Christmas Omelets

Here is the basic omelet. Taught to me by my French mother. Not the only way, but a great way. Gentle folds of fluffy egg, moist and infused with flavors of veggies and herbs - however you chose to finalize it. You can use spinach, tomatoes, ham - you define your holiday colors and flavors - but I'd always vote for cheese.

Just have everything ready on your counter right before you are ready to cook the omelet - the classic "Mise-en-Place".

2 eggs

2 tsp light cream or milk

1/8 tsp dried dill

dash salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbsp butter, or olive oil

2 oz fresh baby spinach leaves

2 slices favorite meltable cheese - I used Swiss

1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

fresh parsley for garnish - optional

Prepare your 'mise-en-place'. That is, get all your ingredients ready and next to the stove before you start! That means all ingredients, pans, utensils and spices.

Omelets cook quickly and must be tended to at all times - there’s no time to run to the refrigerator!

Heat a dash of olive oil in a skillet.

Wilt the spinach over medium high heat with a dash of olive oil in a skillet and transfer to a small bowl.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs together with the dill and cream in a small bowl. Season with a dash of salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat an 8-10 inch skillet (I used a 9-inch blackened steel, but you could use a non-stick) to medium high and then add a dash of butter and/or olive oil. Swirl well to melt the butter. Allow butter to sizzle down over medium-high heat - you should see a bit of smoke coming out of the pan, but not browning the butter much. Now pour the eggs into the pan and allow the edges to set. You should hear a slight sizzle.

Use a rubber spatula to pull in the sides of the omelet, as you tilt the pan to allow the uncooked egg to fill in the space created. Do this for successive sides as the omelet cooks to form folds throughout the omelet.

Once most of egg has cooked, but still has a lot of moisture, turn heat to low and scatter the spinach on half the omelet - whichever half is NOT your dominant hand.

Then top spinach with cheese slices and scatter Parmesan about omelet, and cover pan.

Allow cheese just to melt at low heat - only about a minute.

Season with a dash of crushed red pepper flakes if desired (I use finely ground Turkish Aleppo pepper). Uncover pan and flip the un-topped half of the omelet over the other half. Gently shake omelet out of the skillet onto a plate. Garnish with some fresh parsley if desired.

Makes one omelet.

Cook's Note: I used a 10-inch blackened steel skillet. It is well seasoned - like a cast iron, but much less heavy. I have also used non-stick skillets which are great for omelets but for the concern of fluorocarbons. The non-stick I used for the tomato and cheese omelet below was an 8-inch - which is perhaps the perfect size for two eggs.

You can add whatever ingredients float your boat. For Christmas you could do spinach and cheese and diced tomatoes and cheese for the festive color effect - cook many up - keeping warm in a 200F oven as you progress, and halve or quarter them so everyone gets all colors!

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