Aïoli

Eastside Road, Healdsburg, July 25—

WELL, AS YOU can see, the aïoli separated. I have an explanation: I was following a recipe in a book, and not the one I generally use. This one said "Rule of thumb: one egg yolk, one cup oil." I generally follow Judy Rodgers's recipe, in The Zuni Cookbook, when I follow one at all. You begin by smashing garlic and salt in a mortar, then add two egg yolks, then dribble in the olive oil slowly slowly, at first by drops, then by a teeny stream, whisking all the while. The result will be thick and oily.
Lindsey prepared the classic accompaniments: boiled potatoes, steamed green beans, sliced tomatoes; and she grilled a couple of chicken breasts that had been dusted with fennel-salt-pepper rub leftover from yesterday. Green salad, of course.
Aïoli: surely one of the classic Hundred Plates.

Cheap Pinot grigio