Mayonnaise

Yes, I am the big nerd who does a whole blog entry for mayonnaise but I really was so impressed that in less than 5 minutes, I could make homemade mayo with stuff I always have on hand. I don't eat much mayo but needed about a cup for potato salad. Too cheap to buy a whole jar of mayo for just a cup, I googled and found that I could (in theory) make my own.

Surprisingly, I got it right on the first try. There were several variations online but I went with Alton Brown's version; he has never let me down before. According to the comments on Food Network.com, you could use an immersion blender, blender, food processor, or hand mixer. I got my hand mixer out, ready to use, but after I started to use my small whisk it just seemed easier to stick with that. Plus I was really scared to stop whisking once I got started!

Mayonnaise
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon fine salt (I used less than this, due to comments about it being too salty)
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 pinches sugar
2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (I was out so I used red wine vinegar)
1 cup oil, safflower or corn (I used vegetable)

In glass bowl, whisk together egg yolk and dry ingredients. Combine lemon juice and vinegar in a seperate bowl then thoroughly whisk half into the yolk mixture. Start whisking briskly, then start adding the oil a few drops at a time until the liquid seems to thicken and lighten a bit. Once you reach that point you can relax your arm a little (just a little) and increase the oil flow to a constant thin stream. Once half the oil is in, add the rest of the lemon juice mixture.

Continue whisking until all the oil is incorporated. Leave at room temp for 1-2 hours then refrigerate up to 1 week.