Aucbvax.6083 net.cooks utcsrgv!utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!upstill Fri Feb 5 09:03:10 1982 What to do with eggs Eggs I: Omelets I'm glad somebody mentioned eggs, one of my favorite axes to grind. Eggs are definitely an underrated food. Their protein is not only the most complete you can buy, but nearly the cheapest, both monetarily and calorifically. Nothing can get dinner on the table faster than an egg, and they are versatile, as well. Not only that, but they keep forever in the refrigerator. Re cholestrol: Dietary cholesterol is on the outs as a perceived danger. According to a doctor friend, high blood cholesterol, even though it is linked to heart disease, is mostly genetic, and diet only has a peripheral affect (I believe she said it was only 10% reducible under dietary control). You can have an omelet for breakfast or dinner. If you're used to vast quantities of meat at dinner, you'll be surprised at how effectively a two-or-three egg omelet and a couple of vegetables will fill you up. Omelets are easy as pie, too, and will take just about anything in the way of filling. Plus, who ever heard of getting an omelet pan for Christmas? ===================================================================== Your Basic Omelet 2 eggs maybe, a teaspoon of water 1 Tablespoon butter a dash of salt and pepper Some variety of non-stick pan is pretty important, either seasoned cast iron, teflon, or even a dedicated egg/omelet pan (if you have eggs once a week or so, this isn't nearly as extravagant or ridiculous as, say, a crepe pan). Anyway, heat the pan under a medium high heat. The idea is to get the cooking over with. Melt the butter in the pan, and whilst it melts, beat the eggs, [water], salt and pepper with a fork a dozen strokes or so (it doesn't take much). When the butter foam subsides and it's almost ready to brown, dump in the eggs. Let them sit a moment to congeal on the bottom of the pan. Then, with the back of the fork on the bottom of the pan, swirl gently around. The idea is to make get the runny part to the bottom of the pan without scrambling the eggs. Alternatively, you can push the congealed part out of the way and let the runny part get to the pan. Stop stirring when the egg doesn't run anymore. Let it sit there cooking until tinged with brown on the bottom and set (but still moist) on top. You can flip it over in the pan (a process which is immensely aided by the aforementioned non-sticky pan), on its way from pan to plate (slide it halfway out onto the plate then flip the panside edge over with the pan. The process is much easier than I've described it. The whole idea is just to have a lightly browned outside and a creamy center without making the thing tough from overcooking. All failures are perfectly edible, though, so fear not. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fillings ---almost any cheese goes well in omelets, from cream cheese to a sharp Swiss. To my mind the best is a mild Swiss, followed by Cheddar, and Jack ---fresh herbs of any kind, particularly basil and parsley ---slices of avocado ---fried, crumbled bacon ---grated Parmesan cheese goes well with almost any filling ---sauteed mushrooms ---or, this stuff: Mediterranean Omelet for 2 6 scallions, thinly sliced 1 clove garlic, minced 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped ...sautee these for a couple of minutes. Then add 1/2 cup or more canned tomatoes, chopped 1/8 tsp. dried thyme Let it cook for a few minutes while you fix two omelets, as above, but substituting olive oil for the butter. Fill them with this stuf and enjoy! ----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/ This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided: 1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles. 2. The following notice remains appended to each copy: The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.