over salad greens, over steamed veggies and even fish - also makes a nice light marinade for chicken. Flavors get a little stronger as they marry and get to know one another and you can easily adjust to your palette should you want to add more honey, salt or vinegar, etc.

Ingredients:

I eyeball the amounts, but I believe when I made this last night, that these measurements come quite close.
3 tablespoons fresh tarragon minced
4 tablespoons WHITE balsamic vinegar (use apple cider vinegar in stead if you don't have white balsamic - but you should buy this the next time you are at the store - its very nice!)
2-3 tablespoons good honey
2 cloves fresh garlic minced
1 tablespoon grainy for a more artisan look or creamy (preferred) dijon mustard or spicy mustard
1-1/2 tablespoon lite mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup or more water (if making a light version)
bowl and good whisk or blender
1 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon of fresh cracked pepper

Directions:

In bowl, add all of the following: tarragon, garlic, salt and pepper, mayonnaise, mustard, honey, vinegar and lemon juice.
Whisk till combined.
Slowly , really slowly drizzle olive oil while continuing to whisk to create an emulsion.
If this is too difficult for you - use the blender on a low setting but add the tarragon last and by hand so it doesn't pulverize the tarragon.
If making a light version, use only half of the olive oil while making this in the blender, once emulsified, add water slowly - this will keep the dressing emulsified yet creating a creamy type salad dressing.
Then add your minced tarragon by hand and set aside.
Taste test your salad dressing, add a little more honey if it has too much of a bite for your tastes, or more lemon juice if you need more, etc.
I usually prepare this before serving up my salad and let it sit for 30 minutes for the flavors to marry, then save any unused portion in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
This will keep for two weeks. And as mentioned, this is great over your poached fish dishes, used as a marinade for shrimp or chicken to be grilled and is nice as a dressing over your potato or pasta salads.
The dressing has a fresh bright creamy goodness which makes you want only more. Enjoy!
Photo is borrowed from christinecooks blog