The French Omelette � Soft, Shiny, and Superior

There is no more terrifying experience at culinary school than the French omelette exam. With your classmates rooting you on, and chef instructors watching intently, you head to the stove, with little more than three eggs, and a little butter�okay, a lot of butter�but that�s it.

It�s just you and the ingredients, with no way to fake perfection. A French omelette, or omelet, as we Americans call it, is 10% ingredients, and 90% technique. The good news is, the technique is really simple. The bad news is, it takes a little practice to perfect. But, after making a few hundred of these, you could probably do this half asleep, which is how many brunch cooks actually do it. Just be sure to start the folding as soon as the surface is wet, but not runny.

Feel free to stuff this with your favorite fillings, before folding up, but if you�ve never had one of these before, I highly recommend making one as shown. You�ll be amazed at just how delicious these few ingredients can be, when elevated using this method. Either way, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for one omelette:

3 large farm-fresh eggs

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon cold water

2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 for the pan, and 1/2 for when it�s done)

cayenne or white pepper to taste, optional

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The Parmelet � Turning the Late-Night Omelet Inside Out

Like most late night, post-saloon culinary experiments, I wasn�t expecting too much as I attempted this crispy, inside-out parmesan omelet, so I was fairly thrilled with how it turned out. The caramelized cheese had formed a thin, but protective layer, and since the eggs had never directly touched the pan, they were moist and tender. It might have been the cocktails talking, but I started to think I had stumbled on to some sort of omelet hack, which improves both the texture of the surface, and diminishes the chance of dry, bitter, overcooked eggs. 

I also tried this with cheddar, and it works pretty much the same. There is one catch, in that you need a nonstick pan for this to work, but other than that, not much can go wrong, and so much can go right. Like what to stuff in the middle. As long as you heat it first, a reasonable amount of any classic omelet filling would shine.

This will also work whether you use one or three eggs, depending on the texture you�re going for. Using a single egg is kind of a cool trick, since the cheese layer is almost as thick, and you can really appreciate the crispness even more. I hope you give this great new omelet technique a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for one Parmelet:

8-inch non-stick pan

1 teaspoon olive oil

25 grams (just shy of 1-ounce) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1,2, or 3 large eggs, beaten

1/8 teaspoon water per egg

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

pinch of cayenne

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Soft Hard Boiled Eggs � Cooking with Steam

As vaguely promised in the grilled shrimp Louie video, here is my foolproof method for doing hard-boiled eggs, when we want softer, creamier yolks. This style works very nicely for salads, and above and beyond the texture, we get pure egg flavor, without the sulfuric bitterness that over-boiled eggs suffer from.

Of course, there are variables. Large egg sizes can vary, as does the temperature of refrigerators, so your time to hard boiled egg nirvana may vary. For me, 6 to 7 minutes gives me a perfect runny yolk; 9 to 10 minutes gives me what you see in the video, or a �soft hard boiled egg,� if you prefer; and 11-12 gets you closer to the fully-cooked, classic yolk.

My suggestion is to get a dozen eggs, and do some tests. This steaming method is very precise, and repeatable, once you lock it in. By the way, there doesn�t seem to be a big difference whether you cook one egg or six, but I�ve never actually tried this with a whole dozen, so if you do, let me know the results. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 quart saucepan with lid

1 1/4 cup water

6 large eggs, straight from the refrigerator

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Bacon & Asparagus Dutch Baby, Baby!

I�ve been seeing savory, non-breakfast versions of Dutch Babies pop up on menus lately, and while I�m not sure that means it�s a hot new trend, I figured I would get in on the ground floor with this amazing bacon and asparagus version, just in case.

Above and beyond the ingredients, the most important thing here is using a cast iron pan similar to, or better yet, exactly like, the 12-inch example seen herein. These relatively cheap and indestructible pans are one of the best kitchen investments of all time, but if you don�t have one, there is a Plan B.

You�ll have to do the bacon and asparagus steps in a frying pan, and then transfer everything to a similarly sized casserole dish. Make sure the sides are coated with your bacon fat, and then pour in your batter, and bake as shown.

It will take a few extra minutes in the oven, but just simply bake it until it�s browned, and properly puffed. It won�t work as well, but you should get similar results. Either way, I really hope you give this wonderful bacon and asparagus Dutch Baby a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 large or 4 small portions:

3 large eggs

2/3 cup milk

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/4 cup if packed, but don�t pack it)

freshly ground black pepper and cayenne to taste
1 tsp lemon zest

1/2 cup all-purpose flour *packed 
*push and pack as much flour as you can fit into the 1/2 cup measure)

1 tbsp olive oil

6 strips bacon

1 generous cup sliced fresh asparagus

- Bake at 475 F for about 12-13 minutes, or until browned and puffed

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Easy One-Bowl, One-Step Hollandaise - A Miracle of Modern Science

I'm not sure what specifically that would be, but I assume there�s some kind of science behind this amazing, and possibly modern method I happened to stumble upon. I once saw a chef make hollandaise buy adding chucks of cold butter instead of whisking in hot melted butter, and it intrigued me.

Not enough to actually try it, but enough to make me wonder what would happen if we dumped everything in the bowl at once, and just cooked it all together. No one was more shocked than I was when it worked. And worked beautifully. By the way, I�m guessing I�m not the only person to have thought of this, but until I see proof, I will claim to be it�s inventor.

The only way this doesn�t work is if your heat is too high. I don�t have to tell you what will happen if it is. However, over a low flame (or double-boiler if you�re scared) this will come together very gradually, right before your eyes, and you�ll be able to stop anytime you see fit.  

Eggs are cheap, so give it a try, and see what happens. Being able to just dump everything into the bowl, and make hollandaise in one step is well worth the investment, especially with Mother�s Day coming up. Hint, hint. I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 portions (this can be scaled-up to how ever much you need):

1 large egg yolk

4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed

2 tablespoons cold water

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (you can always add more to taste)

salt and cayenne or hot sauce to taste
NOTE: If sauce gets too thick, just thin with a little hot water.

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