In general, I’m not a big fan of mayonnaise. I think it has a very real and very important, but somewhat minimal, place in food. I like a thin layer of mayo on a turkey sandwich to give it some moisture. I like it mixed with canned tuna. And I like a dash of mayo when I make crab dip. But when it comes to salads like potato salad, or worse – egg salad (cue gagging face) then mayonnaise is just too much. And yet, here I am posting a recipe for mayonnaise done three ways. Spoiler, the three ways are sriracha, garlic, and regular.  

Here’s what happened. A few weeks ago before Ryan and I went to see the Dalai Lama speak we went out to lunch at the Chicken Shop in Holborn. The place is lovely with charming decor, amazing chicken, and tasty mayonnaise. So this is the thing. Here in the UK when you order fries (chips) they ask you what sauce you want. Ryan and I always say ketchup. The server brings ketchup but then always brings mayonnaise too; because how could we not want mayo? Mayonnaise on fries is how it’s done here. I’ve tried it, it’s fine, but I’m going to choose ketchup every time.

And then the Chicken Shop gave us fries with house made garlic mayonnaise and my world turned around. It has so much flavor! It was zesty, creamy, and full of garlic flavor without any bitter taste. Homemade mayonnaise is so much better than the jar! Get out of the way ketchup, I don’t need you any more. Who knew mayonnaise could be so delicious?!

I decided I needed to try making mayonnaise at home. So I turned to Julia Child and Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Homemade mayonnaise always makes me think of the scene in Julie and Julia where Meryl Streep as Julia Child says that she has discovered “foolproof mayonnaise” and that it has “scientific workability.” Armed with Meryl Streep’s voice in my head I was ready to go. But obviously I couldn’t make just regular mayonnaise, I needed garlic mayonnaise to go with what I had discovered at the Chicken Shop.

For the garlic mayonnaise I used roasted garlic for a rich yet sweet flavor. It’s ultimately a bit thicker than regular mayonnaise but really delicious. I also made sriracha mayonnaise. I think I’ve had that before, but I can’t place where or when. I liked this idea because of the combination of spicy heat and creamy coolness. To test all three I made a batch of French fries and did some eating. My favorite turned out to be the sriracha. If you have other ideas for mayonnaise flavors let me know! I’m now officially into the idea of fries and mayonnaise together.

The crazy thing is that I made this by hand. I intended to use my stand mixer, but in the beginning there isn’t enough material in the bowl so the whisk couldn’t reach it. Since I had everything in the bowl already, I just switched to the regular whisk. I’m sure you can do it in a food processor (but I don’t trust mine) and I think an electric hand mixer would work too – but I decided to be hard core and use my arm strength. Surprisingly my arm didn’t hurt it just takes a long time.

Finally making mayonnaise is all about making an emulsion. The egg and oil doesn’t want to mix, but you’re going to make it! If while you’re doing this you aren’t getting a good emulsion and your mayonnaise splits add some cool water and whisk vigorously. You can read more about what to do on Sheknows.com. But friends, delicious mayonnaise can be yours and it’s not hard. Just put on some comfortable slippers, pop in your headphones, play your favorite podcast and get to work whisking. You can do this!

Adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The recipe for plain mayonnaise is pretty much unchanged, it’s the addition of roasted garlic and sriracha that are mine.

Messy level: Although mostly a pretty dish-free and clean recipe, I ended up with oil EVERYWHERE. I got it on my hands, it dripped down the side of the measuring cup as I poured it in drip by drip. I had a small oil slick, but that was my only mess.

Mayonnaise Done Three Ways

 

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Serves: ¾-1 pint mayonnaise

Ingredients

• 3 egg yolks, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or lemon juice, plus a little more might be needed
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon dry or prepared mustard (I used a jar of Dijon)
• ½ pint/2 cups/16 ounces olive oil
• 2 tablespoons boiling water (boil water first then measure out the water)
• 4-5 cloves roasted garlic (optional, recipe for how to roast garlic to follow)
• 2-3 teaspoons sriracha hot sauce (optional)

