Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Uncle Wiggly's Good Time Cooking Contest - Version Weekday

Ode to the Omelette
The challenge: Uncle Wiggeley's contest is all about your favorite weekday meals. A meal you have two to three times a month, more or less. If not, something that you love dearly and would work well in a pinch. If your recipe requires going to three or more grocery stores, thats not going to work. Two I think we could handle, maybe one?

photograph picture of mystery location in San Francisco

When I first saw this contest announced by Dr Biggles over at Meathenge, my first thought was that contests are things that require effort in a hope that you should win them. Dozens of favourite meaty recipes I imagined would impress the Meathenge Family, flashed through my mind. Which one would be a winner, I thought?

But then I paused and reflected even further. To really get into the spirit of the competition, I should tell the truth and be myself. None of this digging out a fabulous recipe and pretending I eat it on a regular basis. No making the dish at the weekend, during daylight, solely for the purpose of a fabulous photograph. Instead, our offering is nothing more than a true reflection of our simple reality: a very quick dinner lovingly put together at our normal post-9pm eating time. Our tried and tested, most oft-eaten dinner comes in the form of a sunny yellow disk that always lights up our dinner table with its presence. Oh omelette, how we love you. How we never tire of eating in your company. You never let us down, you are so dependable and reliable and how fresh and original you always seem to be.

At least once a week, chez Becks & Posh, our dinner is nothing more complicated than this classic egg dish. We often eat omelettes on a Thursday night, our last dining-in night before the weekly shop to restock at the Farmers Market. Hence our omelettes are made from whatever uneaten items and leftovers we have in the fridge.

Last week I still had some ricotta from the squash blossoms I didn't get around to stuffing as planned. I made myself a small, puffy, plain omelette from some delicious Marin Sun Farm Eggs and then filled it with the creamy ricotta from Cow Girl Creamery topped with some spicy pepper cress to give it some bite. I love the combination of hot eggs and cool cheese. Ricotta is fairly bland and it can certainly benefit from having some extra flavour added. So to serve on the side, I quickly made an Italianesque salsa from the one remaining, lonely heirloom tomato, a few black olives, fresh basil, a dribble of olive oil and plently of salt and pepper. Voila! Fast, easy, simple and quickly adapted to meet the tastes of everyone in the family.

Usually we share our omelette but on this occasion, I made Fred a separate one as he doesn't much care for ricotta. Fred's most favourite version always contains nothing more than a large amount of grated gruyere cheese.


Other Omelette Ideas for Dr B and his Family:

Tasty Omelettes with the fillings embedded (these can be made family-style as a large, slower-cooked frittata too). Serve in slices like pie with extra veggies, salad or toast:
  • Bacon, Sweetcorn and Cheddar
  • Caramelized Onion and sausage
  • Ham, Parsley and Potato
  • Spinach and ricotta

  • Plain Omelettes with separate Fillings:
  • Salsa and Guacamole - serve with Tortilla Chips
  • Ratatouille, topped with toasted pine nuts
  • Leftover cold chicken, cubed and mixed with a little mayo and tarragon
  • Prosciutto and tomato
  • Grilled flank steak and chimmichurri sauce

  • etc...
    The possibilities are endless.
    Enjoy!



    PS - If you are looking for a lower cholesterol or less fattening option you can make the omelette with a ratio of one whole egg to two or three whites. Apparently it is possible to freeze egg yolk, although the method does sound a little complicated.
    posted in and and and
    Uncle Wiggly's Good Time Cooking Contest - Version Weekday

    11 Comments:

    • At 26/7/05 08:26, Blogger Monkey Gland said…

      Ah...bizarre synchronicity! My post today concerns the joys of spanish ommelete.

      Great minds and all that.

       
    • At 26/7/05 08:29, Blogger Monkey Gland said…

      ...and omelette is one of those words I'll never spell correctly

       
    • At 26/7/05 09:06, Blogger Sam said…

      Monkey Gland - I think some people spell it omelet but not me.

      Barabara - how about a fried rice omelette.
      yummy idea. with soy sauce and green onions. uhmmmm.

       
    • At 26/7/05 11:11, Blogger cookiecrumb said…

      How lovely! You think that's simple fare? Looks (and sounds) divine to me.
      Here's my favorite omelette: Fill with sauteed thinly sliced onions (not quite to the point of caremelized); deglaze the pan with nice vinegar and maybe extra butter, and drizzle over the folded beauty.
      I LOL'ed when I read your remark about making a dish in daytime just to photograph. Aren't we obsessed? :)

       
    • At 26/7/05 14:06, Blogger Farmgirl Susan said…

      That omelette looks delicious! And now I finally know what to do with that neglected container of ricotta in the fridge! : )

       
    • At 26/7/05 17:32, Blogger cookiecrumb said…

      Farmgirl!! Don't neglect the ricotta! It doesn't have much of a lifespan.
      Sam: I just discovered Monkey Gland because of this post, and we've been having a lot of fun back'n'forthing.
      xoxo

       
    • At 26/7/05 18:00, Blogger eat stuff said…

      Yum,
      That looks great Sam!

       
    • At 26/7/05 18:58, Blogger deborah said…

      Oh I love your omlette filling suggestions. It is great when a few ingredients in the frige and pantry make for a nourishing meal in a flash.

       
    • At 27/7/05 12:54, Anonymous Anonymous said…

      Love your blog and love omelettes even more. My favorite combo yet was one devised from smoked trout (from the little smoked fish store in Half Moon Bay -- have you been there yet?), oven-roasted tomatoes (aka "tomato crack"), and goat cheese. But then I could eat goat cheese every day of my life.

      I posted the recipe/technique for the tomatoes to my blog. (You inspired me!)

       
    • At 27/7/05 14:58, Anonymous Anonymous said…

      What is it about egg dishes for a quick dinner? When I was young, I wouldn't have DREAMT of it... but these days, it's a comforting, delicious meal.

      Tana, I make a smoked trout strata -- will have to try it with oven-roasted tomatoes; I never thought of that!

       
    • At 28/7/05 15:51, Blogger Alice said…

      Sam,

      You sold me on the omelette. I was looking for something I could make and eat quickly tonight before heading into the City for a Symphony concert. This is perfect. I have some fresh spinach and a can of tuna to go with some toasted sesame seeds and a bit of thickened dashi poured over it - it's a meal I can make in 10 min.

      The only thing I'll have to wait for is the accompanying rice in the rice cooker.

      I'm getting hungry sitting here thinking about this!

       

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