Mayo or no mayo?
October 14th, 2009 by Wanda Adams
Mayo, love 'em or hate 'em.
They say — they always say — that there are two kinds of people in the world.
One place where this is particularly true is with an ingredient I couldn't live without: mayonnaise.
I love the stuff. Best Foods for most uses. Homemade for special dishes, such as a French-style potato salad or vegetable salad, or one of the seemingly infinite variations such as Sauce Remoulade (mayonnaise with anchovies, pickles and capers, used often in Creole cooking for seafood) or Mayonnaise Verte (with spinach, watercress and parsley, shallots and tarragon, for dressing eggs, fish and meat and hors d'eouvres, one my favorites.)
Today, there's all kinds of mayonnaise. I generally use the olive oil or canola cholesterol-free types. It makes me feel a little better about slathering it on my banana sandwiches.
My friend David Penhallow, the Kaua'i author, is with me, firmly in the mayonnaise camp. When his nosalgic novel, "After the Ball," was released I loved the passages in which he, as a young boy, would make off with the mayonnaise jar and scarf it just as is. I've never done that but I could see his point and I knew right away he and I were soul mates.
For years, I didn't even know what mayonnaise was: It was just there in the fridge, like milk or ketchup or mustard. Mayonnaise is made by whisking room temperature egg yolks until thickened, adding a little prepared mustard, salt, lemon juice or wine vinegar, then drizzling in oil until you have a thick, stable mixture. If the mixture won't set up or breaks (the oil runs out), Julia Child suggests you warm a mixing bowl, dry it add a little more mustard and a tablespoon of the thin or broken mayonnaise then beat with a whire whisk until the texture is right again, then beat in the rest a teaspoon at a time. That woman must have had the arm strength of a professional wrestler because, as I noticed when Top Chef had a mayonnaise challenge, it takes some endurance when you make it by hand. Thank God for blenders and food processors. Any good basic cookbook will tell you how to make mayo from scratch if you want to try it. Do use pasteurized eggs.
But back to the love-hate issue. Many people loathe the stuff (our columnist Charlie Memminger, is one who considers it vile, not worth of a place on the planet; he's written about it repeatedly).
And then there are my Southern relatives, some of whom live in the Salad Dressing camp. That's a substance I consider vile, too sweet for my taste, although perhaps it has a place in some Southern dishes.
One of the best dishes I ever had was of Southern origin. I've written about it before: white barbecue sauce, made with mayonnaise and lots of pepper slathered on chicken, marinated a bit and then grilled, preferably over a real wood fire. I had that at the National Chicken Cooking Contest 25 years ago and have never forgotten it. The acid in the mayonnaise seemed to penetrate the chicken and give it a tender richness.
So it was than, when I came across an old recipe of the late columnist Maili Yardley for mayonnaise chicken, I just had to try it.
In The Advertiser back in September, 1977, she suggested this:
Lomi 2 pounds of chicken thighs (in those days, they would have been bone-in, skin on; I prefer boneless, skin on) with 1 cup of mayonnaise. Place them in a foil-lined pan or baking dish. In a bowl whisk, together 1 cup of dry bread crumbs, freshly minced garlic or garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste and a half cup of grated Parmesan cheese and a little paprika for color. Place in a 350-degree oven for 45 minutes (a little less if you're using boneless thighs).
Oh, yum, mayonnaise heaven.
What do you like to do with mayonnaise?
Or are you of the "never in my kitchen" school? And why?
October 14th, 2009 at 4:27 am
Aloha Wanda,
Here in the Pacific Northwest the premier fish is salmon and I use "Best Foods" mayo when I bake it. Using fillets, I bake till medium rare, not cooked then slather with the mayo mixed with a touch of "Aloha" shoyu. Return to oven and broil till until the topping gets bubbly and brown. Garnish with finely sliced green onions or Chinese parsley.
Enjoy reading your column...
aloha e
October 14th, 2009 at 7:32 am
Hi Wanda
Think I gatta try that "Mayo Chicken"
NKHEA.... might even try it tonight
October 14th, 2009 at 8:28 am
yes with salmon I put mayo plus lemon then bar b cue it in tin foil.
I make sandwhichs with mayo...
October 14th, 2009 at 9:03 am
Mac salad, potato salad made with new red potatoes, chicken salad sandwich with chutney on the side -- all of these cry out for mayo.
