Aye Aye, Aioli!

Like the signal from a Bosun's pipe, the call went out that one of our own would be in town, and it was all hands on deck.  This weekend, we had a mini reunion of "the girls" from highschool.  We may have graduated in 1974, but whenever we get together, we're 17 again!  

Each of us was to bring a dish to the potluck luncheon.  Some of us are vegan, or vegetarian.  Some are allergic to peppers, or stone fruits (unless they're cooked, which changes the enzymes, and makes them safe to eat.)  Some of us are on a low carb diet.  Some of us just don't like olives.

It was a simple dish of sauteed leeks, and pistachio nuts with garlic lemon aioli.  My Mum, who made everything from scratch, from grinding her own wheat for flour, to making her own mustard and mayonnaise, used to make aioli - a rich, thick French mayonnaise.  It has five basic ingredients:  egg yolk, olive oil, garlic, lemon, and mustard, plus salt and pepper.  What could possibly go wrong?

I could not find a garlic press.  After a futile attempt chasing pieces of garlic as they slid around a mortar and pestle, I found a meat tenderizing hammer.  A chimpanzee hammering on a clove of garlic might look brilliant on Youtube, I however, looked like, "you boob!"  

While all of this was going on, I forgot that while I'd turned off the stove, I'd left the leeks over a hot burner, and a few pieces were scorched.  When done properly, the leeks are translucent white and bright, fresh green.  They shouldn't be left to brown.  Oops.  

The egg yolks, smashed garlic and mustard were whirred through the blender, while I slowly added the olive oil, a small amount at a time.  It's a delicate process, because the oil can separate from the eggs. I could hear the change in consistency of the mixture, as it thickened into aioli.  I then added the lemon juice.  The aioli was perfect.  That's when I made the fateful mistake of adding the salt and pepper.  

The flecks of bright red pepper made me gasp.  While she has no problem with black pepper, our hostess is allergic to cayenne, and all red peppers.  The Agatha Christie book of etiquette lists poisoning the hostess as one of the top five things not to do at a luncheon.  So, I started all over again!

The leeks and aioli made it out to the suburbs, where they shared an amazing buffet table with grilled asparagus and tomatoes, vegan pate, ham and cream cheese pinwheels, cream cheese and bacon spread on French bread, curried cauliflower and raisin salad, spanakopita, crab cakes, skewered scallops and bacon, scalloped potatoes, sweet and sour mini meatballs and Chinese fried rice, a cheese platter, baked brie with balsamic vinegar, soda bread, almond cake, apple cobbler and chocolate rum balls.

We talked and laughed for six hours!  We brought a trunk load of memories and new stories.  Like a nautical braid, our lives are woven together.  We feel anchored here, in home port.

    

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.