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Deviled Eggs with Homemade Garlic Aioli

Ingredients:

Six steamed hard boiled large eggs

For aioli:

Two egg yolks (large eggs)

1 to 4 medium garlic cloves, finely grated

½ teaspoon kosher or sea salt

½ to 1 cup grapeseed oil

For the deviled eggs:

1/4 cup of the mayonnaise

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

a pinch of sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. To make the steamed eggs: Using a steamer basket, bring water to a hard boil. Place eggs in a single layer in the basket, cover, and steam for about 17 minutes. The time required may vary according to the size of the eggs and how cold they are, so test one to make sure it is cooked through before removing all. Remove to a bowl and run cold water over the cooked eggs. Steaming the eggs gives you the best chance of removing the shells while leaving the egg whites intact, even with fresh eggs.

2. To make the aioli: Using a small whisk and  a small mixer cup, whisk the egg yolks, garlic, and salt with about a teaspoon of water. Add the oil in drop by drop. The mixture will emulsify and thicken. If you add too much oil, the emulsion will break. If that happens, no worries. Just dump it out and start over. If it happens again, there's always Hellman's. We won't judge.

Notes: If you are going to double this recipe, you may be able to use a food processor or hand-held emulsifier, but make sure there's enough of the egg mixture so that the blade is effectively emulsifying the eggs and the oil. You can also use any neutral oil, like vegetable oil or canola oil. Some chefs use olive oil, but some recipes say it's better to start with a neutral oil, and then add in the olive oil, otherwise, the olive oil can sometimes impart a bitter flavor to the aioli. After you're done making the mayonnaise, you can add in yellow mustard, Dijon mustard, or a good grainy mustard like Mustard Pommery. Or add in a bit of chipotle pepper sauce. Or sriracha. Or a bit of truffle oil. Or Sunny Paris seasoning from Penzey's, which includes purple shallots, chives, green peppercorn, basil, tarragon, and other herbs. Fresh spring herbs also are a great mix-in, and go particularly well with the salad flowers mentioned in the article. A splash of lemon will add a bit of an agreeable tang.

3. To make the deviled eggs, pop the yolks out of the steamed eggs, mix with about 1/4 cup of the mayonnaise, about 1 teaspoon of white vinegar, 1 teaspoon of yellow mustard, a pinch of salt, and freshly ground black pepper. I like Maldon sea salt and freshly ground Tellicherry peppercorns for deviled eggs, and just about anything that calls for salt and pepper.

--Pem McNerney