Herbaceous Mayo Recipes

HERB MAYONNAISE

Steps:

• Place egg yolks in a food processor. (To avoid using raw eggs, substitute yolks from pasteurized eggs.)
• Add mustard and lemon juice. Pulse ingredients until well combined.
• With motor running, add oil in a slow, steady stream (mixture should become thick and emulsified). Stir in chopped herbs. Season with salt and pepper.
• Refrigerate in an airtight container, up to 1 week.

BALSAMIC MAYO

Steps:

• Combine balsamic vinegar, peppercorns, thyme and garlic in a small pot over low heat. Let simmer until reduced to about 2 tablespoons and slightly thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool and strain.
• Whisk together the mayo and reduced strained balsamic in a medium bowl. Serve as a spread on sandwiches or use as a dipping sauce.

LOBSTER ROLL

Steps:

• For the lobster sauce: In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, reduce the white wine and tarragon vinegar with the peppercorns, shallots, bay leaf, tarragon and thyme until the mixture is nearly dry, about 10 minutes. Add the half-and-half and reduce by two-thirds, about 5 minutes.
• Decrease the heat to low and whisk in the butter, chunk by chunk, stirring vigorously until each piece is nearly melted. Remove the lobster sauce from the heat and season it with lemon juice and salt. Strain the lobster sauce through a fine mesh chinois. Hold the lobster sauce warm in a saucepan over very low heat until the lobster meat is ready.
• For the lobsters: Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Prepare a bath of icy water. Kill the lobsters by placing them on their backs on a cutting board and inserting a knife tip into their heads between the antennae. Drop the lobsters in the boiling water for 20 seconds and immediately shock them in the ice bath to stop the cooking. Extract the tail, claw and knuckle meat from the lobsters. The meat will still be translucent and raw. Remove the mud line from the tails and dice the tail meat into bite-size chunks.
• Add the lobster meat to the lobster sauce. Very slowly warm the meat until it is just barely cooked through. Be sure to agitate the pan frequently to prevent the lobster sauce from breaking. If it does start to break, sprinkle it with a few drops of cold water and take it off the heat for a moment.
• For the lobster rolls: In a saute pan, toast the sides of the buns with butter until crispy and golden. Spoon the cooked lobster meat into the prepared buns. Add as much lobster sauce as desired. Drizzle the lobster rolls with Mayo Mustard, drizzle with yogurt and sprinkle liberally with chives. Serve with lemon wedges.
• Combine the dried mustard with 1 1/2 teaspoons water and lemon juice. Whisk in the mayo, Dijon, hot sauce and salt to taste.

CHIMICHURRI

Steps:

• Combine dried oregano, paprika, red-pepper flakes and cumin, if using, in a large bowl. Add hot water and a big pinch of salt and stir with a fork. Add vinegar and stir to combine.
• Smash garlic with a pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle to form a rough paste, then drizzle in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and work the garlic and oil around the mortar until it emulsifies and no loose oil remains. Scrape this garlic mixture into the bowl with the oregano mixture and stir to combine. (Alternatively, smash garlic cloves on a cutting board with the flat side of a chef's knife. Sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt, then use the side of your knife to scrape the mixture back and forth until a paste forms. Drizzle a little olive oil over the paste and work it in with the side of the knife. Repeat until you've added about a tablespoon of olive oil, then scrape the mixture up and transfer it to the bowl with the oregano mixture, add the remaining olive oil, and stir to combine.)
• Add minced fresh oregano and parsley and stir to combine. Set aside at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, or in the refrigerator overnight, to allow the dried oregano to rehydrate and the flavors and texture to develop. Stir vigorously before tasting, then adjust seasoning with salt and fresh black pepper. Unused chimichurri can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for several weeks.

CREPES SUZETTE

Steps:

• For the crepes: In a blender, add the milk, eggs, melted butter and 1/4 cup water; blend to combine. Add the flour, sugar and salt and blend, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed, until smooth, about 1 minute. Cover and let the batter rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
• Re-blend the batter just before cooking. Heat a nonstick crepe pan or 10-inch nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. Coat the pan with a small amount of butter and allow it to froth and bubble. Ladle about 1/4 cup batter into the center of the pan and lift and swirl to spread the batter evenly over the bottom of the pan in a circular motion. When the crepe begins to set, the edges get a little lacy and the bottom gets a little color, about 1 minute, carefully flip with a spatula. Continue cooking until lightly browned on the second side, about 45 seconds. Transfer to a plate or sheet pan. Repeat until the batter is used up, stacking the crepes as made. (You should have about 8 crepes.)
• For the sauce: In a 10-inch skillet, bring the juice to a simmer over medium-high heat. Add the sugar and continue to simmer until the juice reduces down by two-thirds, or until thickened, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Melt half the butter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add half the orange segments, half the zest strips and half the reduced orange juice and allow the orange segments to soften and the liquid to reduce, about 1 minute. Fold each crepe in half, and then in half again to form triangles. Add half the folded crepes to the sauce in a single layer, then allow them to be gently coated in the sauce. Flip and coat the other side. Add half the orange liqueur to the pan and allow it to reduce slightly. Pour half the cognac into the pan, then tip the pan to catch the flame and ignite the sauce. (Alternatively, use a long stick lighter to ignite the liquor.) Allow the flame to burn off the alcohol. Transfer the crepes to plates and serve with the Whipped Crème Fraîche. Repeat the process with the remaining ingredients to make 2 more servings.
• Lightly whisk the crème fraîche and vanilla paste in a chilled bowl until the crème fraîche is slightly loosened up and the vanilla is incorporated. Chill until ready to use.

PERFECT HERB MAYONNAISE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 2 tablespoons of cool water and let sit until absorbed, about 5 minutes. Put the bowl in a pan of hot water and stir to melt the gelatin.
• In a blender or food processor, combine the gelatin mixture, the egg and egg yolk, mustard, sugar, garlic, and herbs and process until smooth. With the machine running, add the oil in a slow steady stream (just drips at first, adding more rapidly once the mayonnaise begins to thicken) to make a very thick mayonnaise. Stop and add the lemon juice and vinegar once the mixture begins to thicken and then add the remaining oil, stopping just before it has thickened to your liking. It will thicken a bit more once it is chilled.
• Scrape into a small bowl, season with salt and pepper, and cover the surface with plastic wrap. Chill until ready to use. The mayonnaise will keep 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator, though the garlic flavor will intensify over time. Makes 2 cups.