Aioli

Simply put, aioli is nothing more than garlic mayonnaise. So if desperate, you can try crushing fresh garlic into some store-bought mayonnaise. However, if you want really, really good aioli, or mayonnaise for that matter, you need to make it from scratch.

Making mayonnaise from scratch does a couple of things for you. First, all that whisking will pre-burn away some calories before you ingest it. Second, it just tastes soooo much better than the store-bought stuff! Plus there's the added bonus of making the mayonnaise taste however you want it to by experimenting with different herbs, flavorings and oils.

Most mayonnaise recipes will call for a neutral oil, such as safflower oil. Mayonnaise made with pure olive oil has a very distinctive taste and smell that some people might not like right away. I happen to like olive oil mayonnaise, but most of the time, I prefer to use half olive oil and half neutral oil.

Anyways, a basic mayonnaise recipe starts with on egg yolk. If you have any concerns about eating raw eggs, don't make homemade mayo unless you can get those pasteurized ones in the shells.  Start whisking the yolk and add some dijon mustard (or whatever kind you have, about a half teaspoon), salt, white pepper and a few drops of white vinegar or lemon juice. Keeping whisking and start adding the oil drop by drop. Once the emulsion looks pretty stable, you can increase the flow of oil to a thin, steady stream. Keep whisking until you've whisked in about a cup to 1 and half cup of oil. By the time you're done, your arm is probably ready to fall off. There is an easier way if you have a stick blender, but that takes the work out of making something so fatty and delicious!

Now that you've got the gist of basic mayonnaise down, let's talk aioli. David Lebovitz has an awesome aioli recipe that I've used over and over:
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2009/07/aioli-garlic-mayonnaise-recipe/
I usually make it my little porcelain mortar and pestle and my mother-in-law's awesome home-grown garlic. The store-bought garlic just doesn't have anything on my mother-in-law's garlic! Anyways, you start by crushing a few cloves in your mortar and pestle and grind it into a paste with some coarse sea salt. Then add the yolk and start whisking. Then add about a cup of olive oil while whisking.

If your emulsion breaks, start whisking an egg yolk in a fresh bowl and then slowly add the broken mix, drop by drop, into the new emulsion. Personally, I have not had an emulsion break on me so far (knock on wood) probably because I get so tired from whisking and just can't keep it up. Lol!

Anyways, homemade aioli tastes awesome on zucchini faux crab cakes, whose recipes can be found here:
http://nancyvienneau.com/blog/recipes/those-curious-zucchini-faux-crab-cakes/
http://idigmygarden.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1611
Aioli also tastes great on plain old toast as well. How about next time you make eggs benedict, instead of hollandaise, spread some aioli? Personally, I prefer making aioli over hollandaise because I find making hollandaise even more labor intensive since I have to whisk over a stove.

Anyways, that's my post for today!