January 11th, 2012 / Comments
It’s not to late to make a New Year’s resolution. Rather than resolving to go to the gym three times a week, or to sort out the extra clothes at the back of my closet, or to re-read at least one classic before the daffodils appear; I have resolved to have an empty fridge when it’s time to travel to Italy in March.
Rainbow Carrots
(I wanted to share my most recent painting, Rainbow Carrots, even though carrots have nothing to do with this post. )
The first step is to dispose of all of the half-filled jars of mystery sauces that have accumulated since we returned from Italy last spring. The second, and perhaps more difficult part is resisting the jars of exotic sauces at the market. I will make do with only three jars of sauce, mustard, ketchup and mayonnaise. The mustard is grainy Dijon mustard, the ketchup is what remains of the homemade ketchup I made as a Christmas gift for Charles, and I will make mayo as we need it.
Usually, mayo is made with either an egg yolk or a whole egg but recently I made Maionese de leite, a mayonnaise that comes from Portugal. This creamy, egg free sauce, made with milk and flavored with a hint of garlic is less sticky and bit more watery than traditional mayo but it can be substituted for traditional mayo. An immersion blender is necessary to make it. Here’s how I did it:
| Portugese Milk Mayo from a Vermont Kitchen |
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Recipe type: Condiment
Author: Carol Egbert
Prep time: 10 mins
Total time: 10 mins
Serves: 1 1/2 cups
Creamy egg-free mayo with a hint of garlic and five colorful variations. An immersion blender is necessary for this recipe.
- 1/3 cup cold milk
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 small garlic clove
- pinch of cayenne
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- pinch kosher salt
- Combine milk, lemon juice, garlic and cayenne pepper in a tall, 2 cup container.
- Whip with an immersion blender for 45 seconds, until frothy.
- Combine oils and, with blender on high speed, slowly add oil to milk mixture, gradually increase quantity of oil. Move blender up and down to incorporate the oil.
- Continue whipping until mixture is thick.
- Season with salt to taste.
- Milk mayo will last up to a week in the fridge.
Mayo Sauces
Pink Ginger Mayo – Combine 1 teaspoon ketchup, 1 heaping teaspoon minced pickled ginger and a pinch of cayenne with 1/4 cup mayo. Lovely with steamed shrimp.
Golden Curry Mayo – Saute 1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds and 1 small onion, diced, in 2 teaspoons vegetable oil for 4 minutes, add 1/2 teaspoon curry powder and 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, cook 1 minute more. when mixture is cool, combine with 1/2 cup mayo. Combine with cooked chicken and grapes for chicken salad.
Rosy Tomato Mayo – Combine equal parts mayo and ketchup for a zesty sandwich spread.
Dilly Green Mayo – Combine 1 teaspoon of minced fresh dill, minced flat leaf parsley, and chopped capers with a rounded tablespoon mayo. Thin with lemon juice. Top steamed new potatoes for a quick potato salad.
Sunny Lemon Mayo – Add i teaspoon grated lemon zest and 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice with 1/4 cup mayo. Perfect for poached fish, steamed broccoli or in Waldorf salad.
2.1.7
Homemade mayonnaise is delicious whether it’s traditional egg based mayo or creamy milk mayo but, if your New Year’ resolution is to spend less time in the kitchen, mayo from the grocery store is the right choice for you. Happy New Year!
Here’s a link to my recipe for Mayo made with eggs.
Download and print a label for your homemade mayo here.
December 14th, 2011 / comments
When I was a child, one of my jobs was to refill the large, red plastic tomato with ketchup. My sister and I squeezed that tomato to squirt ketchup on French fried potatoes, grilled American cheese sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs and scrambled eggs. When I moved to Washington, DC, I wanted to be sophisticated and cosmopolitan. I listened to classical music, read the articles as well as the cartoons in the New Yorker and banished ketchup from my kitchen.
… read more
September 21st, 2011 / Comments
On September 26th, I’ll be celebrating John Chapman’s birthday with a bowl of apple sauce, a smear of apple jelly and a dollop of apple butter on toast. He was a barefoot itinerant arborist who wore a tin pot instead of a hat. I met this gentle man between the covers of a Golden Book when I was six, you probably know him as Johnny Appleseed.
When the sweet aroma of apples cooking to make applesauce and jelly as inspiration and a chance meeting with an overloaded apple tree, Charles gathered loads of apples. Here’s how I made a batch of apple butter: … read more
July 14th, 2011 / comments
Watercolor painting by Carol Egbert
Saturday, white puffy clouds danced across the cobalt blue sky, the grass was freshly mowed and my Kindle was giving me that ‘come hither’ look. It was a day to make one of my favorite (nearly) no-cook, (almost) zero effort dinners. This dinner has four steps:
- Determine menu
- See what’s in the pantry and fridge
- Go to market for what isn’t
- Pull dinner together
Charles and I decided to split the tasks. I decided we would have roasted chicken with pink ginger sauce, sesame noodles and a nectarine salad. I found soy sauce, cayenne pepper, vinegar, canola oil, garlic, honey, sesame seeds and sesame oil in the pantry and mayonnaise, sour cream, catsup and pickled ginger in the fridge. Charles went to the market to get a rotisserie cooked chicken, a box of pasta, scallions, fresh ginger and some nectarines. I got lost in my book and snoozed a bit.
When I woke up, I put a large pot of water on the stove over medium heat. In less than half an hour after Charles returned from the market, we sat down to an Asian inspired summer dinner. Here’s how we did it:
… read more
April 7th, 2011 / Comments
Whenever I see pears, my first thought is that they would be fun to paint. The pears at the market are seven inches long, with pale yellow, almost ivory, skin and a pink blush on the sunny side. I have sliced them into fruit salads and served them with yogurt.
Abbe Fetel Pears
The other evening, I decided to serve veal cordon blue for a small dinner party and the last pear and a solitary yellow apple sitting on the counter caught my eye. Don’t be impressed by the veal cordon blue, the butcher had done all the work. He had put a slice of cheese and one of prosciutto between thin slices of veal and then breaded it. All I had to do was sauté them in olive oil. But, back to the pear and apple – I decided that a warm pear and apple salad would complement the rich veal entrée. Here’s how I made it:
… read more
January 10th, 2011 / Comments
