February 6, 2011

how eggciting! (part 1)

On my sister's birthday last month we frequented a couple of Denny's for some free birthday Grand Slams. Always at each place they would ask how she wanted her eggs, and she would say scrambled, because that's the most accessible type of breakfast egg we know. But then she wondered about all the different ways you can prepare an egg, so I googled "ways to cook an egg" hoping to find a definitive list (sunny side up, over easy, poached, etc.). But the list was far from definitive, and in fact, mind-bogglingly long. This site lists 100 just for starters (with pretty pictures)!

partially cracked egg
Currently I'm in breakfast station, hoping to learn some common (if not all) breakfast egg preparations. I figured that since we crack two cases (that's 360) of eggs and immersion-blend the heck out of them every morning we must be doing something with them right?

tilt fryer scrambled eggs
And in fact we do. We scramble a lot of them in a tilt fryer - mostly plain, with some toppings thrown in for the last portion so diners have some options (they mainly stick with the plain though).

romanesco and mozzarella omelette
We also make omelettes. Here are some that have mozzarella inside and are then topped with romanesco sauce (fresh uncooked tomato sauce), more mozzarella and scallions.

apple bacon and swiss omelette
Here are some more that involve swiss cheese, diced apples (sauteed in butter) and bacon. Also topped with scallions for color.

And here's the recipe if you want to make some culinary-school-like omelettes at home!

1. Put some oil (canola/vegetable, butter, or Pam - enough to coat the pan) in a frying pan over high heat; wait a few minutes until the oil starts smoking (or alternatively, you can test it by shaking some water droplets into the pan - if it sizzles furiously you're good).
2. Pour in a well-beaten egg mixture (salt and peppered if you so desire), enough fill about half the depth of the pan.
3. Shake the pan vigorously back and forth as you stir the egg mixture with a spatula. Continuously fold in the edges of the omelette so they don't get dried out.
4. When the bottom of the omelette is cooked but the top is still runny, put the pan into the oven with the broiler on high (if the pan handle is not heat resistant, transfer the omelette to a baking dish).
5. When the top of the omelette puffs up (and traces of runny egg have disappeared), pull the pan/dish out of the oven. The top of the omelette should be a nice sunny/moist yellow with no brown (if there is brown it's overcooked).
6. Pile your choice of shredded cheese down the length of the omelette, then fold both edges toward the middle with your spatula (tripartite fold, if you will).
7. Garnish with your choice of topping(s) and serve!

1 comment:

  1. I really learned a lot about eggs (grades I didn't know about!) Also I like your use of puns. Also now I'm hungry.

    ReplyDelete