Peri-menopausal moment #2564 and 2565 *Updated*

Since Friday I've been craving a tuna melt. Tuna salad on rye with plenty of cheese, pan grilled. Not exactly rocket science.

Sigh. This seems to be one of those days when things are not going to be easy.

Drain the tuna. Chop the celery. Add salt and pepper. Get the cheese from the frig. Reach for the mayo...

Drat. Moment #2564.

No mayo. Used only for tuna salad and the occasional hot turkey salad, it tends to go off before it is used up. Apparently, I had tossed the previous jar and neglected to put mayo on the grocery list. Wondered if the teaspoon of mustard I routinely tossed in would hold it all together enough...no.

Surely making mayonnaise couldn't be difficult. At Cooking for Engineers I found a simple recipe with a yield just over a cup. A half recipe would be more than enough.

Separate the egg. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper. Slowly start whisking in the oil. Whisk some more. Then some more. Think my wrist is going to fly off. Add rest of oil, continuing to whisk.

Why isn't this thickening more?

Drat. Moment #2565.

I can easily divide 2 eggs yolks by 2, and I do know that half of one cup is one-half cup, but apparently, I actually poured a full cup of oil (which is why it took so long to drizzle in).

Separate a second egg, repeat whisking. The end product looks pretty good, though I've left in in the frig to set up a bit.

This sandwich had better be worth it.

Update:This is the finished home made mayo. It never did quite get thick enough; the consistency was that of a thin to medium white sauce. I think (since I obviously wasn't paying much attention when I made it) that either my egg yolks were not large enough, or I didn't whisk hard and long enough. The taste was fine; the slightly soupy texture not an issue when using it in tuna salad. The distinct yellow color is the result of using egg yolks only - store bought uses whites as well (not needed for the emulsion) which is why it is lighter in color.

The recipe:
2 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt, dash pepper
1 cup oil

Whisk eggs, lemon juice and seasonings together. Add a few drops of oil; whisk until well combined. Continue adding oil drop by drop, making sure it is well integrated before adding more. After about a third of a cup is in, you can add more at a time.

Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.