Homemade Mayonnaise Recipe ~ Tips for Perfectly Thick and Creamy Mayo!

The first time I made homemade mayonnaise it turned out perfectly; soft and velvety, creamy and smooth.  The second time I made homemade mayonnaise it turned out perfect as well.  The third time I made it.... disaster!  The emulsion broke.  The egg and oil separated into a runny and soupy mess.  After that I had some success and some failures.  It really pained me to waste the ingredients and it pained me more to continue to add additional egg yolks in the hopes of saving the mess to have it still fail. I experimented with all the variables and still only had about a 40% success rate.  It was only after I started experimenting with different machines did I get a really consistent mayonnaise.  The stand mixer and food processor usually gave me soupy mayo and my immersion blender most often gave me thick creamy mayo.  I was just getting the hang of making mayonnaise when my stick blender burned up.  I thought I was going to have to revert to buying the jarred mayo again but I was able to get my smaller hand mixer to work.  I would never guess that my cheap $20 hand mixer would work better than my large powerful Kitchen Aid stand mixer, but in this case it does.  The secret to perfect mayonnaise every time is to make sure your vessel is not too large.  The ingredients do not have enough contact with the beaters or blades to get a proper emulsification.  Using a mini food processor, an immersion blender, or a small hand mixer with a small bowl will give you the best result.




Ingredients
1 egg yolk
1 cup oil
1 T dijon mustard (or to taste)
1T lemon juice or white wine vinegar (or to taste)
salt and pepper

Halushka Recipe ~ Braised Cabbage and Dumplings

This recipe is very popular in Pennsylvania where my family is from.  There are slightly different names and slightly different recipes but basically halushka or haluski is a braised cabbage dish with either noodles, pasta or dumplings and sometimes bacon, ham or smoked sausage added.  It is sometimes a side dish but most often it's a main dish.  It is a common potluck dish.

In my version I use bacon and drippings and homemade dumplings.  Most recipes will call for cooked wide egg noodles, kluski noodles or bite size pasta like farfalle (bowties).  Instead, I like to make dumplings because they are delicious and because its more likely that I'll have a cup of flour and an egg on hand than a bag of noodles.  Either way it is a quick, easy, inexpensive and delicious dinner.

If you want to omit the bacon you can substitute butter for a vegetarian version or use olive oil and an egg-free pasta for a vegan friendly version.

I hope you give this recipe and try and I hope that you love it as much as my family does.



Ingredients:
1 medium cabbage, quartered, cored and sliced into 1/4" ribbons (about 10 cups)
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup matchstick carrots (or 3/4 cup grated carrot)
1/2 pound bacon sliced across in 1/2 inch slices
salt and pepper

Dumplings
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking POWDER
1 egg
2-3 TBSP cool water