Mayonnaise - Food Processor Method

So many food items in today’s world have been homogenized to the point where we don’t know what homemade is supposed to taste like. One of those is mayonnaise. That go-to dressing for your sandwich and a base of so many sauces or marinades. The important thing to remember about mayonnaise is that it is an emulsion. It is a careful and chemically sound blend of oil and egg. Egg has an ability to draw in about 1/2 to a 3/4 C. of oil. I do not make this from hand, I use the power of my food processor. Here is my recipe that I use and alas another great one from Julia Child.

ROOM TEMPERATURE INGREDIENTS

1) Gather 2 egg yolks, 1 egg, 1 tsp of salt, 1 TBSP of lemon juice and mustard. And the most important ingredient of all, oil; 2 Cups. You can play with the mixture of olive oil and other oils but think about how you will use your mayonnaise. If you want a less aggressive taste, use mostly a neutral tasting oil. For a more flavorful one, you use a high quality extra virgin olive oil.

2) In the food processor, add the first 5 ingredients. Mix.

3) With the food processor running, slowly drizzle in 1/2 C. of oil. This is the beginnings of your emulsion. Now, you can drizzle in another 1 C.. At the 1 1/2 C mark, take an assessment of your mayonnaise. If it is too thin, slowly drizzle in more oil. If too thick, you can add more lemon juice or vinegar. Remember, you eggs can only draw so much oil in, so be careful.

You are done! 5 minutes you will have great tasting mayonnaise. Remember that this does not have the same shelf life as commercial mayonnaise. Count on it being good for about 4-5 days in the fridge.

Nosh Tips: You can use vinegar in place of lemon juice. Have fun with the options. Also, experiment with your oil. I haven’t tried a duck egg mayonnaise yet but might have to.

Eat.Drink.Savor.

Kimchi

Many years ago, I worked alongside colleagues who were native Korean. I would join them when they went out to lunch at the various Korean restaurants in the D.C. area. I was floored by the cuisine and in particular, kimchi. In this case, kimchi is fermented cabbage with Korean spice and other ingredients. Nowadays, kimchi seems to be more and more prevalent in restaurants and in dishes that aren’t necessarily Korean. Looks like people have caught on to what I discovered many years ago. Recipe is courtesy of Dr. Ben Kim. I modify it all the time. Anyway, here we go, you can make this yourself easy.

1) Head of Napa cabbage, cut into bite size pieces and put in large mixing bowl. Mix 1/4 c of salt in warm water to dissolve. Spread over and distribute on the cabbage. Let it sit in the bowl for at least 4 hours to draw out most of the moisture in the leaves. Wash and strain the cabbage a few times.

2) 1/4 C of ko choo kah rhoo (Korean red pepper) flakes. If you can’t find it, I like using gochujang or just plain red pepper flakes. Dissolve into a little warm water to turn it into a paste. Add that with 1 TBSP of minced garlic, 1 TBSP minced ginger, a couple of green onions/sliced, 2 TBSPs of fish/anchovy sauce. Choice: Add 1 C Sugar OR 1/2 apple, 1/2 pear, 1/2 onion blended with 1 C. water (I use the latter and pulse it in the food processor). Now mix all of this well. Use gloves if you want to use your hands.

3) Place kimchi in Mason glass jars and leave a little room at the top. This will sit in your fridge for 3 weeks to ferment. After that, the kimchi will keep about 2-4 weeks. You’ll know when it turns as it gets sour and mushy.

Eat.Drink.Savor.

Cranberry Relish

A great recipe that was passed down from my Aunt Emilie. She likely has worked it over a few times herself. A very simple dish that can be made ahead of time. Plus it allows you to use all those bags of cranberries sitting in your freezer before the next holiday season.

1) A 12-16oz bag of cranberries, thawed or fresh. Rinse and drain.

2) A large navel orange, rinsed and price tag removed.

3) Take half of the cranberries and half of the whole orange. Yes, the whole orange excluding the stem. Cut the orange into quarter wedges. Put in food processor and pulse until cranberries and oranges are your desired consistency. Orange pieces should be the same size as the cranberries. Empty into a mixing bowl. Repeat process with rest of the cranberries and orange.

4) In the bowl, add 1/4 - 3/4 cup of granulated sugar. Sweetness is up to you. Mix. Put in fridge to let the flavors and sugars meld. You are done!!

5) Variation Heaven here.. first you can play with the sugar amounts or even type of sugar. Next, you can lever up and down how much orange taste you want. The orange cuts the cranberry tang a bit to balance things out but some folks prefer more cranberry taste than others. You can also add cloves, cinnamon or a whole host of other things. Experiment!!

6) SECRET: My secret ingredient? 2 TBSPs of Grand Marnier orange liquor. Really rounds this dish out.

Eat.Drink.Savor.