Perhaps "Hi, Olie" would be more appropriate.
Nonetheless, the holidays are coming up and many of us will be spending more time in the kitchen.
First, a quick story, I hope.
I had had fried calamari (a type of squid) here in the U.S. back in the 80's, and other-than-fried since then, but frying calamari is the most popular way to prepare it here and in Italy as well. (Calamari is an Italian term - go figure.) Many other countries and cultures enjoy squid in a variety of ways.
Marinara sauce had become quite popular by then and seemed to be a dipping sauce for most everything and every time I was served fried calamari.
Until, after a few stops in various parts of the Mediterranean, when some waiter brought me this white sauce along with the fried calamari. I don't know if I had been miranara'd out or not, but I loved this new white sauce. It made more sense - I tasted more of the calamari instead of it simply being the vehicle for this rich tomato sauce.
The next few restaurants would bring both sauces or just the aioli. I don't know that anyone ever told me the name of the sauce or they did and I never paid attention, or I never asked. Odd, for me.
At some little restaurante in Spain I ordered fried calamari and they brought out the marinara sauce. Okay, so I like marinara sauce, but I wanted to stay on the aioli train I was riding on the southern coast of Europe. I asked the server if they had the white sauce. I probably did my best at the Spanish I took for two years and said something like, blanco sauciendo (Alright, it's salsa). Forget aioli - I didn't know what the hell that was.
Here's the killer part: I saw the server go back and grab a jar of Dukes (yes, Dukes) mayonnaise off a shelf and then he slapped a tablespoon of it in a ramekin and set it on our table. He added nothing to the mayonnaise and we were all laughing at what just happened. Now, I thought aioli had mayonnaise or something similar in it. But, by itself? Actually, it was quite good with the calamari all on its lonesome.
But, I don't recommend you do such and call it aioli. It's not - plus you'd be missing out on a lot of wonderfulness.
You can make if from scratch, but here is my basic less-than-five-minute cheating recipe. And, I am not providing quantities of ingredients - go low and slow until you like it.
Mayonnaise - (1) cup, to start
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Fresh Garlic - rasped
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Lime Juice
I add the ingredients slowly, mixing with a whisk and taste often. The more olive oil; the thinner the sauce.
I have added rosemary and paprika, and particularly for London Broil - horseradish or horseradish sauce. On fish, "Forget about it." For you hipsters, that means it's great on fish.
There isn't much you can't do with aioli, but I wouldn't try it on ice cream or breakfast cereals.
For great other ideas, check out the link below.
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