mayonnaise

Quiche, Basque-Style

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Test Kitchen Favorites: Quiche, Basque-Style! For a creamy egg center filling that you will seriously roll your eyes over, think outside the box with two impressive ingredients, Greek yogurt and real mayonnaise. These protein rich substitutes will have your friends thinking you’re a gourmet French chef who spent all day creating edible art. The velvety texture is similar to that of a savory custard. Notice the deeply caramelized brown crust. Some call it burnt; I call it rustically charming. It actually highlights the rich interior and draws your eye to the molten custardy center. 

QUICHE, BASQUE-STYLE 

Ingredients: 

9-inch premade deep dish pie crust

5 slices deli tavern hickory-smoked ham

8-ounces Gruyère cheese, or Swiss Cheese, thinly sliced

1 cup Greek yogurt

1 cup mayonnaise 

3 eggs and 1 yolk

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/8 teaspoon Italian herbs 

Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 375°. Spray a 10” pie plate with nonstick oil. Carefully mold the pie crust into the prepared pie plate. Cover pastry, alternating with the ham slices and the cheese slices. In a bowl, combine Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, eggs, seasoned salt, and melted butter. Mix well. Pour over the ham and cheese. Sprinkle with Italian herbs. Bake for 50-60 minutes until set. Check near the end to prevent over-baking. 

Korean Spicy Mayo

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Test Kitchen Favorites: Korean Spicy Mayo! Condiments add so much flavor to ordinary foods. If you prefer a spicy kick slathered onto a quarter pound burger, or a creamy sauce for dunking French fries into, or a spicy salad dressing over a poke bowl, make this condiment at home while saving money, as a bonus. When you run low, simply whip up another batch, since you’ll have the ingredients on hand in your kitchen pantry. You’ll never run out until you scrape the bottom of the jar. Then it’s off to the grocery you go. 

KOREAN SPICY MAYO

Ingredients: 

1 lemon, juiced

1 cup mayonnaise 

3 tablespoons gochujang sauce

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Garnish with cayenne pepper

Basil leaves, for garnish

Instructions: 

In a bowl, combine juiced lemon, mayonnaise, gochujang sauce, kosher salt, and garlic powder. Whisk ingredients together until smooth. Transfer to a serving bowl. Top with snipped basil leaves and a sprinkling of cayenne pepper. Serve as a dipping sauce. 

Chicken Mango Salad

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Test Kitchen Favorites: Chicken Mango Salad! If you’ve ever been to a botanical garden, pay close attention to their delightful café tucked among the vibrant plants. Once you finish exploring the grounds, reward yourself with some of their signature dishes and special offerings. Among them, you may discover a garden staple that wins customers year after year. This mango chicken salad has been so popular, the recipe was posted in their quarterly magazine. Guess who decided it was time to make it at home?! Yours truly. 

CHICKEN MANGO SALAD

Ingredients: 

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, grilled, and cut into cubes 

1 English cucumber, seeds removed and cut into cubes

1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved

1/4 bunch green onions, chopped

2 sprigs fresh mint, cut into strips

2 sprigs fresh basil, thinly sliced

2 mangoes, peeled; seeds discarded 

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

1/3 cup mayonnaise 

Plantain Chips, for serving

Instructions: 

Assemble ingredients. Cut one mango into cubes. Place the second mango into a blender and purée. Add a splash of water, if needed to make it smooth. In one bowl, gently toss the chicken cubes, cucumber cubes, halved tomatoes, chopped green onions, strips of mint, thinly sliced basil, and cubed mangoes. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the mango purée, orange juice, and mayonnaise. Mix well. Slowly add the dressing to the chicken salad. Toss and coat. Scoop the mango chicken salad onto a bed of bib lettuce leaves. Serve with plantain chips. 

Wagyu Smash Burger

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Food Plating: Wagyu Smash Burger! Has anyone besides me noticed the growing popularity of smash burgers? It seems every sports bar menu raves about the monstrous sandwich with unbelievable crispy craggy edges followed by umami crunch. In my day, it used to be called a burnt hamburger because Dad got distracted watching the game. Not so any more. With an interior juiciness that runs down your chin, you can’t help but be satisfied. Most times, once it is assembled, this is a two-handed burger addiction you can’t put down. Burger World take notice, you just got a new member of the smash burger club. 

WAGYU SMASH BURGER

Ingredients: 

2 pounds of Wagyu beef, ground

4 slices provolone cheese

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper 

1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt

4 brioche buns, sesame seed tops

4 teaspoons butter, room temperature 

Instructions: 

Place an iron griddle on the grill grates. Close the lid and preheat the gas grill to 450°. Form the Wagyu beef into 4 balls. Using a wide heavy spatula, press down firmly on each ball to make an even pattie as thin as possible. Sprinkle both sides with sea salt, black pepper, and seasoned salt. Transfer the patties to the iron skillet. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the edges are brown and crispy forming a crust on the bottom. Flip and add a slice of provolone cheese. Cook for 2 minutes longer to melt the cheese. At this time butter the cut sides of each brioche bun. While the cheese is melting on the smash burgers, place the buttered buns on the grill to toast. To serve, stack the cheesy smash burgers on the toasted buns. Add desired toppings including lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and condiments. 

