Finally, retired firefighter bottles his Greek dressing

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By Mark Fisher, Staff Writer 5:55 PM Wednesday, April 29, 2009

David Casey liked to tweak recipes when he was working in various city of Dayton firehouses for 28 years, and even summoned up the courage to “improve upon” a Greek dressing recipe that had been in his wife Andrea’s family for generations.

“I always liked it, but I thought it lacked something,” Casey said. “I thought it could be improved.”

Not only is he still married (!), but his fellow firefighters approved the new recipe enthusiastically, and now, he and Andrea have bottled and launched Andi’s Authentic Greek Dressing commercially.

Casey, who retired four years ago and now lives in Vandalia, has for 12 years made the Greek dressing used and sold at the Dayton Greek Festival, producing batches as large as 200 gallons for the popular event.

“Everyone kept saying to me, ‘You should bottle it, you should bottle it,’ ” Casey said. But instead, he kept responding to requests to make batches for weddings, reunions and other events. “I’ve probably given away a thousand gallons,” he said.

Eventually, he sat down and talked to a former Queen of Martyrs elementary school classmate Lenny Annarino, who bottles Annarino’s spaghetti sauce in Dayton, and soon, Andi’s Authentic Greek Dressing was born.

The bottled dressing is available at Dorothy Lane Market’s three stores in Oakwood, Washington Twp. and Springboro, and it’s also sold at Greg’s Prime Meats in Springboro and at Hock’s Pharmacy in Vandalia. Price ranges from $4.49 to $4.99.

The dressing — tangy with a bit of sweetness and a subtle oregano note — tastes as close to homemade as a bottled dressing can. Casey credits a cider vinegar made by Woeber’s in Springfield (best known for mustards) and a high-quality oil from Wesson for the dressing’s appeal.

Casey helped to unveil the dressing during a product demonstration Saturday, April 25, at DLM’s Washington Square store, while his wife did the same in DLM’s Springboro store. Customer response was positive and sales were brisk.

Casey is planning to release a second Greek dressing — this one will include feta cheese — within the next year.

But first, he’ll most likely do some tweaking.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2258 or mfisher@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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