Well, after spending all week frustrated by my failure last weekend to produce an omelet that both tasted AND looked good, I was determined to try again. I didn't buy a new pan, and I didn't even take the Suitor's old nonstick pans out of the garage.
What I did do was this:
1) Heat the pan not for a specific length of time, rather until until I observed the Leidenfrost effect (where little beads of water skitter across the pan for several seconds before eventually evaporating away), before adding the butter. Yes, I should have been doing this in the first place. Bad chef, bad.
2) Use not only more butter (~1.5 T.), but melted butter, so as not to lower the temperature of the pan too much when I put the butter in the pan.
3) When agitating the egg in the pan to produce a soft curd, I didn't touch the bottom of the pan with the spatula, I left that layer intact. It occurred to me a few days ago (yes, I've been thinking about this all week) that by breaking up that layer, I might be introducing uncooked egg into an area that didn't have enough fat to keep it from sticking to the pan.
The result: well, I don't have a picture of it--I was so thrilled that I took it straight to the Suitor with a triumphant "victory is MINE!!" But trust me, it was perfect. No sticking, no tearing, and plated beautifully in thirds. Score!!!
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Sunday, October 28, 2007
Labels: Breakfast
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5 comments:
Oh man, I need you to teach me this. I suck at making omlettes (so we usually turn them into scrambled eggs with veggies).
I read you should warm the eggs in hot tap water first, since often the colder egg on top is still cold but the rest of it is getting tough. Something like that, the point is they cook fast and better to have them at room temperature.
Sapna--we can have an omelet-making at our place! And I can finally give you your wedding gifts! Just give me a couple of weeks to finish up work craziness. Sigh.
Marcos--Perhaps you didn't read the first omelet post. I mentioned there that I warm the eggs in hot tap water for five minutes. This time, they actually sat in the water for five minutes, and then out at room temperature for about an hour.
Aww, how sweet, Annie! Good luck with work (I understand being swamped --finals are coming up for me!) and we'll see you soon!
I stand in awe of your mad skills!!!!
I'm glad I'm not the only person in the world who will lose sleep and lie awake at night analyzing the minutia of a dish that wasn't quite what I'd hoped.
Good job!!!!!!!!
(and it all makes sense doesn't it?)
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