Basic Vinaigrette

It's hard to imagine five minutes better spent in the kitchen than those making vinaigrette, the closest thing there is to an all-purpose sauce. At its most basic, vinaigrette is acid and oil, salt and pepper, with additional flavors as desired. This standard vinaigrette begins, not surprisingly, with extra-virgin olive oil. To vary the flavor, you could use walnut or hazelnut oil or, if you want to play down the flavor of oil, a neutral oil like grapeseed or canola. It continues with good wine vinegar, which could take you from champagne vinegar to an extra-mild Asian rice vinegar. (Balsamic and sherry vinegars are too dominant for many uses.) Lemon juice is a fine substitute, but because it is less acidic than most vinegars, you will need more of it.