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           Omelettes...Then and Now
My name is Monique.
I'm a 2-time Emmy Award winning TV Producer.
Having been in the business for over 15 years I've produced my share of live tv cooking segments, but never had much time to devote to cooking myself.

Last year when I got married, I moved out of New York City to the east end of Long Island, to ...wait for it...The Hamptons.

Now before you roll your eyes, there's more to the Hamptons than mansions and celebrities.

The Hamptons have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, miles of productive farmland, plus a rich clamming history that continues to this day.

When I moved out east and realized I was surrounded, not just by the bounty of the sea, but also local farms and vineyards, I couldn't wait to explore and sample my new environment.

That's what this blog is about.  Cooking, living, exploring and sharing those experiences.

You'll notice that my blog is a little of this and a little of that, kind of like a potluck meal.
I'm going to start this blog with the very first thing that I ever cooked by myself when I was 11 years old, an omelette.
When I was a child, my mother would make the most delicious, fluffy omelettes for me.  Sometimes she would include american or cheddar cheese, sometimes just herbs with butter.

It didn't matter, that fluffy yellow concoction was pure joy to me.  It generated feelings of love and security back then and still does when I make my own today.

So back to being 11. My best friend Erika had a summer house in Watertown, upstate New York and often invited me to spend weekends there with her family.
I don't remember much about it.  I do remember that it was a country farmhouse, set near the woods. Then there was a long dirt path, leading from the house, through the woods, ending at the family's own stretch of sandy beach right on Lake Ontario.
I used to love going up there. It was a six-hour drive, which seemed to go surpisingly fast, considering how young we were then. We would sing songs to pass the time, play word games and eventually fall asleep as it got darker. Her father would wake us up when we had arrived.


   (Myself & Erika at the Watertown farmhouse about 1971)

In the morning, we would get up earlier than her parents, make our own breakfast, put on our swimsuits, then head to the lake for a morning swim.

We were so independant then, I can't imagine many of today's parents letting their kids go off swimming in a lake by themselves, but it was different then, I guess. 

There were the four of us; myself, Erika and her 2 younger sisters, Britta and Ingrid, so there were plenty of eyes to keep track of each other and we didn't really swim that far out. 
In the summer, Lake Ontario seemed as warm and placid as a giant bathtub. Yet, it also seemed like the ocean. It was so vast at that point, you couldn't see the other side.  There were no waves, no briny saltwater and no other people ... anywhere.  It was like having the ocean all to ourselves.

One morning I was tired of eating cold cereal, so I announced I was going to make an omelette. The other girls lined up to see if my culinary concoction would be a success or if I would set the kitchen on fire.

It wasn't that hard. I remembered my mother's steps in the kitchen back home, because I had watched her many times.
So I followed them myself, from memory. Even though it ended up being more scrambled eggs, then omelette, it was still good.  And I was more proud of myself for making them, than the actual taste. 

As I got older, I'd practice in the kitchen with my mom looking on, til I got the hang of it.

So while omelettes may sound intimidating to some, they are basically just one step away from scrambled eggs.



Plain Omelette

  • 2 Eggs
  • Butter or Olive Oil
  • Dash of salt & pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons of water or milk

Using a fork, mix the eggs with the water/and or milk.
Heat a medium to small skillet, adding about a tablespoon of olive oil or another cooking oil.
Some people use butter here, but I prefer oil.
Make sure the entire bottom of the skillet is coated with the oil, as well as the sides up to about 1/2 inch.
When you see tiny bubbles in the skillet, pour in the egg mixture.

Allow the eggs to set, watch as bubbles develop along the edge of the mixture as it cooks.

As the eggs cook, lift the edges of the mixture with a spatula, to allow the uncooked portion to flow underneath and cook.

Keep doing this until entire mixture looks fairly solid. You can also flip the omelette here if you prefer a more well-cooked version.

Sprinkle with a dash of salt and pepper.

When eggs are solid, fold the omelette in half in the pan.
Do this by folding one side over onto the other with a spatula and then slide it onto a plate.

Cooking time should run about 2 to 3 minutes.

Once you've mastered the plain omelette, you can begin adding ingrediants to fill it like cheese, vegetables, herbs and fruit.
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