The Petite Epicure: He's been a fool about so many things...but then, so have I. You see, he and I, are so similar.

Garlic Basil Aioli BLT

I've been doing something a bit strange lately, but I suppose if you know me...that's pretty normal. Remember that Alice in Wonderland quote? "You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret...all the best people are". My strongest trait is also my most annoying, I am overly analytical. Lately I've decided to figure out the formula for enduring love. How do you know you've found "the one"? What makes a relationship successful? How and when do you propose? How do you fight? What's your advice?

At first I spoke to people I knew...co-workers, friends, family. The usual suspects, and then my fearless side decided to surface. STRANGERS it told me (if you're not convinced of my insanity yet, I think you and I need to meet...we're probably going to be best friends). It's not the most original idea, Aziz Ansari has been doing it for a while...but no one is coming to my focus groups. Someone once told me I wasn't as famous as him. So I sat in coffee shops and book stores armed with pen

and paper; hoping my innocent face would disarm people enough to speak with me. Most days I don't look like a murderer (murder days are on Tuesday!), people obliged me.

I've decided to post at least 2 Profiles of Love a month. Without further ado, we meet Binu J...

A PROFILE OF LOVE: BINU J

Binu and I were co-workers and happened to get lunch a few odd times. He has given me career advice, put me in touch with some great contacts, and given spectacular life advice all at the once. Binu and his wife have been married for 6 years and are expecting their second child together in November.

What did you look for in a potential partner?

I don't think much about it, I didn't have any qualities that I thought needed to be there in a woman. I think I once joked around with my friends that I wanted someone who loved classical Indian music, and my wife hates that stuff...I still married her. I don't think a husband and wife need to be best friends, you just need to have a similar philosophy on life. My wife doesn't consider me her best friend. Stop thinking so hard about what exactly you expect. You just have to like each other, and be nice to each other, if you don't like the same food...big deal. You're never going to find someone 100% perfect, it would be so boring.

How did you know your wife was the one?

I spoke with her on the phone 3 to 4 times and decided, yeah she seems great. She was nice to me, my parents, and my friends, and we had a shared background. The shared experience gave me enough security to believe we would be okay.

How did you propose?

[Laughs] She proposed to me, but she denies it. On our 4th phone call she asked me, "Do you have any plans of marrying me? Otherwise I'm moving on." I said, "Yeah, let's get married."

Do you believe in soul mates?

No. I wanted to, because you see that in the movies, and you're like...WOW! I want a girl who makes me feel like that. I don't think that kind of stuff happens in real life.

How do you handle disagreements?

We fight for a couple of hours, and we just move on. You don't need to come to a resolution, you air your grievances and move on. The idea of resolution is a very American concept.

Do you have any advice for my generation on finding Love?

You're not simple anymore. Back when I was growing up you would have one cassette player with 6 songs, and you were limited to those songs. Now you have CDs and Mp3 players, you can skip a song whenever you want. Back then our minds weren't programmed to think about choices. I'm not thinking "Is this the best person I can get? What else is out there?". I'm not constantly checking whether we are compatible, am I happy, how can I be happier? If you make things too complicated, they are bound to fail.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think what I've learned from Binu is to be simple, be strong, and be decisive. Contentment is the key...and I can think of nothing more simple and stable than a BLT (I may or may not have eaten a BLT on our lunch interview). I choose this BLT with sass for Binu's recipe because he is a smart, grounded, and classic man. Thanks for taking so much time to speak with me and I hope you try the recipe!

Basil Garlic Aioli

Makes 1 Cup

1 Garlic Clove

1 Tblspn Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice

1/4 Cup Basil Leaves Tightly Packed

1 Egg Yolk

1 Cup Good Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Kosher Salt to Taste

BLT

1-2 Tblspn of Basil Garlic Aioli

2 Slices of Toasted Bread

4 to 6 Slices of Bacon, Cooked and Drained

Arugula

Heirloom Tomatoes

Before I start the recipe, can I just say how FUCKING easy it is to make aioli?? I've seen far too many recipes that ask you to combine mayo and some herbs together and call it aioli. NOT AIOLI. Once you see how easy it is to make, I expect that none of you will go back to the store bought stuff.

Like SRSLY, that's all you need.

1. Using a food processor (unfortunately I had to make this using a blender, but use a food processor if at all possible) pulse together the garlic, lemon juice, basil, and egg yolk

2. Did that? Good. Now one more step. Set the processor on low, and SLOWLY drizzle in the olive oil. Slow is key, this helps emulsify the liquid into a mayo like consistency