Sriracha Mayo Dipping Sauce

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Food Plating: Sriracha Mayo Dipping Sauce! Please don’t accuse me of serving under-seasoned food. Years ago I saw people dipping their French Fries in a bowl of mayonnaise and thought it very strange. And then I was informed the Europeans do it all the time. They say the full earthy flavor of the potatoes are enhanced by the rich, tangy taste of mayonnaise rather than the stronger sweet taste of ketchup. Fast forward to now, and I can justify a mayonnaise-based chili sauce, known as sriracha mayo, as a popular condiment. It’s thicker consistency latches onto a chip and won’t drop off on its way to your mouth. Adding the kick of spice is pure pleasure. Wouldn’t you agree?

SRIRACHA MAYO DIPPING SAUCE

Ingredients: 

1/4 cup mayonnaise 

1 tablespoon sriracha chili sauce

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Instructions: 

In a bowl, combine mayonnaise, sriracha chili sauce, lemon juice, soy sauce, kosher salt, and red pepper flakes. Stir until smooth. Serve as a dipping sauce with Garden Salsa Sun Chips*.

*I receive no recompense for mentioning this product. 

Onion Cucumber Tomato Salad

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Food Plating: Onion Cucumber Tomato Salad! Here’s a creamy salad that makes your meal-planning easy. Anyone who has had a garden will tell you it’s a no-brainer and goes with practically any meal you have planned. Farmers Markets typically have an abundance of these ingredients, should you choose to visit them instead. There’s a debate over whether to salt the vegetables as you layer them or simply add it to the dressing ingredients. I’ve done both. The way I presented it here allows a thicker dressing. Salt will draw out the water in the cucumbers and tomatoes, making the dressing thinner. It also enhances the taste of the veggies, so you be the judge.  In any event, keep a spoon handy. You’re going to want to slurp the dressing in the bottom of the bowl anyway. 

ONION CUCUMBER TOMATO SALAD

Ingredients: 

1 English cucumber, skin on and sliced

2 ripe tomatoes, sliced and quartered

1/4 red onion, sliced and quartered

Dill weed, for garnish

Ingredients for Dressing: 

1/4 cup mayonnaise 

1/4 cup sour cream 

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions: 

In a large salad bowl, alternate layers of sliced cucumbers, ripe tomatoes, and red onions. In another bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, sea salt, and black pepper. Pour over vegetables and gently toss to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to one hour. Before serving, gently toss and sprinkle with dill weed. Enjoy! 

Deviled Eggs With Relish

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Food Plating: Deviled Eggs with Relish! When I was younger, there was only one way to make deviled eggs: mustard, mayo, and paprika. The recipe never changed and the eggs always got eaten first. Fast forward to today, just try “Googling” deviled eggs. Nowadays there must be dozens of unique ways to make them including flavorful spices, fresh herbs, tangy pickles, crumbled toppings, and pretty much anything your mind can imagine. Be creative. Test them out on your friends and family. There’s no better way to get egg-cellent results. 

DEVILED EGGS WITH RELISH

Ingredients:

8 hard boiled eggs

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/3 cup mayonnaise 

2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish

Sprinkling of paprika

Micro greens, for garnish

Instructions:

Peel the hard boiled eggs. Cut each egg in half horizontally. Remove yolks and place in a mixing bowl. Transfer egg white halves to a serving dish. To make the filling, mash the yolks with a fork. Add sea salt, black pepper, and mayonnaise. Mix well. Fold in the sweet pickle relish. Fill each halved egg white with the egg yolk mixture. Dust with a sprinkling of paprika. Garnish with micro greens. Chill for one hour before serving. 

Egg Salad Extravaganza

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? The Daily Special: Egg Salad Extravaganza, A Crêpe Idea! The debate continues………. Mayonnaise and Celery or Miracle Whip and Pickle Relish? What is your preference in Egg Salad?  It probably all depends on how your mother made it during your childhood. Fortunately both can be made in a snap!

EGG SALAD EXTRAVAGANZA 

Ingredients:

3 eggs, hard cooked

3 tablespoons mayonnaise or Miracle Whip

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon cracked pepper

1 tablespoon celery, chopped (optional)

1 tablespoon pickle relish (optional)

Instructions:

Combine mayonnaise or Miracle Whip, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Peel and chop eggs, breaking into small pieces. Gently stir into mayonnaise mixture. Add celery or pickle relish. Fill two Crêpes with egg salad. Tuck in several lettuce leaves. Sprinkle with Chia seeds. 

(For an alternative bread choice, please reference Crêpe Expectations for the batter recipe at https://snapshotsincursive.com/2015/05/17 to make crêpes in advance.)

Deep Dish Chicken Salad

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? The Daily Special: Deep Dish Chicken Salad! Want to feel special? Try serving your next dinner in a traditional French-style mini au gratin pan. Not only does it show off food attractively, it offers single-serving portion control. It’s the perfect touch to any meal and bakes in less time. Make your life simpler with any of the oven-to-table choices available. I did. 

DEEP DISH CHICKEN SALAD

Ingredients:

3 cups chicken, cooked

1 cup extra sharp cheese, finely shredded

1 tablespoon green onion

1/2 cup mayonnaise 

4 stalks celery, chopped

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon celery seeds

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Sea salt to taste

Dash of pepper

1 cup potato chips, crushed

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine chicken, celery, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, lemon juice, celery seed, red pepper flakes, and half the cheese. Mix lightly. Spoon casseroles into single serving pans. Bake for 20 minutes. Top with remaining cheese and potato chips. Bake another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Garnish with green onion snips.