Well it’s back to reality now. We came back on Thursday from a fabulous trip to England to see friends and family. Thursday was a 21 hour day so I barely avoided going face first into the pillow when we made it home. A friend of ours asked me what I missed when we were gone and it was a bit erm ketchup? Seriously, when we move back we’ll be asking any visiting friends to bring us ketchup.
Of course I missed our kitchen. My husband and I got a bit of cooking in, there was an amazing leg of lamb, but it’s hard when it’s not your kitchen. Not knowing where things are slow you down! And if you are trying to cook to allow your mother-in-law to relax, it’s hard for her to relax if you are asking where things are. But we did our best.
After doing a few travel and train posts I was anxious to get back to recipes though the jet lag held me back a bit but today was better. I thought I’d be bold and go for a French omelette. The fluffy, creamy, make in a few seconds but has a high level of technique kind. And as it was my first time, take pictures! Hmmm. Maybe the jet lag hasn’t worked it’s way through yet. But I did it anyway.
I used Julia Child’s book Mastering the Art of French Cooking for this. It highly recommends a non stick omelette pan. Which I don’t own. I own a crepe pan. I think I upped the level of difficulty right there as it is helpful to have some sides to the pan.
The cooking of the eggs is very quick so prep the ingredients beforehand. I chopped up fresh thyme and chives from the garden and grated a 1/4 cup of fresh parmesan. In a bowl beat 2-3 eggs until blended. Don’t whip them just get them integrated. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Heat a tablespoon of butter in the pan you are going to use, moving it about to coat the sides and the bottom. The book says that once the foam subsides and just before the colour changes it is hot enough.
Add the eggs and slide the pan back and forth. The book recommends using a fork but as I don’t want to scratch the pan I used a silicon spatula but you want to stir the eggs quickly as the eggs thicken. Not scramble them mind but keep the egg moving as it spreads out to cook. This only takes a few seconds.
As it begins to fluff up and starts to look like a broken custard add your fillings. And when they said in a few seconds they weren’t kidding. I could have used three arms for this with taking photos!
Gently move it about folding it over itself by bringing the pan to a 45 degree angle. If it sticks whack the handle a few times. However you do this you don’t want the eggs to stick. They’ll start overcooking. Roll it onto a hot plate.
Add a bit of butter to melt over the top and serve. I was quite pleased with this being the first attempt but I can see I need some practice. I don’t mind. 🙂
PS, I see coming back to the PC that the website changed. Anyone know how to preview before publishing? I can’t find it.
