Perfecting the omelet: Part 1
I think I've got the poached egg down. Time to tackle the omelet.
I've faced omelets in the past, and each encounter ended with ugly results. I always end up with undercooked veggies sitting on a bed of burnt scrambled eggs. I can't even make an omelet in a so-called "omelet maker," which is supposed to do all the work for me but apparently one has to know how to use it before actually cooking omelets with it. I found one in a cabinet at Murdo's parents' house and decided it couldn't be that tough. Oh, I was wrong.
But seriously. It can't be that tough. With a little bit of practice, I think I can learn to make plump, savory, perfectly-cooked omelets for any meal of the day. I started with breakfast on Sunday.
The first was for Murdo. I used some simple instructions from CHOW and threw in onions, cheese, and pastrami as filling. I tried their fold-and-flip technique -- folding a third of the egg over the fillings, sliding the egg onto a plate, and flipping the other edge over the filling at the last minute. It didn't work. I attempted to fold, kind of flipped, and presented a plateful of not-omelet to Murdo. He laughed. I did not take a picture. (He still ate it and said it tasted fine, which I suppose is all that matters.)
The second turned out a little better. I only used two eggs. I slightly cooked the veggies in butter beforehand and set aside as I cooked the eggs. I only folded it in half. It turned out OK.
There is still hope.
I've faced omelets in the past, and each encounter ended with ugly results. I always end up with undercooked veggies sitting on a bed of burnt scrambled eggs. I can't even make an omelet in a so-called "omelet maker," which is supposed to do all the work for me but apparently one has to know how to use it before actually cooking omelets with it. I found one in a cabinet at Murdo's parents' house and decided it couldn't be that tough. Oh, I was wrong.
But seriously. It can't be that tough. With a little bit of practice, I think I can learn to make plump, savory, perfectly-cooked omelets for any meal of the day. I started with breakfast on Sunday.
The first was for Murdo. I used some simple instructions from CHOW and threw in onions, cheese, and pastrami as filling. I tried their fold-and-flip technique -- folding a third of the egg over the fillings, sliding the egg onto a plate, and flipping the other edge over the filling at the last minute. It didn't work. I attempted to fold, kind of flipped, and presented a plateful of not-omelet to Murdo. He laughed. I did not take a picture. (He still ate it and said it tasted fine, which I suppose is all that matters.)
The second turned out a little better. I only used two eggs. I slightly cooked the veggies in butter beforehand and set aside as I cooked the eggs. I only folded it in half. It turned out OK.
There is still hope.
You have to make sure you don't overload the omelet with a lot of filling otherwise it will be hard to fold.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you have a skillet, you can pour a little milk into the omelet along with more cheese, don't bother folding at all and pop the whole thing in the oven after cooking. That's called something but I don't remember what.
I ate a lot of omelets in grad school, what with being cheap and always having cold cuts, eggs, and cheese on hand...
I've heard of the oven method, but I don't have an oven-safe skillet. :(
ReplyDeleteI think the problem with the first one was the egg got too thick and there was too much filling, so when I tried to fold it over it just fell apart.
Thanks!