Have you tried the ketchup recipe from Mark's Daily Apple? I think its really good! I haven't tried the recipe for Ranch yet, but it sounds like I need to do that. I really miss ranch dressing!

Has anyone successfully made egg-free mayo? Would like to find a recipe for that as I'm avoiding eggs at the moment. Hope to be able to reintroduce them, but not while my knees still hurt...

I don't know of one without eggs, but for the one I made, you put one egg and 2 Tbsp of lemon juice, both at room temp, in a blender with 1/4 cup light tasting olive oil, 1/2 tsp dry mustard, and 1/2 tsp salt. Blend until combined. Then slowly drizzle another cup of oil into the blender while the motor is running. That's it. Now my husband is a mayo fanatic, and he wasn't crazy about it, but I thought it was really good.

That sounds really good. I'm going to try it and see if my knee pain increases. Sure hope not -- I'm hoping the problem is more with nightshades and not with eggs as we have a great source of truly free-range eggs (no grain at all, just foraging and veggie scraps) at a reasonable price right now.

I just wanted to post a topic about condiments dressings and dips. Any good recipes somebody can share?
Any thoughts on store bought mayo that made from olive oil?

Any thoughts on store bought mayo that made from olive oil?

No such thing. The store bought one labeled "made with olive oil" has just a bit of olive oil in it so that they can label it that way. The bulk of the oil is still soybean.

You can pasteurize your eggs to make them safe. http://bakingbites.com/2011/03/how-to-pasteurize-eggs-at-home/

Took me AGES to get the mayo down but now that I have....MY GOD, where had this been all my life?!

I can't make my mayo turn out right. it's grainy. GRRRRR

What are you putting in your mayo that could make it grainy?

It's an emulsion. I'm guessing the egg was too cold or the oil was added too quickly.

Remember that these condiments will only keep in the refrigerator for a few days. I wan't to make mayo but I live alone and can't use up a whole cup in 4 days.

It should last longer than 4 days - use the freshest eggs you can find. Mine lasts around 7 days (if it isn't snuffled up!). I just try to make sure it's used before the expiry date listed on the egg carton. Perhaps you could try making a half recipe. Maybe just beat your egg first so it's well blended then use half of that and half the oil.

The easiest quickest way to make mayo that is fail safe and faster than reading the labels on bottled ones at the supermarket is simply to use whatever recipe you have chosen, put everything into a wide mouth jar then whizz it up with your stick blender for a few seconds. Super fast, doesn't split, no adding oil drop by drop.
I use 1 cup of light olive oil, 1 egg, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 Tb (or a little more) of lemon juice or vinegar and 1/2 - 1 tsp mustard powder. I have also started adding loads of herbs and spices like onion flakes, garlic powder, black pepper,dill etc (kind of like ranch) which really zings it up.

Salmonella - commercially produced eggs are often irradiated anyway to kill salmonella but it a classic case of feeding the fear. I'm not American but I've noticed your food standards for safety seem to be way over the top especially when it comes to recommendations for canning etc.

You can also buy eggs that are pasteurized in the shell at some grocery stores. The brand that we have here in Wisconsin is "Safest Choice." Now, they are doubtless factory farmed eggs, but they do make a great mayo or egg nog. I use them when I'm making raw egg products for my son, since he's only 5 and young children have less developed immune systems. Otherwise I use humane certified omega three eggs from a local producer.