Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

If you have ever been confused on how to make the best potatoes ever, I am here to show you the love. I am not entirely responsible for this recipe, I have to give some props to my friend Ian. After enjoying an awesome brunch at his house, he shared his secret for potatoes, super simple - par boil. Duh? How had I not done this before? My roasted potatoes were never right, but now they are, and holy s#@t - they are delicious! 

Scratch Caesar

The caesar dressing that just happened. Usually when I embark on making something new, I check the web, look at blogs and recipes, gather my inspiration, and go. Nope, not this time, I just went for it. How, have I not made a scratch caesar dressing before? I have no idea, not only is it super easy - its super delicious.

Sunday Suppers

I can’t think of anything better than this: being surrounded by friends, drinking wine, and preparing a meal together. Those who can cook prepare their specialties to share; those who cannot are responsible for topping the wine off; it’s a beautifully balanced ballet. I am always the cook, and besides the creative/controlling aspect, my favorite thing about being the cook is that my glass is always full; and then after, when my belly is singing with delightful hurt, I can simply sit back and relax as everyone else cleans up. I am totally winning.

I have decided to bring back Sunday Suppers at my house, and to get warmed up this week I went with a spicy seared salmon, fried jasmine rice and a cool cucumber and broccoli salad. This was one those meals that transpired out of nowhere and ended up being one to make again and again. One: it is super flavorful; two: it is easy; and three: it is healthy. Again, I am winning.

Recipe: Aioli

Ingredients:

2 egg yolks

1 clove of garlic minced

dash salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

optional 1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard

1+ cups of olive/canola blend (25/75)

a splash or two of water

I like to use 2 yolks for a couple different reasons: one, I like the richness of it and two, I find that it emulsifies easier. I also like to blend mine by hand, you can use a food processor but that's just the way I was taught. Now I think classically you want to use the dijon, but for me it just depends on what I am using it for and what I might want to flavor it with later.

First you want to create you emulsification by whisking together the yolks with the dijon and salt. If you want the garlic to be a stronger flavor I would start with it now. In terms of the garlic make a paste with the back of knife or mince it super fine.

 Once you have the this first bit emulsified then you want to slowly add in the oil. As it becomes a stronger bound emulsification then you can start to add the oil faster. Making aioli is not nearly as sensitive as making hollandaise. That said for the first time since culinary school I broke mine while taking the pictures for this recipe. Luckily fixing it is just as easy.

If you break the emulsification you do not need to cry as we can fix with just another egg yolk. Who's counting calories anyways. Start by creating another emulsification with your new yolk and slowly add in your broken mixture. Just like before you want to start slow and then you can speed it up. Generally you if you use a food processor you will have less of a chance to break it, but where is the fun in that.

As your mixture begins to thicken you will want to thin it out. At this point add in your lemon juice and taste. The ratio of oil and egg is a balanced flavor between the two. I think they say one cup oil to one yolk but I find I like to taste that. I am also one that doesn't follow recipes so if you are, 1:1 is your best bet. (If you following this recipe use 2 yolks and 1cup oil.) Chances are that you will need more oil and it will thicken up again, at this point add in a splash of water. When you get your desired thickness add in the garlic for that less potent flavor. Remember if you are going to flavor you aioli with something that is liquid based to account for that in your thickens. And if you want to just make plain ole mayonnaise omit the garlic all together.