Mayonnaise

I hate strong vinegary smell some mayonnaise has and decided to try my own. I got this recipe from a small cookery booklet of Filippo Berio Olive oil. I mainly use mayonnaise for making Caesar Salad dressing or simply as a dip for sausages or for sandwiches as a light spread. Since I like it less tangy I used only ½ tbs of lemon juice. The original recipe states 1 tbs. It’s so easy to make, but I never knew mayonnaise used so much of oil.

Let me ask you guys something now.
Do you know how to check the freshness of an egg? Yes/No?
I think this was one of the most valuable tip that I read somewhere long ago and has been using it ever since. Just take a small bowlful of water. Slowly submerge the egg in the water. There should be enough water for the egg to submerge in completely. If the egg stays at the bottom of the saucepan, the egg is fresh and is really good. Crack it and make an omelette if you wish. If you see the egg in the middle of water, the egg is getting old. you still can use it,but see if it is good. And if the egg floats on water, it is stale and rotten. Don’t even think of cracking it as it smells awful and unless you really want to faint.

Ingredients:
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp mustard paste
½ tbs - 1 tbs lemon/lime juice or vinegar
¼ tsp pepper powder
a pinch of sugar to taste
1/8 tsp salt
150 mls vegetable oil/Light olive oil

Preparation:
1. Put 1 egg yolk, mustard paste, ½ tbs lemon juice, salt and pepper and whisk thoroughly using a balloon whisk until everything is fully blended and is homogenous.
2. Very slowly add in olive oil drop by drop at a time or ¼ - ½ tsp at a time and whisk at high speed until you get a creamy texture. Do it until all the oil is used up. You can easily do it in the food-processor which is easier to handle.
3. Add more seasonings and lemon juice if needed.
Notes&Tips:
1. It’s common that if you add in too much oil at a time the mixture doesn’t mix well and it looks curdled. You can see the oil is separated from the rest of the mixture. If at all it happens, take another egg yolk in another bowl and whisk it until it completely breaks up. Add the curdled mayonnaise to this beaten egg yolk little by little and whisk well until combined.

Dates & Walnut Bars

I couldn’t wait to share this Recipe with you all. When I was a little child I used to participate in drawing and painting competitions. I also happened to participate in one of the drawing competitions conducted by Nestle group of companies. Even though I dint win any prize, after the participation they have been sending me so many little little stuff and few recipe books using the nestle products like the Nestle condensed milk and nestle cream. Those books contain few recipes but all are scrumptious with even more appealing pictures. Among those recipes was this Walnut and Date bar with a lip-smacking picture which made me drool every time I see them. But when I took the picture, first think that struck my mind was that it looked like a piece of granite that resembled one in our kitchen back home in Kerala. I was disappointed with the picture, but very pleased with the taste. I loved them so much that I just couldn’t wait to post.
Ingredients:
1½ cup Chopped Dates
½ tin x 397 sweetened condensed milk
2 tbs butter
(I used 1 tbs of sugar and 1 tbs of water instead)
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup grated coconut
3 cups biscuit crumbs (I used 18 pieces digestive biscuits crushed it in the processor)
50 g dark chocolate.

Preparation:
1. Heat a sauce pan on medium flame. Add in condensed milk, sugar, water, chopped dates, butter and stir well continuously until dates just turn soft. (About 7 minutes)
2. At this stage, remove the pan from heat and add in chopped walnuts, coconut and biscuit crumbs to make a firm mixture. Mix well thoroughly.
3. Press the mixture into a lightly greased medium size sponge tin.
4. Melt the chocolate in a medium bowl over a medium saucepan of containing a quarter of simmering watering, stirring it.
5. Drizzle the chocolate over the bars and refrigerate until set. Cut into 16-20 bars.

Notes:
1. The original recipe calls for 2 tbs of golden syrup or sugar syrup. I just added sugar and water. I never used golden syrup in my recipes and so don’t really know how it tastes.