chopped salad with garlicky buttermilk, goat cheese and fresh dill dressing

I am not sure how this dressing evolved, but I do know it's a winner.  When I made a going-away dinner for my daughter a week and a half ago, she asked if I wanted more salad, and then exchanged her plate for the salad bowl.  I've been known to spoon out a little dressing from the jar in the fridge a few times a day. But when a seven and a half year old boy yells "oh, this is so GOOD!" and has a second helping, I know this is a keeper.

It's an herby, creamy sauce with just a hint of garlic, which goes beautifully with a cold, crunchy lettuce like romaine or iceberg, and I'm thinking it would make a nice potato salad as well.  And as a sauce for roasted chicken, or spread on a roast beef sandwich.  At this point, I'm thinking it goes with pretty much anything, except fruit.

Garlicky buttermilk, goat cheese, and fresh dill salad dressing:


Place in blender (mine is an ancient one, but it still works):

1/2 clove peeled garlic, sliced
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
4 tablespoons mayonnaise  (I use Hellmann's olive oil mayo)
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh dill, stems removed, loosely packed
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh goat cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons sliced scallions

Puree and serve in a pitcher or small bowl.

Serve with a big bowl of chopped romaine lettuce and a fresh loaf of good bread for sopping up the dressing.  Store leftover dressing in the fridge in a glass jar.

How's Spring in your neck of the woods?  My sorrel is up, violets are blooming, the lilacs are budding, and my chives made it through the very cold winter.  The lemon balm also made it through, but lost the tarragon and thyme.  All the more reason to visit the local garden center!