Making aoli or mayonnaise is easy, especially in a food processor, but sometimes things don’t work out and it is hard to figure out why. Don’t lose hope, it is easy to fix. The order in which you put ingredients in the food processor is important, and I always start with garlic, then eggs, then olive oil, then flavorings. I usually have the most foolproof luck when I use two whole eggs, even though most mayo recipes tell you to use only egg yolks. This is what happened to me the last time I tried to make a fancy-pants aoli base for sauces and dressings, and wanted to splurge and use only egg yolks.

For some reason, it broke, meaning that the emulsified egg yolks did not come together and hold the olive oil, but separated into curdled looking eggs and oil. Do not despair. Pour the whole thing into a measuring cup with a spout and start over. Put two or three more egg yolks into the food processor.

Turn on the processor and slowly drizzle the broken eggs/oil into the egg yolks. Yes, you can do this in a blender as well.

It is beginning to thicken, so continue to process while slowly continuing to pour.

TaDa!

Now you can add herbs, lemon juice or flavored vinegar, salt, cayenne pepper…

Here is something to think about. Martha Stewart would never name one of her paint colors “cream…” by reminiscing over “cream” from the grocery store, which is chalky white.

So… what do you think is in mayo from the store? What do they make it with to be pure white? hmmmm. Make your own.