Grilled Artichoke with Homemade Mayonnaise

Patience. That's what you need to make homemade mayonnaise. Luck. That's what you need to get featured on Bon Appetit's website. I had both this week. Funny thing happened the other day as I checked my stats (something I don't do on a regular basis) I noticed that I had 55 hits on my Peach-Vanilla Cream Pops already for that day. The day had just started. I checked my sources and lo and behold, a link for a page on Bon Appetit's website came up. What the what? I clicked. I found an article on what frozen/icy treats food bloggers were making from their magazine this month. There were about five blogs featured and My Life In Food was the third one down. Cue heavenly music from above. I have no idea how they found me or how I got there. All I know is that this is a very exciting thing for me indeed.

Now that we got the luck part covered, let's talk about patience. It takes about 8-10 minutes to make mayonnaise. Essentially all you do is whisk an egg yolk, some lemon juice, salt and white wine vinegar together until smooth. Like this:

Then you drip small drops of oil into the mixture, whisking constantly and vigorously for four minutes. You will still have a lot of oil left to incorporate. After the four minutes is up, you can then pour the rest of the oil in the bowl in a very slow stream, again, whisking constantly and vigorously. This is most likely where your patience will be tested. You would be amazed at how long it takes to get all that oil incorporated. You'll be tempted to just dump all of it in, but don't. Homemade mayonnaise is an art and it must be done a certain way. Keep whisking and blending. After you have blended everything together you will be left with a pale, thick and deliciously silky mayo. See?

This mayonnaise is heavenly with grilled artichokes. These artichokes are marinated in balsamic, olive oil and garlic and they taste just like the ones you order at fancy restaurants. Plus, they are easy to make and fun to grill. The artichokes will already be cooked when you place them on the grill because you boil them until tender and just grill long enough to get those gorgeous char marks.

Grilled Artichokes

adapted from Emeril Lagasse

serves 6 appetizer portions

4 large artichokes, rinsed well, top third removed, and leaf tips trimmed

1/4 cup salt

2 lemons, cut in 1/2

1 cup olive oil

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

homemade mayonnaise for dipping (recipe follows)

Fill a large pot 3/4 full with water. Add 1/4 cup of the salt and bring to a boil.

Rub the cut sides and bottoms of the artichokes with the lemon wedges and carefully add them to the boiling water. Weight the artichokes as necessary with a heavy dish or bowl, and simmer, partially covered, until the bottoms are just tender and can be pierced with a sharp knife and an outer leaf pulls out easily, about 20 minutes. Drain the artichokes upside down in a colander until cool enough to handle.

Cut the artichokes into quarters (or half if they are smaller) and discard the prickly purple leaves and hairy choke.

In a bowl, combine the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add the artichoke quarters and toss to coat. Let marinate for 2 to 4 hours, turning occasionally.

Preheat grill to medium-high. Remove the artichokes from the marinate and grill, turning, until warmed through and lightly charred around the edges, about 5 minutes. Place on a platter and serve with homemade mayonnaise.

Homemade Mayonnaise

adapted from Molly Wizenberg

makes 3/4 cup

1 large egg yolk

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt plus more to taste

3/4 cup canola oil, divided

• Combine egg yolk, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Whisk until blended and bright yellow, about 30 seconds.

  Using 1/4 teaspoon measure and whisking constantly, add 1/4 cup oil to yolk mixture, a few drops at a time, about 4 minutes. Gradually add remaining 1/2 cup oil in very slow thin stream, whisking constantly, until mayonnaise is thick, about 8 minutes (mayonnaise will be lighter in color). Cover and chill. Can be made up to 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.