The blog, Dave, doggies, and I are on vacation for a bit. See you soon!

Omelets are the perfect example of,

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again…

Only you can eat the sad-looking/happy-tasting evidence over..and over…and over. No matter what, you’ll have breakfast, lunch, or dinner in under a couple of minutes because omelets are perfect for any meal and maybe especially so during hot muggy summer days. They’re also inexpensive, healthy, full of protein, and encourage creative invention.  Leftover chicken and cheese? Stuff that in your omelet. A bit of salsa along with a half piece of grilled zucchini? There you go.  Nothing at all but parsley? You have an herb omelet. Not even a sprig of parsley, but a tablespoon of sticky jam at the bottom of the jar? That, too, makes for a tasty omelet filling.

I’ve been know to trade baked goods for homegrown eggs because they’re worth their weight in gold. I never ate a store bought egg until I went to college and then I cracked eggs in the cafeteria for two hours a night to earn my keep.

BELOW: Here’s what an egg should look like… If you’re eating pale yolks, search further for your egg supply:

Wretched specimens that they were, I did, however learn to crack four at a time, two in each hand. I’m not sure I could handle that today, but I might try just for grins and giggles. Whatever!  I, like my good friend Chris Kliesen Wehman says, “Never met an egg I didn’t like.”

I’m all for growing a couple of pots of cherry tomatoes and basil on the deck (and elsewhere) just so that I can run out and grab a handful of goodies to toss in my skillet with the yellowest-yolky eggs I can find.

Dill is a thrill, too,  though it grows much more slowly than basil and the deer love it. I’m happy to share most of the time.

 

It luckily grows wild in the next street over and I can grab a handful when I walk the dogs later in the summer.

Omelet for lunch or dinner? Then wine is the perfect accompaniment a la…

Elizabeth David is one of my favorite food writers and should you need inspiration for your meal –or a reason to pour a glass of wine to complete it — look her up. Order a book or two and prepare to be smitten. And why is omelet spelled two ways? It seems some writers simply adopt the French spelling with the attractive double t’s and the cutesy Gallic final “e.” In English, the word is omelet.

Want that glass of wine with your omelet? Pour what you like; do as you please depending a bit on the filling(s) you’ve chosen. Typically a white accompanies eggs,  though in summer a dry rosé might drink easily, too.  If you have a friendly and open bottle of big red wine staring at your sorrowfully from the counter, have at it and more health to you; it just might fill out that meal. Enjoy your choice whatever.

While I’m not a perfect omelet cook (see my photos) — that takes years of short-order line cooking — I can hold my own with a small skillet and a hot flame. I have no perfect tips but this one:  keep making the omelet you want to eat.  You will develop your own technique and rhythm slowly, but in the meantime you’ll eat well and you might make a few other people happy along the way. Whomever makes an omelet can always feed herself!! Watch a master make an omelet here.  Or watch Stanley Tucci make omelets in “The Big Night” for Mark Anthony, Tony Shaloub, and himself. Note how he turns the bowl as he beats the eggs and that he used olive oil rather than butter. Perhaps these are frittatas (which just means “fried” in Italian) as he flips them and this is, after all, a movie about Italians in America. My frittatas go in the oven, so I don’t know. Try an omelet at your house, however you want to make it, and let me know how it goes. Here’s how I do it:

TOMATO AND BASIL OMELET

serves 1

Pour your coffee or wine and lay out silverware before you begin. Add a third egg and share with a friend.

Chop 3 or 4 clean basil leaves and slice the same number of cherry tomatoes. Set aside. Warm your plate in the sink with hot water and set it on the counter next to the stove.

Heat an 8 or 9-inch non-stick skillet with a healthy teaspoon of salted butter over medium-high or high flame for about a minute or two. Meanwhile, whisk (or use a table fork) two eggs about 30 times with a good pinch each of salt and pepper along with a teaspoon of water. When the butter stops bubbling and is wont to burn but hasn’t, pour in the egg mixture. Let sit just a few seconds to set the eggs somewhat and begin stirring or pulling mixture from the sides–never letting it lay too long without movement so that it doesn’t brown much. When the eggs are nearly set, but still wet, add chopped tomatoes evenly on one side, and fold over one-third of the omelet to the middle with a rubber spatula. Carefully turn the pan over onto a plate, tipping out the omelet gently. Tuck the other third of the omelet under. Top with chopped basil and eat well that minute.

OR: You can also just fold the omelet in half in the pan and turn it onto the plate. Another method–even simpler– is to cook it half way, add fillings, turn off the heat, cover, and let rest to finish cooking for another couple of minutes.

No printable recipe needed.

Want more eggs More Time style, including my spinach, tomato, and mozzarella ball omelet?  Read about it here.

Stay cool,

Alyce