Dean's Awesome Egg White Omelets | Supernatural

Although Dean's breakfast style is more Pig 'n a Poke than cutting carbs, the Mark of Cain has forced him to change his eating habits. He's been getting a lot more green and a lot less fat into his diet with meals like Kale Wraps and Egg White Omelets, aka the Breakfast of Champions for dorks (like Sam). And while Sam looks pleasantly surprised as he declares them “awesome”,  Dean's face reveals my exact thoughts on eating plain egg whites. Because really, there’s nothing quite as flavorless.

That situation is easily remedied by the addition of a bold, FLAVORFUL…but still healthy…filling. I mean, if Dean can eat stomach kale, he might even enjoy my favorite member of the leafy greens family - collards! Throw a little turkey sausage in there, and I think he might even eat this once that pesky mark is removed for good.

Omurice (Japanese Rice Omelet) inspired by Tampopo | #FoodnFlix

There are movies that contain food, and there are movies that celebrate food—this month's Food 'n Flix pick is one of the latter. Touted as the first-ever "Japanese Noodle Western", the 1985 film Tampopo has topped the list of "best food movies" for the past 30 years. But the crazy thing is that I—the person who started this movie-inspired food club almost 6 years ago—had never seen it before this month. I'm ashamed, but I finally righted that wrong by choosing it as our featured film in April.

Okay, so here's the thing...this is a Japanese comedy that might seem strange and disconnected to some. And it is, but in the most brilliant way. Because when you really look at it and really think about it, that seeming disconnect is actually the thread that binds everything together. It's an exploration of the role that food plays in life and all of its aspects: love, sex, happiness, simplicity, the pecking order, generosity, culture, and death.

Masala Omelette inspired by The Hundred-Foot Journey #FoodnFlix

This month's edition of Food 'n Flix features a movie that both starts and ends with food-laden scenes (not mention everything in the middle)—The Hundred-Foot Journey. Based on the novel of the same name by Richard C. Morais, the story begins in India with the Kaddam family restaurant. We see a young Hassan Kadam, already exploring food with his senses under the tutelage of his beloved mother. When tragedy strikes and the family is displaced from their home, they eventually make their way to a small French village by way of fate since sometimes "brakes break for a reason".

As fate would have it, there is an abandoned restaurant for sale in this quaint town...but it happens to be a mere hundred feet across the street from Madame Mallory's acclaimed Michelin 1-star classical French restaurant. And she's none to happy to welcome the competition or the "life" that comes with it.

Asparagus, Brie and Smoked Salmon Omelet

(I think that) every good brunch has to contain at least one egg offering. The quickest and easiest of those options is a good old omelet. I've made approximately 10,573 omelets in my lifetime. As much as I love to eat brunch, I also love to serve it. Many of you probably know that I used to cook professionally in both restaurants and on a large university campus. You don't know brunch-time insanity until you've worked in a college town on the weekend of a home football game.

My favorite place to plant myself on those weekends (when I had to be at work) was behind the omelet station. People love omelets. They also seem to love seeing them made to order right before their very eyes. I had a system, and as long as my pans weren't eff'ed up (breakfast cooks, you know what I'm talking about here), I could get all 6 of my burners going at the same time. It was a blast, it made the day go by fast, and it never failed to impress. I've made them in the highest building in town, in a dining room that had floor to ceiling windows all the way around. I've made them in dining halls for hungry students and their families. I've made them in private meeting rooms that contained a room full of huge, hungry football players and coaches. Some Saturdays I made between 300 and 400 omelets all by myself.

What I'm trying to say is that I can make the heck out of an omelet.

Ratatouille Omelet {Food 'n Flix}

"Ratatouille?  It's a peasant dish!"

