Aioli (garlic mayonnaise) (p. 581)

I absolutely adore artichokes. I love the flavor, I love the ritual of scraping the meat with my teeth, and I love that they remind me of summers with my grandmother, because she always made me stuffed artichokes. Artichokes are definitely in my top three favorite vegetables and I would estimate that I make them more frequently than 99.9% of the general population.

I had a couple artichokes on hand and decided to think outside the box--instead of stuffing the artichokes, I would make Aioli (garlic mayonnaise) (p. 581) as a dip. I've never made homemade mayonnaise or any other truly emulsified foodstuff (I've made hot dogs, for example, but they aren't true emulsions) and I was nervous because they have a repuation for being difficult to work with (the starlets of the culinary world?).

I combined a lot of garlic with two egg yolks and a little salt in my gorgeous Vita-Mix blender (one of the best gifts a cook can get!). It wasn't enough to get mixed well by the blades.



I then slowly added a cup of olive oil and whisked in lemon juice and cold water:



It was too thin, so I thinkened it up with sour cream as TJOC recommended. I am proud to say that the emulsion held! And the aioli was garlicky and delicious. If you like garlic, make aioli, you will love it. I think I sweated garlic for the entire next day, doing my part to protect our household from vampire attack.

I don't think the blender is the optimal way to make aioli but I don't have a great whisking arm. Any other ideas? Have you ever tried making homemade aioli or mayonnaise?