Mayonnaise Magic!

I found this video on YouTube from a cook who goes by "foodwishes." He is a wish come true indeed! He has a mayo method that will blow your mind. Click here for the original video.

But wait! I tried it at home! And now I am attempting to show you the video.

Did that work? Did you see that? It was totally cool and totally easy.

Here are a few notes:
This is a pretty tangy mayo. If your tastes run less tangy, use a bit less of the lemon juice and vinegar and maybe add a tad more sugar. Also, as I mention in the video, even with 1/2 cup olive oil, the taste comes through. I actually really like it, but if your olive oil is strong, you could use less. As I also mentioned, it is very thick, but that is kind of neat as well. I imagine, though, that you could start with a cup to a cup and a quarter of oil and then just add more if it isn't thick enough. If anyone tries that, let me know. Finally, I think I was overly timid. I could have started moving the blender and letting it run for longer bursts much sooner in the process, believe it or not! Very neat trick.

Magic Mayonnaise Recipe (courtesy of "foodwishes"):
Add to container:

• 2 egg yolks
• juice of one half a lemon (approx. 1 Tbsp.)
• 1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar (I just used white and it was fine)
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. mustard (he suggests Dijon, I used Gulden's--whatever floats your boat!)

Then pour right in:

• any combination of oils totaling 1.5 cups

Let everything settle for a minute, so the oil and yolks are totally separated. Then place the mixer straight into the container so the blade cup is resting against the bottom. Begin mixing in short pulses. I almost instantly began to see lava lamp-esque blobs and pillars of mayo rise up from the bottom. When you build up a bottom layer, begin to blend continuously and slowly rock and lift the blender up through the remaining oil to combine. Yum!

Tasty Frittata Supper

If you are like me, you always have some eggs on hand and you almost always have some Italian turkey sausage in the freezer. Eggs and sausage are great for last-minute dinners because eggs cook so quickly and turkey sausage can thaw out really quickly even if you take it out of the freezer at the last minute. I run it under warm water to thaw—if you have a microwave, that makes things even easier. What to do with that sausage once it is thawed? I actually have two last-minute strategies: pasta sauce and frittatas. Today I’ll discuss frittatas!

The frittata is my recently-discovered wonder dinner. The entire dinner, including getting a salad together, takes perhaps 20 minutes. It is very flexible and allows you to use up veggies that are about to go bad. The leftovers are also delicious for lunch or breakfast the next day. My method comes from Mark Bittman, with some adjustments.

You will need:

2 Tbs. olive oil

chopped hard veggies, in any combination, such as onions, bell peppers, zucchini, etc.

2 links sausage, removed from casing (if desired)

chopped “soft” veggies, such as tomatoes and mushrooms (total combined veggies should be at least a cup but you can vary widely and it has no effect

greens, such as spinach, if desired

fresh herbs, if desired

6 eggs (or more if you want to make a big ole frittata. But six works well in my 10-inch skillet)

parmesan cheese, if desired

1) Chop the hard veggies—cut them pretty fine.

2) heat about one Tbs (or one glug) olive oil in a 10-inch skillet (is that the size of the normal skillet? I think so—you know what I mean—the basic skillet) over med-high heat. Add veggies.

3) Sautee veggies for 5 minutes until softened. Adjust heat so they don’t burn. While this is going on, cut up the soft veggies.

4) After five minutes, add the sausage, if you are going for the meat version. Just squeeze it out of casing and break up in the pan. Don’t add salt until after the sausage is cooked, btw. That stuff can be salty. When the sausage is mostly cooked and crumbly, add the soft veggies.

5) Turn the heat down to low (or I would say medium-low: just one smidge up from low) and cook soft veggies for five minutes. While that is going on, whisk the eggs up in a separate bowl and prep the herbs and greens. Basil is delish, as is baby spinach.

6) When soft veggies are cooked, taste and adjust the salt and pepper, then ADD THE SECOND TBS (or glug) OF OLIVE OIL and toss in the herbs and greens and sauté until just wilted. Then distribute everything evenly in the pan and carefully pour the eggs over the top. You can use your sautéing implement to sort of ease the flow so everything stays in place in the pan. It will be anticlimactic and hardly sizzle at all, but that is normal. Grate cheese over top if desired.

7) Leave that pan on low, totally undisturbed, for about 10 minutes. Go make a salad.

8) Check your pan periodically after about six minutes. The eggs should be setting up nicely. After about ten minutes, they will be all set up except a thin film of runny eggs on top. At this point, turn on the broiler to low (or set the rack a bit away from the burner) and put the whole pan under for ONE MINUTE AT A TIME. (Check compulsively. Broilers are fickle. When the top is just set, pull it out, run a knife around the edge, slice and serve with salad. It comes right out of the pan. YUM. Eat the leftovers for breakfast.