Instructions

1. Use a large ceramic, glass or stainless steal bowl. Turn the hot water on from your kitchen sink. Let it run over the bowl to warm up a bit. Dry the bowl.
2. Add the egg yolks and using a whisk beat for 1-2 minutes until they are thick.
3. Pour in the vinegar/lemon juice, salt, and mustard. Beat for another 30 seconds.
4. Now for the tough part, incorporating the oil into the eggs. Add the olive oil a tiny bit at a time (drop by drop if you can manage) into the egg yolks. Beat with the whisk continuously until the sauce thickens. [Note: Julia Child says beating at the speed of 2 strokes per second is fast enough. To go drop by drop I held the measuring cup of oil with my left hand and just gently tipped the lip of the cup over the bowl, I then whisked with my right hand].
5. Every 30 seconds or so stop pouring the oil and just beat the eggs to make sure the oil really is incorporating.
6. Once you've used about ½ the oil and the sauce has started to thicken you should be out of the woods. You can now rest your arm a bit. Once you get back to beating you can add the olive oil in 1-2 tablespoons at a time. Still, be sure to beat thoroughly after each addition of oil.
7. If the mayonnaise becomes too thick or stiff, add a drop of vinegar/lemon juice to help thin it out.
8. When you're finished beating in the oil add the 2 tablespoons of boiling water. This is what Julia calls an "anti-curdling" method.
9. Now you have regular mayonnaise. If you'd like three types of mayonnaise divide your sauce into three. Set one aside to leave regular plain mayonnaise.
10. If you'd like roasted garlic mayonnaise, heat your oven to 400°F/205°C. Remove the garlic cloves from the bulb but leave the papery skin on. Drizzle with olive oil and then wrap in aluminium foil. Roast in the oven for 30-45 minutes. The garlic is ready when a knife easily pierces through. [Alternatively you could cut the top off the bulb of garlic, drizzle with oil, wrap in foil, and roast the whole thing use what you need and save the rest in the fridge.]
11. When the garlic is ready, peel off the skin then mash the garlic into a paste.
12. Mix the garlic paste in with ⅓ of your divided mayonnaise. It will make the sauce a bit thicker and chunkier, but with a nice rich, yet subtly sweet garlicy flavor.
13. With the remaining ⅓ of your mayonnaise add in 1 teaspoon of sriracha sauce. Taste. Add more, 1 teaspoon at a time (or ½ teaspoon at a time) until it reaches your desired spiciness. This will thin out your mayonnaise, but it's a wonderful blend of spicy hot and creamy coolness.
14. Now you have three flavors of mayonnaise for all your dipping and sandwich needs!

3.3.3077

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My childhood memories of Easter holidays include fancy flower dresses that I was so excited to wear even though it was always still a bit cold, baskets filled with chocolates hidden among green plastic grass, and brunch with my family. When I was a little kid my family and I used to go to a hotel in downtown Baltimore to eat. In my memory, the place was huge with people and buffet lines on multiple floors. I remember it feeling like such a party and it was so exciting that I could eat all kinds of different foods at the same time.

From one of those occasions there’s a picture of me and my brother Eric standing next to the Easter Bunny giving him the side eye. We’re looking at him with a mixture of fear (because he’s a stranger and a giant rabbit) and respect (because earlier he had brought us a basket of candy). It’s a hilarious picture and one day if I find it I’ll post it here to show you. Anyway, I liked going to brunch with my family. And I like that brunch is a part of my Easter celebration memories. Most holidays are all about big roasted dinners and I like that breakfast gets its chance to be fancy.

One of the brunch foods I love is Eggs Benedict. Well, not Eggs Benedict because I don’t eat ham, but Eggs Royale. Eggs Royale substitutes smoked salmon for the ham and it is delicious. But, regardless of the meat there is just something about the presentation of fluffy poached eggs smothered in hollandaise sauce that feels special. It’s one of those dishes that  gives me a thrill when I can see a server coming over with my order and it’s a dish that I can’t wait to eat.

My mind was set on making standard Eggs Royale for Easter brunch – that is, until inspiration struck. Last last week Ryan and I went to a new place in our neighborhood called the Barn and I had an awesome breakfast. I had scrambled eggs and smoked salmon with avocado and crushed red peppers. It was creamy with a little spice at the same time. It was an interesting combination of flavors, but using really familiar and easy to access ingredients. I decided I should turn this dish into our Easter Brunch. So here it is, a new twist on a recipe, Eggs Royale with avocado.