While the idea of a rat in the kitchen absolutely does make me cringe, I can put aside those feelings (mostly) when watching an animated film.  No really, over and over in my brain I'm asking why they chose a cooking rat.  Duh.  Because that was the perfect play on words for the story.  Yeah, but they're so nasty. Etcetera...etcetera.  That said, Ratatouille is such a fun foodie film.  While there is plenty of food in it to love, I have two favorite scenes.  The first is when Remy (yes, the rat) whips up Linguine (the person, not the noodle) an omelet for breakfast.  There's not many things I love better than an omelet for breakfast.  Omelets are like tacos.  In that you can stuff almost anything inside of them and they will be awesomely delicious.

My second favorite scene is, of course, when Linguine sets the beautiful plate of ratatouille in front of Ego (the food critic...love the name, so fitting...no?).  A stuffy, elite, seemingly lonely food critic, at that.  But with just one bite of this peasant dish, he is back in his mother's warm kitchen.  The tension (and pretension) peels away and joy fills his soul and takes residence in his face and demeanor.  Because really, food is not about the fanciest or most "gourmet" meal, it about the love, the heart, the soul that goes into making it.  This is what truly makes a delicious meal.

In honor of my two favorite scenes from this month's Food 'n Flix pick, I chose to make an omelet stuffed with ratatouille.  While I made a quick version of ratatouille (which doesn't take long at all, by the way), it is also a great way to use up any leftover ratatouille you may have.  While I sauteed mine, it is also great with roasted or grilled vegetables.

Ratatouille Omelet

from the kitchen of girlichef

makes 1 fat omelet

olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tiny onion, chopped

1 small, ripe tomato, chopped

1 small zucchini, chopped

1 small eggplant

few olives, chopped

fresh basil

fresh thyme

salt & freshly ground black pepper

feta cheese, crumbled

2 eggs, beaten

pat of butter

Begin by slicing the eggplant into ~½" thick rounds.  Set the rounds on paper towels and salt them on both sides.  Let sit for 15-30 minutes.  Wipe off the salt and water, then dice and set aside.

Heat a skillet with about a tablespoon or so olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and onions and saute until softened, a couple of minutes.  Add tomato, zucchini, eggplant, and olives and saute for a minute.  Add a big pinch of freshly sliced basil and a big pinch of fresh thyme leaves.  Continue cooking for another minute or two, until everything is just al dente and fragrant.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.  Throw a bit of feta on top of the mixture, but don't toss it until just before you fill your omelet.  This will allow the feta warm up a bit without getting to melty.

Heat an 8" omelet pan (or nonstick skillet) until it is screaming hot.  Quickly throw in a big pat of butter and as soon as it melt, pour in the beaten eggs, swirling the pan and lifting the edges as they cook to let the uncooked egg flow beneath the cooked parts.  This will all happen very quickly.  When there is just a bit of uncooked egg on top, quickly flip the omelet over and turn off the heat.  Pour the ratatouille with feta on top of half of the omelet, and fold the other half over that.  

Slide omelet onto a warm plate.  Enjoy!

Our Food 'n Flix host this month is Beth Anne from The Seventh Level of Boredom.  Tomorrow Monday, October 31 at noon is the last day to send your entries over to her for the Ratatouille roundup!

I am also sharing this post with:
Katherine Martinelle Eggplant Bloghop

CSN review and an omelet. Finally making a beautiful, perfect omelet again. Thank you, CSN.

If you've held a CSN giveaway sometime in the past few okay, probably more like six to eight months, it's possible that I entered.  In hopes of winning.  If you asked what I thought I would get, should I be that lucky one, I told you an omelet pan...or a skillet.  I probably waxed poetic about the desperation I felt...the dire need for a shiny new skillet that would allow my eggs to slide freely back and forth.  I may have even shed a fat, salty tear just thinking of the moment said skillet arrived and I cradled it like sweet baby.  And yet, I never won any of your giveaways.*  I took my lumps like a woman and went on with my life.  I cursed my scraggly pan that forced me to make puffy scrambled eggs when I wanted a sleek, sunny omelet.  I poached my eggs.  Even when I wanted them over-easy.  I put a smile on my face and pretended everything was all right.  Until one day;  one day when I opened up my email box and a letter caught my eye.  The subject of that letter?  Unique Opportunity with CSN Stores.  Haaaaaaaa-llelujah!  My time had finally come.  I could see plate after plate of omelets on the horizon.  Omelets for breakfast.  Omelets for brunch.  Omelets for 4th meal.  Omelet Gumbo.  Omelets whenever I want omelets.  Life is good.

