Many chefs will tell you that a sure test of any good cook--any cook who understands the fundementals and basics of food done well--will have the skillset to master an omelet.
An omelet. Possibly the only thing bachelors actually "cook". Easy enough for a young child to produce for breakfast in bed on mother's day (maybe with a little help from dad...) Yet the omelet may be one of the most misunderstood breakfast staples in the kitchen. I've come to find out in just the past couple of months that I've been cooking eggs completely wrong my entire life. What a blow to my egg ego, right? I guess I can simply be glad in knowing my sails have been reset and I am now on the path to mastering the egg. That is one of the benefits we've seen in our new way of eating this year--a gained knowledge in culinary basics. It hasn't taken much, just a little bit of research and practice in the kitchen, and we're finding ourselves equipped with basic skills which accumalate and build to masterful, healthful meals!
My husband was the instigator in our egg endevour. Grayson can truly appreciate an egg done well. A few weeks back we awoke early on Saturday morning to set out, as is our Saturday ritual, to the farmers market. Only today Grayson awoke with a terrible headache, and so I set off alone. While strolling through the market and choosing an array of colors and flavors for our fresh produce that week, Grayson called me and asked me to let him know when I was on my way home, so that he could make me breakfast. Little did I know that he was sitting at home on YouTube, "researching" how to make a masterful omelet. Now, I am not much an enthusiast when it comes to omelets; but let me tell you, my husband has made me a believer!
I do have to say, it was slightly disconcerting walking in the door to find him swirling a nice pool of butter round and round a pan on the stove. However, with every omelet I am more and more convinced that a little extra butter on a weekend morning, perfectly browning some eggs round a beautiful array of vegetables and rich cheeses is well worth the extra fat.
Grayson's reasearch via YouTube that morning has served to heighten our awareness of the potentential of an egg. With this new knowledge, omelets have become a regular in our home, always keeping in mind the key elements to an omelet cooked correctly.
Don't add milk! I thought it was a fundamental. I believed in some unsaid rule somewhere in the sphere of culinary lies that one must always add milk or cream to eggs. I was deceieved. Simply beat together 4 eggs. Whip them well so that there are no strands of cloudy clear egg mucous (mmmm, appetizing!), but only a rich yellow egg base. Beat in some salt and pepper, and a bit of dried dill if you wish. Oh, and a word here on those dreaded miniscule pieces of shell that sneak their way into the bowl. Simply dip your now-empty half egg shell into the bowl to scoop egg shell bits out. Works like a charm. (Thanks Jamie Oliver!)I know--what about the eggs? They are, after all, the whole shabang of an omelet. Without the eggs, we have no omelet, only naked veggies and cheese. I have a confession to make here. I have yet been able to take the plunge in purchasing local, cage-free eggs. With how many eggs we go through (we have a slight fixation on eggs in this house...), I just can't justify the price jump it would impose on our grocery budget. However, if you can--then by all means buy the good chicken babies to-be!
Oh and--cheese does matter! A chunk of cheddar from the grocery store can make do if neccessary; but if you're able, get your hands on a nice, rich cheese from the farmers market. We have a little cheese tent we visit every few weeks to try a new block of cheese. Brick, Gouda, Farmers, or Havarti work great.
Heat your skillet. Use a 7-8 inch round, non-stick pan with a small edge. Omelet pans are preferable, for obvious reasons. We actually use a crepe pan that my dad passed on to me when he "upgraded" (the man take his crepes seriously, as he should). Throw in a nice gob of (real) butter. 1/2 - 1 tbs should do. Swirl to coat the bottom of the pan, and let the butter begin to bubble over a medium heat, until it browns slightly.
Bring in the eggs. Pour in your beaten eggs. For the first 20-25 seconds, use a fork to sort of "fold in" the eggs from the sides. They should still be liquid. As you "bring in the egg" from the side, tilt your pan so that the liquid egg fills in the gap. This encourages a large egg curd for your finished omelet.
Let it rest. Give your pan one last tilt to make sure egg is completely covering the bottom. The egg should still look soft and now is a good time to add your cheese and prepared fillings. Let your omelet sit on this low heat for about 40 seconds. Make sure your egg is not raw, but still soft--you don't want an over-cooked egg.
Finish'er up! Take a large spatula and gently push down the sides of your omelet to dislodge it. Tilt the omelet away from you, slip your spatula under one side, and flip it over itself for a half-circle. Now slip your omelet onto your plate and enjoy with some fresh toast topped with a bit of butter and roasted garlic!
And about that roasted garlic--this is a culinary revolution that I happened upon a few weeks ago. I raised a few eyebrows on Facebook when I posted a status that I had consumed an entire head of garlic by myself. But it was truth--this garlic is just that amazing!
Remove the outer paper shell on a head of garlic; just the first shell, leave enough shell to keep the head together. Now cut off the top of the head to just expose each clove (or as many as you can), about 1/4-1/2 inch. Place the head of garlic onto some tinfoil, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, wrap the tinfoil up and around to completely enclose the garlic. Roast at 400 degrees on your top oven rack for 30-35 minutes. The garlic is done when it is a nice toasty brown, and you can press in the cloves (they're squishy). Let cool. To enjoy, simply squeeze the now soft cloves out of their shells and spread on bread, or use in cooking. The long roast takes away all of the pungent identity of the garlic and replaces it with a whole new sweet, nutty personality.
Sometimes cooking is about back-tracking. Instead of forging ahead, at times we need to take a step back and reavaluate what we may think we know. Where we go wrong is when we assume we know the best way to do something, and thus don't explore further knowledge. My son was four months old, but had already drug Gray and me to the ragged edges of our existence. We were both in school, Grayson working full-time and me part-time (besides motherhood), and new parents. Our child did not sleep. And in fact, progressively slept less. I was stubborn and refused to attempt introducing him to a schedule. "Our lives are too crazy" was my excuse. Then, one day, one very wonderful day, I reached my end. And Grayson, fearing his wife's sanity was soon to be forever lost, convinced me to pick up "Baby Wise", a book on introducing your child to a flexible schedule to help them sleep. Within a week our child was sleeping through the night. I was, of course, overwhelmed with joy, but at the same time felt like and idiot for waiting so long to seek knowledge. The same can be found true in the kitchen. Return to the basics. Re-learn them. Subject yourself to the position of a student and self-learn the fundementals of good food done well.
And so, whether you're simply not a fan, or have settled for an amateur production of the egg, give the omelet another chance. Watch this 4-minute video by Jamie Oliver, follow his directions, and you'll rediscover a whole new potential for this breakfast classic.
And so, whether you're simply not a fan, or have settled for an amateur production of the egg, give the omelet another chance. Watch this 4-minute video by Jamie Oliver, follow his directions, and you'll rediscover a whole new potential for this breakfast classic.
