Cooking
From the "I-don't-know-how-I-missed-it" news department:
HOUSTON, Dec. 4 -- A Texas woman was sentenced to 10 years in jail Thursday for running over the manager of a McDonald's with her car because she wanted mayonnaise on her cheeseburger.
First off this was in Texas, so normal rules do not apply. I'm not talking about running people over or even eating at McDonald's, but actually putting mayonnaise on a cheeseburger. Let me explain it this way: burger=juicy and greasy, melted cheese=greasy, mayonnaise simply NOT NECESSARY.
Mayonnaise is a really great sauce though and shouldn't be relegated to only sandwiches. One of the five French "mother sauces" along with hollandaise it's an egg and oil emulsification. If you've only ever had store bought do yourself a favor and make it from scratch. It makes a great sauce for grilled fish or poached chicken, shrimp, and steamed vegetables like asparagus and artichokes. You can really dress it up by using fresh citrus juices like lemon or orange or a whole host of other flavorings like fresh green herbs, wasabi, chile powder, curry, or fresh garlic. While traditionally made with a whisk, it's super easy to make if you have a food processor or blender, especially one of those stick blenders.
Here's how I do it:
Mayonnaise
Ingredients
1 cup vegetable oil (don't use all olive oil, but a little is ok)
1 egg, room temperature (very important)
1 1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard or dry mustard powder
salt and pepper to taste
Optional additions
1-2 T chopped herbs (tarragon, parsley, chervil or a combination are all good ones)
Instructions
With a "stick" or immersion hand blender:
Put all ingredients into the beaker. Position the handblender at the base of the beaker. Pressing the switch, keep the handblender in this position until the oil emulsifies. Then, without switching the handblender off, slowly move it up and down until the mayonnaise is thoroughly combined.
You can also make this in a traditional blender but you need to very slowly drizzle the oil into the running blender--you must add it very very slowly to get it to emulsify.
After making the mayonnaise you can add any ONE additions and blend thoroughly.
By the way, any one of the flavored versions are divine with french fries. Some might say the french fries are just an excuse to eat the mayo...
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Cooking
Mayonnaise Recipe
From the "I-don't-know-how-I-missed-it" news department:
HOUSTON, Dec. 4 -- A Texas woman was sentenced to 10 years in jail Thursday for running over the manager of a McDonald's with her car because she wanted mayonnaise on her cheeseburger.
First off this was in Texas, so normal rules do not apply. I'm not talking about running people over or even eating at McDonald's, but actually putting mayonnaise on a cheeseburger. Let me explain it this way: burger=juicy and greasy, melted cheese=greasy, mayonnaise simply NOT NECESSARY.
Mayonnaise is a really great sauce though and shouldn't be relegated to only sandwiches. One of the five French "mother sauces" along with hollandaise it's an egg and oil emulsification. If you've only ever had store bought do yourself a favor and make it from scratch. It makes a great sauce for grilled fish or poached chicken, shrimp, and steamed vegetables like asparagus and artichokes. You can really dress it up by using fresh citrus juices like lemon or orange or a whole host of other flavorings like fresh green herbs, wasabi, chile powder, curry, or fresh garlic. While traditionally made with a whisk, it's super easy to make if you have a food processor or blender, especially one of those stick blenders.
Here's how I do it:
Mayonnaise
Ingredients
1 cup vegetable oil (don't use all olive oil, but a little is ok)
1 egg, room temperature (very important)
1 1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard or dry mustard powder
salt and pepper to taste
Optional additions
1-2 T chopped herbs (tarragon, parsley, chervil or a combination are all good ones)
1 smashed clove of garlic
1/2 t finely grated orange rind
1/2 t curry powder
1 T ketchup and pinch of cayenne pepper
Instructions
With a "stick" or immersion hand blender:
Put all ingredients into the beaker. Position the handblender at the base of the beaker. Pressing the switch, keep the handblender in this position until the oil emulsifies. Then, without switching the handblender off, slowly move it up and down until the mayonnaise is thoroughly combined.
You can also make this in a traditional blender but you need to very slowly drizzle the oil into the running blender--you must add it very very slowly to get it to emulsify.
After making the mayonnaise you can add any ONE additions and blend thoroughly.
By the way, any one of the flavored versions are divine with french fries. Some might say the french fries are just an excuse to eat the mayo...
- Artichokes With Creamy Spinach Dip Recipe
As a child I wasn’t crazy about vegetables with one notable exception. I loved artichokes. My mother served them with lemon butter or garlic mayonnaise and upon retrospect I think that was in no small part why I loved them so much. All other vegetables...
- Roasted Garlic And Potato Dip Recipe
Greek cuisine features many great snacks and nibbles from olives to pastries and dips. An easy dip to make is skordalia. Recipes vary regionally, but generally feature garlic, extra virgin olive oil and potatoes though sometimes egg yolks, almonds or...
- Sea Urchin Spaghetti Recipe
Sea urchin or uni is rich and creamy. It tastes very briny and yet sweet. Emulsified with some extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice, it makes a wonderful sauce for pasta. The type of pasta you use is up to you of course, but isn't it gorgeous on...
- Salmon Tacos With Mango Corn Salsa
To be honest, I haven't been feeling very inspired in the kitchen lately. I've been busy with lots of things including travel, and when I'm home I've been trying to eat the food in the freezer since it is on the verge of overflowing....
- All About Meyer Lemons
If you like the tang of lemons, but not the pucker, Meyer lemons are for you. They are not nearly as tart as conventional lemons, and their peel is slightly sweet. Like a regular lemon perfected, the color and juice are amped up and the peel is thinned...