Wouldn't it be something if I didn't end up ordering an omelet pan?  I did, though.  I even had a little bit leftover, so I grabbed up a couple of wooden spoons, because in my mind...you can never have too many wooden spoons.  I ♥ wooden spoons.

Here's what I ordered:

-All Clad Emerilware Hard-Anodized 8" Skillet
-Paderno World Cuisine Wooden Spoon (L 7 7/8")
-Calphalon Small Wooden Spoon

Honest?  I LOOOOOOOVE ALL THREE OF THEM!  What can I say about the spoons?  They rock.  They're sturdy.  They're beautiful.  Wood is beautiful.  And my long-awaited, slippery, sparkling, fantabulous skillet?  It's t*ts, man.  I don't know how else to put it.  Let me also add, that the shipping on these items was lightning quick!  No sooner had I placed my order than they arrived on my door step.  Basically.  And I was telling you the truth when I said I was gonna cradle it like a newborn.  I held it and stroked it and kissed it all over.  I even gave it a little baby talk.

So, let's head to the kitchen and see what my sweet baby cooked up.
Yes, I want to talk omelets.  Strange, huh?  I've always loved making omelets.  I love working breakfast.  Breakfasts cooks are heroes.  And when you're working out front, in an omelet station, making hundreds of omelets in a shift, people remember you.  It's fun to watch people flip eggs.  Admit it.  It's also fun being the one flipping the eggs.  Win-win.

The single most important tool to have in order to make a great omelet is...say it with me...a GREAT pan.  A torn-up, ghetto pan can bring your line to a stand still.  Don't use metal tools in your pan.  Don't scrape with abrasive cleaners.  Love it.  Coddle it.  Which brings us to our second most important tool.  A heat-proof rubber scraper.  Guard your rubber scraper with your life.  And your pan. As far as ingredients go, I like having everything cooked first.  Set out what you need...and the possibilities are endless...and be ready to stuff 'em in your omelet.  I like using clarified butter the most...as a slipping-agent.  But a light oil or pan spray will work, too.  Although at home, I usually just use a pat of whole butter, unless I already have some clarified on hand.  Have your eggs scrambled and ready to go and then...make your omelet(s).  This is my preferred method.  Have all of your ingredients laid out...I canNOT stress this enough!

Making an Omelet
my way

1. Get your pan piping hot. 
2. Add a dab of your chosen fat and then quickly pour in your eggs.  Lift the edges of the egg as is begins to set, allowing the uncooked eggs to fill in underneath.
3. When the egg is almost all the way set, flip it quickly.
4. Turn off the heat under your pan.
5. Add your toppings over half of the omelet.
6. Fold empty half over toppings.

Watch your omelet slide ever-so-gracefully from your beautiful pan and onto the eagerly awaiting plate.

Tuck in!

You just don't know how happy this pan has made me.  Or maybe you do.  Omelet anyone?

I filled this one with sharp cheddar, salty bacon, and caramelized onions & green peppers.  If you were wondering...

*...as life goes, I actually finally DID win one of your CSN giveaways...a giveaway from the lovely Akheela of Torview to be exact...but that wasn't until AFTER I had the fortune to be asked to do a review.  See, good things DO come to those who wait.  I ordered something else that is entirely as awesome as what I reviewed here today...but I'll  have to keep you in suspense for the time being. 

*I received a gift code from CSN stores to order anything my little heart desired...and then to write a review about it.  I did not receive any compensation to write this review and the opinions are mine.  ALL MINE. My opinions.  Mine.