Mayonnaise: The secret ingredient of summer
salt or lemon juice if needed, but, as your dog now says, “Voila.”
Or, you could act like a normal person and hie on down to your local and pick up a jar. Regardless, with mayo metaphorically in hand, the world is your baloney sandwich. Behold: butter and use mayo instead for all of your griddled sandwich needs. Whether it’s the aforementioned grilled cheese, or, my favorite, the Reuben, or that hammy and luscious croque monsieur that your dog can pronounce, they’ll all work with mayo. Here’s why: First, and perhaps foremost, you know how cold butter tends to rend your bread like the garment of a spurned lover? Well, mayo will not. No, with even the softest of bread, your mayo-laden knife will glide along its surface like a blackfooted albatross searching for squid.
Mayo also gives your griddled sandwich a beautiful brown crust that crunches nicely. Plus, because of the lemon juice and vinegar, mayo provides an acidic counterbalance to all the fat in the cheese. And, if we’re honest, isn’t that melty, melty cheese most of the reason we griddle sandwiches in the first place?
3. Sauces. Mayonnaise makes a baskillion simple sauces you can throw together in literal moments, delicious sauces that will fill your guests with justifiable self-loathing as they recall the many sad and sauceless meals they’ve served their own dejected charges. (Is it any wonder mayonnaise is known as “the cruelest condiment”?)
Mayo sauces are simple: Virtually any other sauce or condiment can be stirred or whisked in to create a wide variety of sauces to match any dish, whether fauna or flora. Simply consider the flavor profiles of your main and/or side dishes, then proceed accordingly.
Regardless of what you do, remember that you’re ultimately in charge. Add more or less of the flavoring ingredient to suit your taste. Start with just a teaspoon or two of each ingredient per half cup of mayo, then go from there. Also, if you want a thinner sauce, add a splash of water or canned chicken broth until it’s the consistency you want.
Finally, although I’ve made some suggestions for foods that these sauces will complement, really, they’re pretty much interchangeable. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Whisk in crushed garlic and serve with grilled chicken or fish or be all Belgian and serve it with french fries.
Mince canned chipotle chiles and add to mayo along with their sauce. Serve with grilled steak.
Add this spicy Korean condiment to mayo and use as a spread for grilled vegetable sandwiches of eggplant, peppers and portobello mushrooms.
Add a bit of your favorite barbecue sauce to mayo along with a splash of hot sauce and serve alongside any barbecued meats. For a more complicated version of this idea, do some research on Alabama white sauce; you won’t regret it.
Stir wasabi paste or powder into mayo, thin with water or chicken stock, and drizzle over roasted, steamed, boiled or grilled green vegetables and grilled fish.
In a food processor, combine mayonnaise with capers, a squeeze of lemon juice and some minced parsley. Serve it with deep-fried or panseared fish.
Stir tapenade, the chopped olive condiment, into mayonnaise and serve with crudites.
Stir pesto into mayonnaise and spread onto a hoagie roll along with sliced deli meats for a delicious sub.
Mince bottled Indian pickles and stir into mayo. Serve with boiled or grilled shrimp.
Stir in a teaspoon of Cajun seasoning mix and a drop of ketchup and serve with blackened chicken or fish.