The "Queen" cookery books: Breakfast and Lunch Dishes

This is the whole mystery of omelet making, and please let no one tempt you to add flour or milk to it. A properly made omelet requires neither, though I admit if there is a chance of its having to wait after it comes to table, a small spoonful of milk is permissible to keep it soft, but in a well regulated dining room an omelet never has to wait ! Two points must be borne in mind ; firstly, an omelet is not a pancake, and therefore should never be turned while cooking ; and, secondly, it should be dished directly the eggs on the top are just set, or it will come to table tough from overcooking, as eggs continue to cook after they leave the, fire. If you keep your omelet on the fire till it is ready to serve, it will be like shoe-leather before it reaches the dining-room. If these directions are carefully followed there will be little or no difficulty in ensuring a nicely cooked omelet, but let me impress upon you that one pan must be kept religiously for this purpose, and, as said above, though kept delicately clean must never be washed ! Of course, if you have it, an omelet-pan is nice, but it is not necessary, for any frying-pan, granted it is flat and not slightly raised in the middle of the bottom as so many are, will do. You must also bear in mind the size of this pan ; a pan Sin. across the bottom is right for an omelet of two eggs or so, up to Sin. for eight or nine eggs, about the largest sized omelet an ordinary cook finds it convenient to make. Having grasped the method it is very easy to vary your omelets. For instance, when beating up your eggs add a small dessert- breakfast and lunch dishes. spoonful of finely minced parsley and chives (or shallot) to the egg mixture, finishing as before, when It IS known as Omelette aux fines herhes, whilst if grated cheese or ham be added, it becomes either Omelette au Gruyere {or au Parmesan) or au jamhon. If, again a due quantity of fried bacon is cut into small dice and stirred with the omelet mixture, it becomes the well-known Omelette au lard. N.B.-It is in this case often cooked in bacon fat instead of butter. Besides these omelets there are the so-called Omelettes fourrees, or stufted. For these an omelet prepared as above, either with or without the fines herhes, is made, and then just as you are about to double it over a spoonful or so of whatever mixture you choose is gently folded in with it, and the whole served as before. For instance, for a mushroom omelet roughly chop 2oz. or.Soz. of nice mushrooms and fry them for three or four minutes in 1oz. of buttei, with pepper, salt, a little minced parsley, and a few drops of lemon juice, and as soon as the omelet is ready, introduce this mince into it as you fold it. Kidney Omelet.— Slice three or four sheep's kidneys rather thinly and sautez them in butter over a sharp fire till cooked ; now pour off the butter, dust a little floui into the pan, together with some minced parsley, chives, and, if liked, mushroom, add a gill of any light stock and a glass of white wine (preferably Chablis or Grave) ; stir it all well over the fire for a minute or two, then fold it in an omelet made with five eggs, and serve. Omelette d VIndienne. — Fry a minced onion till nicely coloured in oil or butter, then stir into the same