I have found the traditional recipe to be a bit hard to make successfully unless I’m making it in quantity, and it tastes quite rich if you’re used to commercial mayonnaises. So instead I make whole egg mayonnaise, and I use a blender, which gives the best-emulsified mayonnaise I’ve made, much better than handwhipped mayo, at least from my experience.

I use pure olive oil, which is lighter in flavor than extra virgin olive oil, which I’ve heard is harder to work with and more likely to separate in processing or storage. I think olive oil is healthier than unsaturated vegetable oils, which regardless of what the establishment is trying to tell us, are not a natural part of the human diet, having been in existence in sufficient quantity for human consumption only since the advent of factory extraction and processing.

So you do need a blender to make this. A funnel to sit in the top of the blender will help keep you from getting covered with little oily mayonnaise spots while the mayo is beginning to emulsify, and a measuring cup with a spout will make pouring the oil easier.

Then, patience, patience, patience. If it seems like you’re taking forever to drizzle in the oil, then you’re doing it at about the right speed. It should take about 5 minutes in all. Keep in mind that even at the end, the mayo will break if you add oil too fast.

After about half the oil is added, the mayo will start getting thick enough to stop mixing in the blender. When this happens, you need to stop the blender, take off the lid, and stir with a spatula occasionally.

Things I especially like to serve mayonnaise on:

• cold cooked asparagus, especially peeled
• hard-boiled eggs
• fresh ripe tomatoes, sprinkled with salt
• any cold cooked meat or fish, especially canned fish

I spent some time in Spain, where mayo is king and is served in generous quantities. Canned white asparagus with mayonnaise was served at every restaurant where I ate. I substitute green asparagus spears which I have peeled before cooking, though it is not the same. One thing I was served there was a first course consisting of a halved hard boiled egg topped with oil-packed tuna (that’s the kind they like there), and served with a giant blob of mayonnaise. While I enjoyed it, I only used a tablespoon of the mayo. I did observe a Belgian eating the same dish and finishing the mayonnaise with gusto. Definitely a different sensibility.

I desperately need to update my site. But for now, the recipe link has been fixed.

©2010 Food, cooking, eating, and me. All Rights Reserved.

The past couple of days I have put dry greens in the bottom of a rectangualr glass baking dish, and put rows of things like cooked asparagus, rinsed canned black beans, halved hard boiled eggs, chopped cooked bacon, green olives, and walnuts. Yesterday I cut the tomato and put it into the salad first. Today I held it back and put it in at the last minute, preventing the salad from picking up too much water.

I include a little covered takeout cup of homemade mayonnaise to dip into.

To eat, I pick off the pieces, and when they are mostly gone, I put salt, pepper, vinegar, and olive oil on the salad greens and stir before eating them.

It’s an incredibly attractive lunch. Everyone is always very jealous…

©2010 Food, cooking, eating, and me. All Rights Reserved.