I love mayonnaise. I love homemade aioli. I love Duke’s. I love Hellman’s and Best Foods. I even have a soft spot for Miracle Whip (gasp! I know) because it’s what my mom always kept in our fridge growing up. I always prefer my French fries dipped in it. It’s tangy, sweet, and always provides the right amount of luxurious richness to whatever ingredients are graced with its presence.
Needless to say, when we got this Gin Mayo in the shop a few months ago—I was pumped. It’s infused with gin (yes, gin!) and spices and comes in the most adorable packaging. To me, it almost tastes more like a Russian Dressing. It has that ketchup-y sweetness and vinegary tang. Of course, it’s excellent on a BLT or grilled cheese, but here are a few ways that I used it this week:
Waldorf-esque Salad
Slice an apple into bite-sized pieces and put in a bowl with halved grapes, sliced celery and its leaves, and a handful of nuts (walnuts are the standard, but I used pistachios.) Toss with a good squeeze of Gin Mayo, juice of half a lemon or lime, and salt and pepper.
Crab Toast
Toss crabmeat with Gin Mayo, fresh dill, diced shallot, diced celery, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Toast up a thick piece of good, crusty bread and spoon the crab salad over it. Garnish with dill, cherry tomatoes, and a drizzle of olive oil.
Crunchy Deviled Eggs
Hard boil however many eggs you want to devil. Let them cool in a bath of ice water (this will make the shells easier to peel off too.) Peel them, slice in half, and scoop out the yolks with a spoon into a small bowl. Mix in Gin Mayo, chopped cornichons, dijon mustard, a splash of vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Meanwhile toast up some panko bread crumbs (crackers like Saltines or Ritz would be good too!) in a little bit of butter over medium heat, stirring often until they’re golden brown. Spoon the egg yolk mixture back into their egg white beds. Garnish with crispy panko, chives, and paprika.
Elote-style Corn Salad
Husk and remove the kernels from 4 fresh corn cobs (this will make enough for two!) Char half of the corn kernels in a very hot cast iron pan with olive oil. (You could also grill two of the cobs before removing the kernels, if you’d like.) In a large bowl mix together the charred corn and raw corn with Gin Mayo, chopped cilantro, chopped chili (I used a Fresno chili,) sliced shallot or onion, cotija cheese (Feta would work too,) fresh lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste.
Peel & Eat Shrimp Cocktail
In a saucepan, prepare your poaching liquid. Fill the pot with water, salt heavily, and add any aromatics and herbs you might have handy—onion, garlic, shallots, parsley, dill, anything will be good! Squeeze half a lemon in and toss the lemon rind in with it. Add whatever spices you like—I used bay leaf, pepper, celery seed, and chili (Old Bay is tops if you have it!) A slug of white wine would be nice as well. Let everything simmer together for 5 minutes or so for the flavors to get cozy with each other. Bring the liquid to a rolling boil, add your shrimp, cover, and remove from heat. Let the shrimp sit for 3 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove from the liquid and let them cool down in a bath of ice water. Serve with lemon wedges and Gin Mayo for dipping.
Did you make one of these dishes?! Let us know in the comments below! You can use whatever mayo is sitting in your fridge, but if you're looking for a little zing, give Gin Mayo a try.