California - The Golden State, State flower: Golden Poppy

1. Homemade Mayonnaise
2. Palace Court Salad with Green Goddess Dressing
3. Olive Bread
4. Raisin Pie

Homemade Mayonnaise

3 egg yolks, at room temperature
½ tsp salt
2 Tbsp vinegar or lemon juice or one Tbsp of each
Optional: ¼ to ½ tsp dry mustard
Up to 2 cups good oil, a combination of olive, vegetable or other oil.

Whisk or beat egg yolks until thick and lemony colored. Add salt, just 1 Tbsp of the vinegar or lemon juice and mustard if you use it and beat again thoroughtly.

Start adding the oil drop by drop…beating constantly and making sure each drop is absorbed before the next is added. Proceed slowly until ½ cup of oil has been assimilated, then, start adding more quickly. When the mayonnaise is very thick, add a little of remaining vinegar or lemon juice and continue adding oil until you have the desired consistency. Correct seasoning. If storing, keep refrigerated in a tightly sealed jar.

Note: The making of homemade mayonnaise used to be the afternoon task of the man about the house in Italy/France. Sitting on the front stoop and whisking by hand.

Further note: George Arlis, the British actor who was later a great Hollywood star, made such a hit in the early 1920s in a play called The Green Goddess, that its run in San Francisco inspired the creation, at the Palace Hotel, of a dressing to serve over salad greens.

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