Today we watched the master himself, Jacques Pepin, make a classic French omlette on You Tube. At first we thought it would be simple, and his technique was breathtakingly elegant, but once we got in front of the stove, we began to sweat.
We each took a turn, and went through a couple dozen eggs. Our omlettes weren't as beautiful as Jacques', but they weren't super far away either. We've all vowed to practice more at home.
A couple of the students remarked that they had never really liked omlettes before, and I think the taste of an egg that is perfectly cooked is radically different from an overcooked egg (personally, I despise browned eggs, but maybe it's just me.) Sage and Casey noted that the chives, with their baby onion subtlety, gave the mellow flavor of the egg just enough kick to make the simple omlette surprisingly flavorful. Shelbi, who runs our lunch program, donated a beautiful avacado to the dish, and Sage really liked how its perfect silky ripeness complemented the omlette. Lula loved the eggs' tenderness and suppleness, and found the dish comforting and soothing. Jasmine thought it would make the perfect midnight snack.
Here's a photo of Lula's country omlette:
Timing the omlette was a little stressful. I started sweating the minute I poured the eggs into the pan, but it was really satisfying, and a little magical, to see the eggs actually hold together in their beautiful pale yellowness, the color of the winter sun, flecked with little bits of bright green chive, reminiscent of the pine needles on my Christmas tree, which is now languishing in the gutter of Locust Circle, waiting for the composter to pick it up.
Watch this video of Jacques, and tell me how much you love him:
I'm so happy to be back in my apron, teaching my favorite class again!
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