Homemade Aioli

Maine in early spring

At the end of April we took a road trip from New Jersey to Bowdoinham, Maine for a family vacation at a lake house. As we drove we took stock of the greenery that was just coming into its own along the highway with the realization that it would gradually be disappearing as we drove north. I think it’s safe to say that we all needed to adjust to the bleaker weather at a time when those of us in the northeast are looking forward to some warmth. However, we all adapted nicely. I set up my easel and worked on a landscape from the patio that was protected from the cold and the wind. Towering pines on a spit of land jutting into the lake and sunshine reflected on the water offered an appealing frame. On a previous day, my husband and son had fished from that point of land with nary a nibble let alone a fish for our dinner.

Brunswick, the home of Bowdoin College, is nearby and full of history. The Adroscoggin Swinging Bridge, designed and built by John A. Roebling’s Sons Company in 1892, is a walking bridge originally constructed to allow workers to cross the river from their homes in Topsham to their jobs at the Cabot Mill in Brunswick. The Roeblings were the visionaries behind the design and construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. The bridge sways gently as you walk across. The house where Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin, while her husband taught at Bowdoin, is a classic New England clapboard home that is close to the shopping district in town. The house is now owned by the college and her writing room is open to the public.

We discovered a sandwich that I have tried to recreate at home from The Little Dog Coffee Shop at 87 Maine (cute) Street called the Shar Pei Toastie. The ingredients are sauteed shaved steak, caramelized red onions, melted swiss cheese, tomato, arugula, and aioli served on a toasted ciabatta roll. Aioli means garlic and oil, and is an emulsion of garlic, salt, olive oil, and eggs. It is basically mayo with garlic. I have made my own mayo when I make crab cakes and have found that success depends on very slowly adding the oil to the egg, the same applies to the aioli. This recipe for aioli is from the Kitchn.

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil

3 peeled whole garlic

1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

1/2 t. lemon juice

1/4 t. kosher salt

Directions

Warm the oil and garlic in a pan over medium-low heat for 12 to 14 minutes. You do not want the oil to sizzle. Remove your pan from the heat and use a slotted spoon to transfer garlic to a small bowl. Allow garlic and oil to cool for 45 minutes.

In a bowl whisk together the egg yolk, lemon juice, and salt. Add the oil one drop at a time while you continue whisking. I added the oil from a small pitcher. After one half of the oil has been added your aioli should begin to thicken. Drizzle the remaining oil in a slow, steady stream. Mash one or two cloves of the garlic and add to the aioli. I used only one clove and didn’t feel that it had quite enough flavor the first time that I made it.

The aioli will stay fresh in the refrigerator for about one week.

Don’t forget to download the summer “bingo” game from my previous newsletter.

Thanks for reading!

Vicki