Part of what defines Eggs Royale (or Eggs Benedict) is the hollandaise sauce on top. Hollandaise is is an emulsion of butter and egg yolks. You can definitely buy hollandaise sauce from the super market, but it will be sweeter and tarter than if you make it on your own. Even so, I was feeling intimidated about making it by hand. And Julia Child even said I should learn to make it the traditional way. But, then I also found her recipe for making it quickly in a blender and I was less nervous. She literally says an 8 year-old could do it. Also, in a blind taste test Ryan preferred the homemade version over the store bought. So try making it for yourself because people will notice.

Messy level: This recipe is really all about the prep. There’s some amount of chopping, toasting, blending, and egg cracking – all of which leads to dishes or using some appliances. It’s not terrible and you shouldn’t have a horrible mess, but be warned you should be organized to keep your kitchen neat.

Inspiration from the Barn, hollandaise sauce recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume 1, and the poached egg method is from an earlier Cooking is Messy post.

Eggs Royale

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

A recipe for poached eggs, hollandaise, with avocado and an English muffin. This recipe is written to serve two people two eggs. However the recipe can easily be increased to serve more people. Additionally, the hollandaise recipewritten as is will serve more than two people.

Ingredients

Hollandaise Sauce

• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon water
• ½ teaspoon salt
• pinch of pepper
• 4 oz butter

Poached Eggs

• water
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon vinegar

Other Sandwich Materials

• 2 English Muffins
• 8 slices smoked salmon (or to taste)
• 16 slices of avocado (or to taste)
• red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. Start with the hollandaise sauce. Place the egg yolks, lemon juice, water, salt, and pepper into a blender.
2. Cut the butter into small pieces and place into a small saucepan. Heat on medium until the butter is hot and foaming. Remove from heat.
3. Turn the blender on high and blend for two seconds.
4. While the blender is still on, open the top (if you don't have a small opening on your blender, use a towel to cover the top a little bit) and pour the hot butter into the egg mixture drop by drop. [Note: I wasn't coordinated enough to pour drop by drop but I could pour a tiny stream at a time. This made the sauce a bit runnier, but it was still tasty.]
5. Taste the sauce and blend in more seasoning if needed. Set aside.
6. Put about 2 inches of water in a medium saucepan. Bring the water to a boil.
7. Add the salt and vinegar to the water, then lower the heat so the water is just simmering.
8. Crack 2 eggs into a bowl. Bring the edge of the bowl to the top of the water and gently slide the eggs in. Cook for 3-5 minutes. The longer you cook the more solid the yolk.
9. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon. Bring the water back to a low simmer then repeat the above step with the last two eggs.
10. While the eggs are cooking, cut the English muffins in half and toast them to your liking.
11. Take two plates and put both sides of one English muffin on each plate.
12. Put 2 slices of smoked salmon on top of each English muffin half.
13. Put 4 slices of avocado on top of the salmon.
14. Place one poached egg on top of the avocado.
15. Using a spoon, drizzle hollandaise sauce on top of the egg.
16. Sprinkle a generous pinch of red pepper flakes on top of the hollandaise.
17. Serve immediately so the eggs will still be warm.

3.2.2925

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Almost every time I go to a book store, I look at Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I hold it in my hand and I think about buying it. Julia Child is an iconic American cook and it feels like this book is one of those books you’re supposed to have if you are a cooking enthusiast. But, I never buy it. I never buy the book because usually it’s a gigantic hardcover and costs a ton of money and will be frustrating to lug home. However, that day in the book store they had both volumes of Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a slim paperback form. The book was inexpensive, the size of  novel, and would easily fit into my purse.

I had a quick internal debate with myself. It went something like this: This is a good deal, I should buy it. Should I buy it? No, I have enough cookbooks. But this is not just any cookbook. It’s Julia Child’s cookbook. And it’s so small and a good price. Should I get both volumes? No, then I’ll definitely have too many and both won’t qualify as an impulse buy. I’ll get just the one. What if it’s written with European measurements since I’m buying it in London? Whew, no it’s not. Ok I’ll get it. Should I check on Amazon to see if I get a better deal? No, if I do that I’ll definitely talk myself out of this. Ok, let’s buy it.

Does all of that back and forth make me sound neurotic? Maybe. But, now I had the book and it was time to start cooking. No surprise, the book is really nice. The tone is straightforward but helpful and encouraging in the notes and directions. There are tables for weight and temperature conversions, helpful illustrations, and information on what types of tools to use.

