Mayonnaise by hand is pretty easy and a big improvement over stuff in a jar.  A great workout too.  Recipes usually seem too cautious, guarding against disaster when the emulsion doesn’t work.  Mine always came together without a hitch until recently I have had two occasions when it “broke” as they say.  (I guess I was getting a little lax.)

In a recipe book called Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by (whatshername who was the Chef at Greens in San Francisco) there is given a method to bring a failed mayonnaise back from the dead.  Tonight (making Tuna Burgers with Harissa Mayonnaise out of Fish Without a Doubt [great book!] was the occasion of my second failure and, remembering the tip, I gave it a try.

Pour 1-2 tablespoons of boiling water into the goopy mess (it really looks ugly when it goes wrong) and whisk. Viola, mayonnaise reborn.  Simple as that.

Kids love harissa mayonnaise.