The Omelet Experience: Part 1

Well, it’s Saturday morning and guess what? There is yet another thunderstorm over Boca Raton. The TV is out, my dog is shaking with fear and I am creating an omelet. I used to think of an omelet as just an egg folded in half , but it is so much more. So I decided to slowly master the art of making the perfect omelet. An omelet is basically an egg pocket and is not always, but usually stuffed with any any combination of fillings (cheese, spinach, tomato, bacon, onion, etc…). It starts off simple, two or three large eggs (I was serving myself) and some salt and pepper to taste. I then beat it lightly with a fork. I then added about a tablespoon of butter to a small sauté pan and put it over medium high heat. I tilted the pan around here and there to evenly coat the pan. Once the butter was completely melted and the pan was hot I added my eggs. This is where it got tricky. After two or so minutes the egg towards the bottom began to thicken but there was loose egg still on top. What do I do with that. I moved my spatula around the outside lip of the pan to let the loose yolk move around. Heres where it literally fell apart, I decided to flip the omelet. I put the spatula down and with both hands on the handle I jerked the pan around to loosen the egg and SPLAT! My omelet was now on the counter top, broken apart and quite colorless. I put the remaining part on my plate and tried to fold it over ( this kinda worked, but not really). Anyway, to my surprise the inside was creamy yet firm and it tasted,well, like an egg. It needs something! I’m going to try again. Keep on cooking teens!

Chocolate, Raspberries, Mom?

Ok, so I know its way past mothers day but I just had to tell you of my frozen truffle experience. I always make my mom something on Mothers Day ( her favorite is Linzer Tart Cookies) but this Mothers Day I wanted to make something different. Well, my mom absolutely loves chocolate with raspberry. A couple a days earlier I discovered a recipe called chocolate raspberry sorbet bon-bons (which are basically frozen truffles) courtesy of Curtis Stone.

First I bought Ghirardelli dark and white chocolate (although you can use whatever you prefer). Then I bought a pint of raspberry sorbet. It’s a very easy process, but as I learned you have to work quickly. The recipe calls for a melon baller but I couldn’t find ours, so I used a tablespoon instead (not recommended, get a melon baller, it’s a lot easier). I scooped about 20 balls and put them on plastic wrap on a small baking sheet. The sorbet started melting and this was not working! I decided to start over, but this time I worked in the freezer (no I don’t have a walk-in freezer, but I wish I did). I simply put the pan in the freezer and reached my hands in. It’s a tight squeeze but there is just enough room to work. Once that was done I left the balls of sorbet in the freezer to harden until I finished the chocolate.

Next, I melted the chocolate in a double boiler (if you don’t have a double boiler just use a small glass bowl and put it over a small pot of simmering water, NOT BOILING! After melting the chocolate (I broke up the bars into pieces) I let the chocolate sit until it cooled (this may take some time). Once cooled I got the sorbet balls out of the freezer. I then stuck a toothpick in each ball and dipped them into the dark chocolate. Work as quickly as possible, or in the freezer like I did. After you are done with the dipping let them sit in the freezer for 30 minutes. After this time take them back out and drizzle with the remaining chocolate of your choice (I chose white, it was a nice contrast and looked really professional). When done place them back in the freezer until ready to serve. These little “bon-bons” are incredibly decadent and it put a big smile on my moms face (and with the big smile comes lots of kisses “ warning”).

Try doing this yourself and let me know how it goes. Enjoy!!!