I decided to start with beef bourguignon, in part because it sounds delicious, and in part because in the movie Julie and Julia it looks so decadent. Honestly though, I have no idea how Julie Powell ever cooked through this book because some of these recipes take a really long time! Like this one, it takes all day. You should eat lunch while making this, and not just have an ice cream cone. If you just have an ice cream cone you’ll be ravenous by the time this is done. I may or may not have done that. But I’m an adult, I can have ice cream for breakfast if I want to.

Truly, this stew is a lazy Sunday kind of meal because it takes over three hours to prepare. In the end it’s worth it, because all that time creates a complex and layered broth that is so lovely. The meat becomes tender, the onions soft and herbal in flavor, and the mushrooms (which I usually hate) have a nice silky texture.

Recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Simone Beck, and Louisette Bertholle. Also, a warning, this recipe has two mini-recipes within the larger recipe.

Messy level: I found this one hard to quantify. You can definitely reuse pots and pans in this recipe. And, while the stew is in the oven for 3 hours, there is plenty of time for  leisurely clean up. However, even though my kitchen didn’t look like a disaster at the end of cooking, I know I used a lot of knives, cutting boards, pots, pans, and general utensils. Even just writing out the instructions, I was exhausted by the amount of dishes needed. I just had to give this four spoons.

Beef Bourguignon

 

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Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 6 oz streaky bacon (you can also buy this pre-cut into lardons)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 pounds lean stew beef, cut in 2 inch cubes
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 oz flour (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1¼ pints (about 3 cups), red wine (I used Chianti)
• ¾ pint (slightly less than 2 cups), beef stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, mashed
• ½ teaspoon thyme
• 1 bay leaf, crumbled

brown-braised onions

• 18 small onions (about 1" long)
• 1 oz butter
• 1 tablespoon oil
• ¼ pint (slightly more than ½ cup) beef stock or dry wine (red or white, I used white)
• salt and pepper
• 4 parsley sprigs
• ½ bay leaf
• ¼ teaspoon thyme

sauteed mushrooms

• 2 oz butter
• 2 tablespoon oil
• 1 pound fresh mushrooms, cut in quarters

Instructions

1. Cut bacon into lardons (sticks ¼x1½" long)
2. Bring a pot of water to a simmer. Add the bacon to the simmering water and cook for 10 minutes. Drain and dry.
3. Preheat oven to 450/230°.
4. In a saucepan, saute the bacon in oil over moderate heat for 2-3 minutes. This is to brown them slightly.
5. Remove bacon from pan with slotted spoon and set aside.
6. Make sure the fat is still hot, then add the beef a few pieces at a time. Cook until browned on all sides.
7. Remove beef from fat and put with the bacon.
8. In the same fat, now cook the vegetables until browned.
9. Put the bacon, beef, and vegetables in a large casserole dish. Season with the salt and pepper, then mix.
10. Now sprinkle with the flour and mix again to lightly coat everything in flour.
11. Place casserole in the oven for 4 minutes.
12. Remove from oven, mix the meat again. Return to the oven for 4 more minutes.
13. Remove casserole from the oven, and turn it down to 325/160°.
14. Stir in the wine. Then add enough beef stock so the meat is just covered.
15. Add the tomato paste, garlic, and herbs.
16. Cover the casserole, and place in the oven.
17. Cook for 3-4 hours. The meat is done when a fork can easily piece it.
18. While the beef is cooking, first prepare the brown-braised onions. Peel the onions (you can do this straight away or by putting them into boiling water for 10 seconds, then it's easier)
19. In a large saucepan, heat the butter and olive oil. Heat until the fat is bubbling a bit.
20. Add the onions and saute over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Roll the onions around so they brown as evenly as possible.
21. Then, pour in the liquid (stock or wine). Add the herbs (parsley, thyme, and bay leaf) to the liquid.
22. Cover the pan and turn the heat to low. Simmer for 40-50 minutes. The onions are done when they are tender but aren't mushy, and the liquid has evaporated.
23. Next start on the sautéed mushrooms. Clean out the frying pan you used for the onions. Heat up the butter and oil over high heat. Once the butter is done foaming, add the mushrooms.
24. Toss the mushrooms for about 8 minutes, until the mushrooms are starting to brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
25. Ok your meat is finally done! Using a sieve, or a slotted spoon, separate the meat and vegetables from the broth.
26. Put the broth in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Skim off the fat. Heat the broth until it lightly coats the back of a spoon.
27. Plate the beef and vegetables. Pour the broth over meat. Eat!

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