Homemade Mayonnaise

No one ever accused mayonnaise of being photogenic.

The twin visited over Mardi Gras, which was a fantastic opportunity for lots of delicious things, and we will get to those things in just a moment. Twizits also open the floodgates to a barrage of twin-related questions. This leads me to believe that maybe the rest of the world needs a quick primer on twindom, so let's go over a few of the most common questions and answers:

What's the one, big difference between us? Mostly that we're two different people. Some other smaller things, too. Variation on this question: Which one is the smart/ sporty/ pretty one? It's important to note that you cannot possibly hope to assign these labels yourself without insulting someone. A very good friend once told us that I was the smart one, and Annie was the pretty one. She meant it as a compliment, I think, but you can see how it went awry.

A similarity: Neither of us is a sandwich.

Another biggie: What's it like being a twin? For me, totally normal. Just like not being a twin is your normal. If I had to guess at the difference, I suspect that non-twins are all just a little bit lonely all the time without realizing it. And that you never had to try to divide your friends into two separate birthday parties.

Something great about having a twin? Especially one who doesn't share your love affair with vegetables and All Bran? Visits are a great excuse to make and eat mayonnaise (like that segue?).  It had to be homemade; I don't keep it in the house (I try to pretend like I don't like it). The recipe came straight from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, and it's killer. Did you know that mayo only has four ingredients? And only takes five minutes to whisk into being? And if you make it at home, it's made of ingredients rather than chemicals and preservatives!

Act like you don't have these in your kitchen.

The danger of making mayonnaise for a house guest, of course, is that you're stuck with a tupperware full of it after they're gone. Last time, I used it for the homemade ranch recipe on the next page, but it's been a deliciously sandwich-filled week this time around!

Mayonnaise
From Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

The only changes I made were adding a bit more mustard and mixing the whole lot with an equal amount of pesto the next day. I recommend both.

1 egg yolk

3 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 cup oil (I used canola, use olive for a Mediterranean flavor)

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or lemon juice

salt and pepper, to taste

In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolk and mustard. Continue whisking as you add oil, a tiny bit at a time. Once an emulsion forms (a thick, creamy mixture. Think the consistency of hollandaise sauce), you can add the oil a bit faster.

Once all oil has been added, stir in vinegar, salt and pepper. Enjoy!

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