Simple Sauces Part 3–Mayonnaise

I'm going to stop you right now. Mayonnaise is a sauce, got it? When it's not white fluff out of a jar, that is.
Seriously. Real mayonnaise (NOT Hellman's "Real" Mayonnaise) is a rich, yellow sauce for bread, potato salads, and many other things. It is made with egg yolks; thus it tastes eggy and delicious.
Mayonnaise is simple, too. In the time it takes you to go to the store and buy mayo, you could make a potato salad with homemade mayonnaise. And contrary to popular belief, you don't have to add the oil drip
by
drip
by
drip.


Mayonnaise (adapted from The Best Recipe):
Makes about 3/4 cup


Ingredients:

1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar (sherry vinegar works too)
3/4 cup corn oil (or any other tasteless oil)

1 teaspoon water


Instructions:


Whisk egg yolk vigorously in medium bowl for 15-30 seconds.

Add salt, mustard, vinegar, and lemon juice and whisk until thickened and brightened in color. There is no such thing as over-whisking in this step.

It should be brighter.

Add water and whisk.

Add 1/4 cup oil in a slow and steady stream.

Whisk vigorously until oil is completely incorporated and mixture is thickened, about 1 minute.

It should be thicker than this.

Add another 1/4 cup of oil the same way. Whisk until incorporated.

Add last 1/4 cup all at once and whisk until completely incorporated, about 30 seconds.

Apparently, I failed to whisk it enough.

While this was definitely the best mayonnaise I've ever had, taste-wise, the texture wasn't quite right. It was more of a liquid than a spread, which I will take the blame for. I probably didn't whisk enough. However, that actually made it better for use in a potato salad that night. It was a lot easier to stir in.

My laziness in whisking paid off!

The only modification I made was adding the water, which I decided to do after reading the New York Times' article on mayonnaise. It apparently keeps it from "breaking," or separating before it's supposed to.

Enjoy your mayo!

Innovative Leftovers Part 1–Hamburger Panini

This is the first in a series of fun and creative ways to use the leftovers in your fridge.

You've all had that moment. You look in the fridge and go, "Yes! There's still a hamburger leftover from dinner! And some cheese, too! Sweet! This will be the best lunch EVER!"
But then you realize two things:
1. You're way too excited about a hamburger.
And 2. You don't have a bun, just some frozen sandwich bread, and the only condiments you have are mayonnaise and barbecue sauce.
As you stare, devastated, into the fridge, and resign yourself to a lunch of frozen bread with mayonnaise, a revelation hits you.
PANINI!

Hamburger Panini:


Ingredients:

1/2 leftover hamburger
2 slices sandwich bread, frozen
Cheese

Barbecue sauce (or sandwich spread of choice)
Mayonnaise, butter, or olive oil
Lettuce, tomato, and/or pickles (optional)


Procedure:

Turn on panini press or place frying pan over medium heat. Spread thin layer of mayonnaise, butter, or oil on the outside of both slices of bread.

Spread preferred sandwich spread over inside of bread.

This is a mango-pineapple barbecue sauce.

Cut hamburger into slices and place on bread with cheese and any other toppings.

I gave the extra piece to my dog.

Arugula and provolone

Cover with second slice of bread and place in a panini press or hot frying pan. Place lid on frying pan.

Cook until cheese is melted and bread has golden brown grill marks.

Immerse yourself in my burger panini!

I love paninis! The cheese is so gooey and delicious and you can stuff pretty much anything inside them. In this panini, the sweet barbecue sauce I used cut down in the arugula's bitterness perfectly. Because of the oil (or mayo or butter) that is spread on the outside of the panini, the bread is amazingly crispy. I recommend that you start with frozen bread because the oil is easier to spread on a frozen surface. This panini is really adaptable; you can use any cheese, veggies, and condiments in your fridge. I especially love a spinach/mozzarella combo.