Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Folks,

While I've stopped renewing CI, it hasn't run out yet. So I had the opportunity to be appalled at their recent "french rolled omelette" attempt in last month's issue. Why is CI's response to any classic recipe always to add more butter or more salt to it, and eight more cooking steps?

Anyway, here's my response:

http://www.fuzzychef.org/archives/Frenc ... -2008.html

Is there an advantage to rolling? I always just fold mine in thirds, but it looks similar. I can't think of one reason to complicate an omelet. Where does CI add more butter? I cook mine in a little butter, but that's it.

trink.

I learned how to do omelets from a 5-min filler clip from Julia Child

I saw this on the CI website, and honestly YOUR photo looks so much better.

Generally, stuff in eggs just does not appeal to me, except in a fritatta.

Lynn

Trink,

There's no advantage in flavor to rolling it. It's just presentation ... a no-filling omelet folded in thirds looks very flat, whereas a rolled one looks a bit better / more interesting. It's also "French" for some value of "French".

It may also be that a rolled omelet is better at not drying out if you have to hold it over in the warming oven ... certainly mine stayed moist. Would take experimentation to prove it, though.[url][/url]

Especially with an omlet with no ingrediants try stiring it while liquid with the end, tip, of the fork. Add ingrediants, if any, after the stiring.

This quite suprised me when I had a breakfast omlet at CIA in the student dining room, as a student, but that is how they do it.

It turns out that if you check Larousse, which I did, an omlet is stired, not just left to lie there and then folded and fliped.

Warner,

Yeah, but I was going for minimum effort.

It was very light, and these were students learing breakfast cooking. I don't do it mysef as I do omlets in non-stick and the fork tines are contra indicated.

CI suggests using a chopstick(s) in a NS skillet. (FWIW. I know this is a "What does CI know? Harumph!" thread).

Pete,

Sure, if you're going to scramble it in the pan, chopsticks make sense. As does a wooden or plastic fork (oddly enough, I own both). However, I discovered that scrambling isn't really necessary at all, if you're just trying to please your family and not Mr. Escoffier.