Posts Tagged ‘Ratio’

Conquering Homemade Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise is a magical food. A true example of culinary alchemy- taking three disparate and separate ingredients- egg yolks, acid and oil, and mixing them to a beautiful, luxurious ‘sauce’. It can morph from a simple sandwich spread to a binder for a potato salad. Thinned out with a bit of liquid and it becomes a sauce for fish or vegetables. The addition of aromatics and herbs and it becomes even for exciting. I didn’t always have this enthusiasm for mayonnaise though. As a child, I wasn’t crazy about the mouthfeel, that rich oiliness was too much for my simple palate.

Ratio by Michael Ruhlman

I was first introduced to this book by my brother when I came over to his place to give him a lesson in Cooking from the Pantry. It’s not so much a ‘cookbook’ as much as it is a master recipe or ratio book. The book is organized in sections- muffins, breads, popovers, biscuits, etc.

DIY Bread for 90 days

Call me Prairie Girl but I love the idea of making your own bread. I’m not a talented girl, I can’t dance or sing well, I don’t know how to ride a bike and swimming is still a new skill for me, but darn it, I bake good bread. Even my mistake breads are tasty.