gfrancie | what we do with our artichokes.

Aioli

3 cloves of garlic
pinch of salt
2 Tbs lemon juice
1 egg yolk (it is very important to use fresh eggs)
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 Cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbs vegetable oil
salt and pepper

You can make this by hand with a glass/copper bowl and a big whisk but it might kill your hand muscles. If you don't have a fancy-pancy kitchen-aid mixer; a blender works just as well. Making mayonnaise of any kind requires a bit of patience, really really clean materials and a lot of luck.

So let's begin by taking the garlic and mashing it up very fine in a small bowl. There are a number of schools of thought on this particular act. There are some who use a garlic masher (which I like and find to be pretty darn handy) and there are some who believe that they are the devil's tool and affect the taste of the garlic and that you should only mince the garlic very finely with a sharp knife and then mash it up. I say do what is easiest for you. I use the garlic masher because it is fun and quick. You put that mashed garlic in a bowl and add a pinch of salt and mix it up with a fork until it turns into a paste. Set aside.

In your super clean bowl/blender you will whisk/stir together lemon juice, the egg yolk and dijon mustard until it is a cheery shade of yellow. Now here comes the Mission Impossible-inspired delicate part of the process: the adding of the oils. In a seperate bowl you will want to combine the vegetable and olive oil.

If you using a blender what you will do is keep the hole on the lid open (with the lemon/egg/mustard mixture inside already), turn on the blender (to whip ideally) and very very very very slowly add the combined oil. We are talking about a few drops at a time. It can be a time-consuming process so don't make any plans to have an affair with the milkman at that moment. As you are doing this watch the mixture carefully. If it looks as if it is separating you will want to stop adding oil and just let the blender mix the yellow mixture for a minute or two. Hopefully it should combine things neatly and you can go back to adding the oils.

If you are using a fancy-pancy kitchen-aid mixture you just do as above by adding the oils very slowly. Sometimes using a spoon to slowly dribble the oils in works nicely. Also if it looks like things aren't coming together stop adding oil for a minute or two and let the mixture come together. It may take some time to emulsify.

If you are doing this by hand? You have my sympathy.

So once everything is combined and everything looks quite creamy and thick (but not too thick just yet) you will add the garlic paste and slowly fold it in by hand. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Voila you should have aioli which can be put on sandwiches, someone you like, maybe on some meat or with steamed artichokes. It should have a faintly tart flavor with the sexy sweetness of the garlic. It should also be a beautiful pale yellow color and will solidify a bit if put in the fridge for a couple of hours.

This can be kept for two days in the fridge. Remember you are dealing with raw eggs so make sure you have high quality eggs. Food poisoning is never pleasant.

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Starting tomorrow I will be posting a few recipes that one can make for Thanksgiving. I will also share a few links to favorite dishes I have posted before.