Homemade Mayonnaise

I have always wanted to try my hand at homemade mayonnaise. I've heard that it is so much different than store-bought and much better tasting. So, now that I've got a carton of Davidson's Pasteurized Eggs in my fridge, I decided it was time to give it a try. One of my friends asked me to bring vegetables over for dinner last weekend. I don't usually "do" vegetables for dinner parties, but it was a great chance for me to create an artistic display with a mayonnaise dip.

I had fun picking out the vegetables - they always look so gorgeous in their stacks at the market. So, I chose asparagus, broccoli, radishes, carrots with their tops still on (a special request from my daughter), grape tomatoes, and a purple cabbage which I prepared as a bowl for the dip - a beautiful range of colors, I decided.



I blanched the asparagus and broccoli because I love the crispness with no raw taste. I let them sit for a couple of minutes in boiling water and then transferred them to my clean sink filled with ice water.

Do any of you ever start to get over-confident when cooking or baking? From what I've read over the years, mayonnaise can be a little tricky to make. To start, you whisk a couple of eggs together and then, v-e-r-y slowly, add oil, whisking quickly all the while. So, I whisked my eggs and then poured the oil from a Pyrex measuring cup, drop by drop, at first, and then started adding it in a trickle. I was feeling pretty confident - I was creating a beautiful, smooth emulsion of eggs and oil. I had to stop to rest a couple of times because I was so busy whisking. Initially, I had planned to do this in the food processor, but the eggs got flung to the sides of the bowl, so the blade wasn't even coming into contact with them, so I had to do it by hand.

It was really fun watching the emulsion come together. I stopped to look at the measuring cup to see how much oil was left and was disappointed to see I had only added about a third of the entire amount. My whisking arm was getting a little weak. But, I started trickling again, and then, because it was coming together so well, I turned the trickle into a bit heavier stream. Suddenly, because my whisk wasn't keeping pace with the heavier addition, the smooth, creamy mixture suddenly turned into a bowl of oil with some eggs mixed in. My mayonnaise had broken. Aarrgh. I had been feeling a little too proud of myself. I tried to dump the broken mess into the processor to see if I could revive it, even tried adding another egg as the directions suggested if the mixture broke, but I ended up pouring the mess down the sink and starting over. (Don't tell my plumber...)

The second time around, my poor little arm was even more tired!! But, the whisking had to go on! I was determined not to let the mayonnaise beat me. This time, I drip-dripped as slowly as I could manage, and hardly let it trickle even when I knew it was safe. I tried whisking with my left hand and pouring with my right, but that wasn't very smooth. Finally, I trickled the whole portion of oil into the eggs and it was a beautiful, creamy, smooth mayonnaise! Per the recipe, I added vinegar, salt, pepper, pimentos, mustard, garlic, and green onions. It turned out quite tasty. I think I'll try it again soon and make it right the first time around so I don't wear myself out!

Pimento Mayonnaise
Adapted from The Frog Commissary Cookbook

Makes 1 3/4 cups

2 egg yolks
1 1/3 c. corn oil
3 T. vinegar or lemon juice
1 t. salt
1 1/2 t. pepper
2 T. Dijon mustard
1/2 c. finely chopped pimentos, drained well
2 T. finely chopped scallions
1/2 t. minced garlic

Whisk the egg yolks until light-colored. Measure out the oil into a container suitable for controlled pouring, and very gradually (almost drop by drop) add about 1/3 of the oil to the yolks while continuously beating so that the mixture begins to emulsify and thicken properly. At this point, you can begin adding the rest of the oil in a thin trickle, working up to a gradual stream at the end. Your mayonnaise should now be thick, smooth, and glossy. Beat in the vinegar, salt, pepper, mustard, pimentos, scallions, and garlic. Cover and refrigerate if not using immediately. It will keep for about two weeks.