When Life Gives You Blizzards, Make Mayonnaise

In a bout of cabin fever, I decided I needed to make mayonnaise from scratch.

I headed to the grocery store the eve of our next snow storm to stock up on the ingredients: eggs, oil, dry mustard, lemon juice, and vinegar.

Much to my surprise, the store was completely out of eggs! Can you believe it? We were truly in a state of disaster. I would have to work with the eggs I had left at home- this meant no room for error.

Yikes!

The task of making mayonnaise seemed a bit daunting at first so I turned to trusty friend: Julia Child and Mastering the Art of French Cooking. 

 I could gush on and on about this book but let me just say that there is a reason that Julie Powell spent a year plowing through all the recipes in this book.

It is simply amazing.

Do you know how hard it was for me to stop at just that?! I will leave this masterpiece for another time...

So, mayonnaise. Sounds much fancier and delightful when you say its full name.

Here is the basic concept: mix up some egg yolks in the food processor and add in lemon juice and/or vinegar while it's running. And it really was as easy as it sounds.

The recipe instructs you to not stop the processor until the sauce has thickened. I watched my beloved Cuisinart vibrating on the counter with anticipation until- alas!

I had something that most definitely looked like mayonnaise. And it even tasted kinda like mayonnaise, too.

Originally, I thought I might prefer the flavor of my mayo if it was made with solely lemon juice, but it seemed to be lacking something. So I thinned out the mixture with some white wine vinegar.

Ah- much better!

I was shocked that with the help of some acidity I managed to mix together egg yolks and oil and bring them to a state totally unlike the one in which they started.

Normally, I am a big fan of extra virgin olive oil but in this case, I would not recommend it. The flavor is far too dominate- I recommend one of the lightly flavored olive oils available so as not to overpower your sauce (it even sounds nicer just calling it a sauce and not a condiment!).

Go on, I dare you! Make something at home that it completely foreign to you. Something that you usually buy readily made at the store. I guarantee that you will have a new found respect for a simple thing such as mayonnaise. Or gelato. Or ricotta cheese. Or salad dressing.

What will you make?

Mayonnaise
Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child

1 egg and 2 yolks
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
Lemon juice
White wine vinegar
2 cups good quality, light-tasting oil

1. Process the egg and yolks in the food processor for 1 min
2. Add the mustard, salt and 1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar with the machine running
3. With the machine still running, add one half the oil in a stream of droplets and process until thick
4. Thin out the sauce with lemon juice and/or vinegar, then add the rest of the oil in droplets
5. Season with salt, pepper, lemon juice and vinegar to taste

If you enjoyed this recipe you must check out the book for further ways to flavor your mayonnaise. Or get creative and come up with your own flavor combos! I think curry mayo would be delicious. Or horseradish mayo!