Mayonnaise

Today, I conquered my fear of making mayonnaise. I'd always been under the impression it was difficult and could curdle badly. I was wrong. It was simple, fast and once you taste the homemade stuff nothing else will ever quite seem good enough. I did mine with a wire whisk in a metal bowl. It can, I'm told be done in a blender of food processor.

The recipe is from Mastering The Art Of French Cooking.

You Will Need:

3 egg yolks at room temperature

1 1/2 cups olive oil, gently warmed

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard powder

2 tablespoons boiling water

Wash a round bottom bowl in hot water and dry thoroughly. Heat the olive oil gently in a pan until needed. Have boiling water at the ready.

Beat the egg yolks with a whisk until thick and sticky-about 2 minutes.

Add the lemon juice, salt and mustard. Beat another 30 seconds.

Begin adding the oil a few drops at a time in a constant stream. Do not stop beating. A couple strokes per second is the recommendation and that is what I did. Though the temptation to just pour in the oil is great, resist it. You want to build the oil into the eggs slowly. After 1/2 a cup or so of the oil has been added it will thicken and then, as the recipe suggests, you can give your arm a rest for a second or two. Beat in the remainder of the oil by tablespoons. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a few drops of lemon juice and continue beating in the oil (I did not need to do this).

At the end, beat in the boiling water which is supposed to help prevent curdling. Adjust seasoning and pour into a bowl. Cover immediately with plastic wrap on the surface to prevent the formation of skin. Poke a few holes in the plastic to vent. Cool before transferring to a jar.