BOOK/A TABLE - A Perfectly Eggsecuted Omelette!

 

While visiting family in New Hampshire, I discovered Brandmoore Farm down the road a piece from my cousin’s house. They had, among other things (such as furls of garlic scapes, steaks and fresh ground meats, as well as chunky cheese curds, and ruby kraut), these gorgeous fresh eggs!

My hubs and I safely carted them back to a steamy Manhattan (unbroken) and as the eggs sat in their glistening shells on the kitchen counter, I quickly set forth to undo our careful packing by cracking a few of them open to make omelettes.

My thoughts had turned to Karen Pierce’s excellent cookbook Recipes for Murder (previously mentioned here), which features 66 delicious dishes devised from Agatha Christie’s mysteries. I seemed to remember something about an omelette...to wit, A Perfect Omelette pulled from the pages of Christie’s Mrs. McGinty’s Dead.

In the midst of figuring out how Mrs. McGinty’s demise was executed, the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot must also contend with the perilous kitchen of his hostess:

“I have given Mrs. Summerhayes a cookery book and have also taught her personally how to make an omelette. Bon Dieu, what I suffered in that house!”

The wonderful thing about omelettes is that they can be served day or night. An omelette with toast and orange juice—breakfast! An elegant chive omelette served with crusty peasant bread and a sturdy red wine—dinner! By the glow of candlelight, of course...perhaps with a mystery novel in hand?

A Perfect Omelette
Adapted from Recipes for Murder by Karen Pierce

Ingredients

2 tablespoons salted butter
Two large eggs
2 tablespoons whole milk
Salt and pepper
Mushrooms, grated cheddar cheese, fine herbs, or seafood for filling (optional)

Method
1. In a medium frying pan over medium heat, melt the butter.
2. In a small bowl, crack the eggs and beat well.
3. Add the milk to the eggs and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
4. When the pan becomes hot enough to make a drop of water hiss, pour into the egg mixture. Do not stir. Cook for one minute, cover, and cook for three more minutes. (I love the idea of covering the eggs and will always cook omelettes this way! No fussy tilting of the pan; the eggs steam up nice and fluffy.) 
5. When the center has set firmly, turn the omelette over and cook for one more minute.
6. Add filling of choice down the center of the eggs, then gently fold half the omelette over, lining up the edges.
7. Cook for one more minute until the filling warms.
8. Slide the omelette onto a plate and serve.