Why pay a lot of money for bad mayonnaise when you can make really gourmet mayonnaise in a few minutes at a fraction of the cost? Here's a simple recipe requiring no technique, commonly available ingredients, and my favorite kitchen power tool- the hand blender!

You'll need:

a widemouth jar of one half to one pint capacity

a cup of oil- any oil. I almost always use extra virgin olive oil, but canola is a good, healthy choice. Some people like half olive oil and half canola. Light olive oil is a good choice if you want a lighter flavor.

a half a large lemon, squeezed through a strainer (or 2 tablepoons prepared lemon juice)

a quarter teaspoon of salt

an egg

a half teaspoon (or more) of crushed garlic

a teaspoon of powdered mustard, or a tablespoon of prepared mustard, or a teaspoon or more of your favorite hot sauce. (Or, for those who like- yuck!- Miracle Whip, two teaspoons of sugar)

Step 1: Ingredients

Seperate the egg and put the yolk in the jar. Don't know how to separate an egg? Put in the whole egg. Really. Doesn't matter. I'll do an egg-separating Instructable later.

Step 2: More Ingredients...

Add the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the oil, and mix.

Step 3: Now Comes the Oil....

Add a QUARTER of the oil. No more.

Step 4: And Now, the Magic Happens

Insert the hand blender, and mix, moving the blender around. It should first form a creamy paste, and then suddenly thicken up. If not, don't worry. Keep going...

Step 5: Uh, Now the Magic Happens...

SLowly add the rest of the oil while you keep mixing. At some point the mix will thicken up abruptly. FInish adding the oil, give a final mix, shake off the blender...

Step 6: Et Voila!

... and you should have a jar full of delicious, ready to use mayonnaise. Taste, and adjust the seasoning to your own preference.

On the left is the red-pepper flavored aioli we just made; on the right, a mustard flavored version. Both will keep in the fridge.

The hot peppered on in particular is great with seafood- that's what the French serve on the side with Boullibaise. Try it with fried fish, mussles, sardines, anything. The other is great with tuna, burgers, just experiment.

A note on food safety: Since this uses a raw egg, I only buy organic, vegetable fed eggs to help insure against salmonella.