And on Thanksgiving morning, when you're scrambling to deal with the bird(s) and the side dishes and the simmering for the gravy you'll be making, who else besides me is secretly looking forward to hiding a few slices of turkey breast in the fridge for tomorrow's sandwiches with just pepper and mayo? And maybe a few dried cranberries if you're gonna go upscale?:-)
October 14th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Interestingly enough after reading your article I discovered an unknown treat of my husband of 40 plus years. He LOVES banana and mayo sandwiches:(
I love gobs of mayo on artichoke leaves but detest it on luncheon meat sandwiches. Wonder why?
October 14th, 2009 at 10:05 am
I was brought up short by the reference to putting mayo on banana sandwiches. Is that an acquired taste? Sort of like a malihini trying to get used to poi? Curious minds want to know! In the meantime, I'll stick with bananas with peanut butter on them.
October 14th, 2009 at 11:24 am
Do you dredge each chicken piece in the bread crumb mixture, or just sprinkle the entire mixture over the top of all the chicken?
October 14th, 2009 at 11:30 am
Everyone except my brothers thinks I'm nuts, but fresh tofu with mayonnaise, shoyu, and green onions....YUM!
October 14th, 2009 at 11:47 am
Only Best Foods Mayo no other will do.
baked with chicken and furikake or u can do the salmon version... so ono.
what is miracle whip anyway? that tastes like too sweet and vinegar taste...yuck that can't go on your sandwiches.
only best foods always a geneous serving in your sandwiches, on top a bowl of hot chili , with a fresh hot pile of french fries.
October 14th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
I read the recipe but I don't understand. It says, "In a bowl whisk, together 1 cup of dry bread crumbs, freshly minced garlic or garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste and a half cup of grated Parmesan cheese and a little paprika for color. " Do I coat the chicken with that?
October 14th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
The Maili Yardley recipe sounds very much like one that appeared last year in Diana Helfand's MidWeek column, using BROCCOLI:
Nana's Baked Broccoli
1 medium head broccoli, blanched (I usually do two heads, blanched well)
4 T mayonnaise (This and the remaining ingredients to taste.)
2 cloved garlic, minced
2 T Parmesan cheese freshly grated
1/2 c seasoned bread crumbs (I use plain panko)
Cut blanched broccoli into florets (not too small). Mix mayonnaise, garlic, Parmesan cheese. Mix into broccoli. Put broccoli on a baking sheet or 9x13 pan. Sprinkle bread crumbs over. Bake 350, 15-20 minutes.
I make this at least once a week. Delish, and the leftovers are wonderful.
October 20th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Mayonnaise with Chili & Rice, with Stew and Rice, with sliced ripe bananas (yum!), rubbed on chix thighs and sprinkled with bacon bits & chives (baked), and mixed with honey & sesame oil for sushi topping; inside steamed fish w/fishcake etc. Yes, mayonnaise is my favorite condiment.
October 21st, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Oh boy! Banana sandwich...slice bananas lengthwise, spread mayo on one slice of bread, creamy peanut butter on the other slice, lay bananas on mayo side, drizzle honey over bananas, then cover with peanut butter
bread! Scarf it down!
Better, mix mayo with worcestershire sauce to taste preference, use to baste broiling meat or better, use a a dip for dried shrimp eaten with poi!
October 22nd, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Definitely, mayo in the kitchen and it must be Best Foods. Love it with bananas in a sandwich, more than peanut butter. Can't beat the flavor in my macaroni/potato salad. Always use it in sandwiches and ranch dressing. I'll have to try Joe A's recipe for salmon; sounds `ono!
October 24th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Use Best or Hellman's Mayo (non high-fructose corn syrup, only!)
1. Slather mayo on 2 saltine crackers. Plop a slice of vine ripened tomato between slathered crackers. Variations: Add thin slice Maui onion. Black pepper. Yum. Yum.
2. Mix shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese with mayo, dried fines herbes (or parsley), and black pepper. Slather on raw fish or chicken. Bake. Oh, yes!
3. Whisk 1 cup mayo with 1/2 cup Chipotle salsa, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice and about 1/4 cup very good extra virgin olive oil. Add about 1/2 teaspoon fines herbes. Serve over salads, or as a sauce for baked fish or chicken.
October 27th, 2009 at 12:38 am
Wanda... anyone...do you sprinkle the dry ingredients over the lomied thighs or do you dredge the thighs through the mix and bake?
October 29th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
So sorry to be so late answering. You lomi, sprinkle, bake. Enjoy.
November 3rd, 2009 at 12:14 am
Lomi the chicken with mayonnaise, then coat with the mixture and bake.
November 3rd, 2009 at 12:16 am
No need dredge (although that actually sounds like a good idea). Maili just positioned the chicken in the casserole and then sprinkled. I'm gonna try dredging, thanks for the thought.