Sunday morning breakfast has become one of our weekly rituals. Other mornings we get by with coffee, fruit, yogurt, and maybe a bowl of cereal. On Sunday, though, I make an egg white omelet with a slice of cheese melted in it. I fold it over, cut in two. Turkey bacon, supposedly lower in fat. Toast or, as in this case, an English muffin. Coffee. The sunday newspaper. A cat or two. It makes for a nice, leisurely breakfast.
For several years, I had a nice, non-stick pan that I used for omelets. It made things very easy, but it had a flaw. Despite a “lifetime” warranty, the finish on these expensive Calphalon pans regularly wore out after less than a year. This despite using plastic spoons and taking other steps to prevent damage. I returned one or two and the company replaced them under its warranty, but I finally decided it just wasn’t working.
I recall thinking that it meant the end of omelets, since I assumed eggs would tend to stick in our cast iron frying pans. Not so, it turns out. Cast iron actually turns out very nice omelets, thank you, very much. I’m very much a fan of our old cast iron, which all came from thrift stores or garbage piles.
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I buy the cheapest nonstick skillets I can find. I use them for nothing but eggs and pancakes. I am careful not to overheat them. They last a year or two and then are replaced and recycled. I used to buy heavy commercial nonstick pans, but they are no longer cheap. Tip: Searing a steak or burgers will overheat most nonstick pans.
Yummy! I am an omelet fanatic.
However, you should nix the egg-white omelet in favor of a whole-egg omelet.
A 1998 Harvard study concluded that the average male can eat seven whole eggs a day without it raising his plasma (blood) cholesterol. In fact, the link between dietary and plasma cholesterol is problematic, and this has been known since the 1950s. The body produces cholesterol in order to metabolize fat, especially trans fat, so it’s better to cut fat our of one’s diet. The food industry in the US, particularly the meat and dairy industry, hushed this up for generations. So cut the cheese out of your family’s diet, and avoid hamburger and marbled steak, etc.
What is really scary is that an increasing number of people have allergies to foods like eggs, and that’s really weird. For millions of years our ancestors lived on eggs, so we shouldn’t have any allergies to that at all. In fact, humans adapt very quickly to dietary change. (Africans tend to be lactose intolerant, but within the past 2,000 years east Africans have become tolerant of lactose. That’s because with famines over that period people who could drink milk survived more readily than those who could not. So every human should be able to handle eggs. Something odd is going on in our diets….)
Cast iron pans rock. Apparently, for some dishes, like crepes and pancakes, I believe, they are the only way to go. But in terms of health, the skillet is also a good source of iron. In contrast, Teflon is not a normal part of the human diet. In terms of non-stick surface, enamel is the way to go, and the French company Le Creuset is widely considered the king. But you get what you pay for.
Here’s a classic omelet recipe:
Four eggs (organic, preferably, for richer taste). Beat the eggs and reserve in a bowl.
1/8 an onion
2 big mushrooms
4 cloves of garlic (or more)
1/3 can of salmon
tomato in equal portion to the salmon
herbs and spices (basil, etc.)
Put in the ingredients into a saute pan that is on medium one at a time, starting with the onion, then mushroom, the garlic, tomato and salmon and then spices. By the time you get to the salmon, the whole mess is fully cooking. Cover with a lid. When steam starts pouring out of the lid, wait for exactly one minute and then remove the lid. There will be abundant liquid in the saute pan, and it should be steamed off; then turn the pan down to low.
Meanwhile, heat the omelet pan on low while heating the saute pan. Once the lid has been removed from the saute pan, crank the heat up on the omelet pan, which should now be quite warm. Put some olive oil on the omelet pan, and when it is hot enough, pour the eggs on it. With a wooden spoon, pull the cooked part of the egg toward the center of the pan from the north, west, south and east positions, and tilt the pan to make sure liquid egg pours to the outer sides of the pan; repeat. (An omelet is scrambled eggs with a crust; it should take a very short time to cook an omelet.) When the egg is cooked, turn off the heat on the saute pan and use the wooden spoon to pull the sauteed veggies onto the egg. Fold over the egg and turn off the omelet pan. Eat the omelet.
I eat an omelet every day. I have omelet fixation. If I do have a heart attack, at least I’ll die happy.
With rituals like this who needs nine lives.
I’m with you. I love Sunday morns. In fact every morning. Each meal, multiple choices !
I celebrate a surfeit of food!
Third world countries, eat your heart out!
I know a lot of folks who don’t eat eggs (they’re allergic, for health reasons, or concerns about animal cruelty). Here’s an awesome site that gives tips on cooking and baking without eggs: http://EggFreeLiving.com
Why are people allergic to eggs?
In general, it seems that food allergies are on the rise. Up until recently, the response was to avoid contact by children with potentially allergy causing food like eggs. But that goes against the logic of vaccines, where greater contact at weakened or reduced levels is a source of immunity. For instance, most societies don’t have bottled baby food. Mothers chew their food and then use that masticated food to feed the infant. The enzymes in the mother’s saliva helps to break down all sorts of proteins for the child. So the child is being inoculated with weakened proteins from very early on to foods that might cause an allergic reaction.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/health/11brody.html
I want you to know that I just ate some egg pasta, which is a poor man’s pasta carbonara.
First, you throw pasta in boiling water.
While that’s cooking, you peel and chop four cloves of garlic and throw them in a pan that is generously coated with extra virgin olive oil. I prefer a deeper pan, like a wok, for this. You will want this pan to be on medium low to medium, and for the garlic to cook slowly.
When the garlic begins to ‘blonde’ or turn darker yellow or beige, push it to the center of the pan in a line. Then on either side of the line drop a raw egg. Let it cook relatively slowly.
When the pasta is done, strain it — but do NOT cool it with cold water. Put it steaming into a bowl. Add salt and pepper and herbs to taste. Pour on some extra virgin olive oil and mix.
Now take the pan with the eggs and turn off the heat. Tilt the pan so the eggs slide slowly to the corner sides of the pan. All the oil and garlic, still hot and sizzling, will end up on top of the eggs and cook the surface. Hold it in that position until the sizzle of the garlic stops. Then drop this on the hot pasta and mix. If you want to put some grated parmesian cheese on this, fine.
Loved this post, Ian. I don’t use teflon anymore. The fragments are carcinogenic. I now use stainless steel pans and pots, which are much safer.
Doesn’t stainless tend to stick? That was always my impression.
I spray my pans with oil. Don’t you use those cans of canola oil spray? Absolutely no problem with sticking, as the pans work just like teflon when oiled.
OK, John, How in the heck would someone stay away from eggs just because of concerns about animal cruelty?
Ian wrote: “Sunday morning breakfast has become one of our weekly rituals. … I make an egg white omelet with a slice of cheese melted in it. I fold it over, cut in two. Turkey bacon, supposedly lower in fat. Toast or, as in this case, an English muffin. Coffee. … A cat or two. It makes for a nice, leisurely breakfast.”
So, what’s the best way to cook the cat (or two)? Baked, boiled, braised, fricassee?