Recipe: homemade mayonnaise

Homemade mayonnaise is easier to make than you may think, and quicker. With the help of an immersion blender, you can have fresh homemade mayonnaise in 2 minutes or less. And when making mayo at home, you can build off the basic recipe to customize different flavour variations like garlic mayo, spicy mayo, or herbed mayo.

Since the list of ingredients is so simple, using high quality eggs is important, as the egg adds to the flavour and richness of the final product. In the #YVFkitchen, we obviously choose Yorkshire Valley Farms organic eggs! Use your homemade mayonnaise to add a little zip to your favourite sandwiches; add to leftover chicken pieces to make chicken salad; chop up hardboiled eggs make egg salad; or try dipping baked potato or sweet potato wedges into mayonnaise instead of ketchup.

homemade mayonnaise
1 Yorkshire Valley Farms organic egg yolk
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp water
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 cup neutral-flavoured oil (we used organic sunflower oil)
pinch of salt

flavour variations:
garlic mayo: add ½ tsp garlic powder or 1 clove minced fresh garlic
spicy mayo: add 1 tbsp Sriracha sauce (you can add more for even more kick)
herbed mayo: add ¼ cup chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, cilantro, chives

tools: immersion blender (also called a stick blender or hand blender)

Place egg yolk, lemon juice, water, mustard, salt, and flavour variation ingredients if including, in the bottom of the immersion blender cup. Alternatively, you can use a 500mL wide mouth mason jar, which saves some dishes, as you can store the finished mayonnaise in the jar.

Pour oil into the cup and allow ingredients to settle for a few seconds.

Submerge immersion blender into the cup, all the way to the bottom, and turn it on. The ingredients will begin to emulsify and your mayonnaise will form. Tilt the cup and/or move the blender up and down within the mayonnaise to ensure all the oil has been incorporated. Season with additional salt if needed.

Store in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to one week.

Game Day Grub: oven-baked wings with Buffalo-style sauce

Game Day is almost here.

According to the U.S. National Chicken Council’s 2014 Wing Report, 1.25 billion wings will be devoured during Super Bowl XLVIII on Sunday February 2, besting last year’s total by 20 million. That’s enough to put 572 wings on every seat in all 32 NFL stadiums!

To help you prepare for your football festivities, all this week we’ll be sharing the best Game Day Grub ideas from the YVF Kitchen, as inspired by the YVF Home Office Team.

We’re kicking things off with, well, what else…wings!

Apparently 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the first “Buffalo Wing” being sauced and tossed at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. In honour of this milestone birthday, and because Buffalo-style wings are a game day classic, the YVF Kitchen offers you this DIY recipe for oven-baked crispy wings with spicy Buffalo-style sauce.

Basic oven-baked crispy wings
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
24 Yorkshire Valley Farms organic chicken wings, tips removed, and/or drummettes

Preheat oven to 425F/220C.

Combine dry ingredients in a plastic bag or medium-sized mixing bowl. Toss wings until coated. Transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Drizzle wings with melted butter. Using tongs, turn wings to coat with melted butter. Bake for 30 minutes. Flip wings over and bake for another 15 minutes. The wings should reach an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C).

To make Spicy Buffalo-style Wings, coat with the sauce (recipe below) while warm and return to the oven for 5 more minutes.

Spicy Buffalo-style sauce
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup Cholula Original Hot Sauce 

Melt butter. Add cayenne, garlic powder, black pepper and salt. Stir to combine. Remove from heat and add in the Cholula Original Hot Sauce. Stir until well blended. This sauce can be refrigerated for two days. Ensure the sauce is fully cooled before transferring for cold storage.

Substitutions
At the YVF office, Alex, our Director of National Accounts, is often looking for gluten-free options, so in the YVF Kitchen we make up a batch of these wings using organic quinoa flour instead of all-purpose wheat flour. They are just as crispy. You can also substitute sunflower oil for the melted butter if you prefer.