OXO Omelets

For the past few weekends, Amy has been an omelet-making machine. People may not know this about her, but as a teenager, she waited tables and cooked at a breakfast joint in her hometown, so she's pretty good at making eggs of all kinds. And what's better, for breakfast, brunch, or dinner, than a light, fluffy omelet filled with all kinds of goodies? Not much, in our opinion! But the recent craving for omelets has less to do with eating them than making them, especially with the amazing tools that OXO sent us through their Blogger Outreach program. We'll get to that in a minute. But first, let's talk ingredients.

Although not a lot of preparation has to be involved in making omelets, we seem to think they come out better when both the eggs and the ingredients one plans to fill the omelet with have gotten to room temperature. What kinds of ingredients do we use? In Amy's mind, every omelet has to have cheese, and we use whatever we have in the cheese drawer or the cheese that will go best with the other ingredients we plan to use. Roasted peppers and onions go well with cheddar. Spinach and tomatoes are lovely with a little feta. Bacon and American - why not? This amazingly delicious omelet (below) was one of Amy's  recent creations, made with a small wedge of Brie cheese, about 1/4 cup of cooked lobster leftover from an afternoon splurge with bestie J, and some freshly chopped tarragon. Oh yeah, that was some good stuff. Suffice it to say, just about anything can go in an omelet so use your leftovers and your creativity. 

Once you have your ingredients together and your eggs at room temperature, you need to beat the eggs really well to get as much air as possible into them. This is what will make your omelet nice and fluffy. We also like to add about 2 tablespoons of milk per every 3 eggs as we find this helps the fluff factor. And this is also where OXO comes in, with their new egg beater. The design of this thing is genius - a no-slip grip handle, a smooth whirring motion in both the handle and the beaters, and best of all, it comes apart for convenient washing. Just throw the beaters into the dishwasher! Love. This. Thing.

Watching your cholesterol? Have an egg white omelet made by using OXO's egg separator. With different ridges to fit different size bowls, it's nearly impossible to make a mess with this. And it, too, is dishwasher safe. But no lie, the best thing OXO sent us was their new "Flip and Fold Omelet Turner." It simply does not compare to a regular old spatula. It is absolutely the perfect size and shape for, well, flipping and folding omelets.  Every omelet we've made with this thing has come out just right and without a struggle. It also is dishwasher safe and since it is silicone, it is heat resistant up to 600 degrees (not that your omelet should get that hot). 

The right pan is also a major part of making the perfect omelet. We always use a 6-inch non-stick omelet pan swirled with some melted butter, and we add our fillings and fold the omelet while the eggs are still a little soft. 

So there you have it, some tips and tricks to making omelets, straight from a former teenage line cook, with a little help from our friends at OXO.

Basic Omelet Recipe

Ingredients:

3 eggs, at room temperature

2 tablespoons milk, at room temperature

1 tablespoon butter

salt and pepper to taste

filling combinations of your choice including such things as cheese, cooked meat, cooked seafood, raw or cooked vegetables, and/or fresh herbs, at room temperature

Crack eggs into a large mixing bowl (OXO's rubber-bottom mixing bowl is perfect for this, too - it doesn't tip!) and add the milk, salt and pepper, and any herbs you may wish to use. Beat the eggs well, until they are foamy and pale yellow in color. Heat an omelet pan over medium heat and put the butter in. Once butter is melted and hot enough for a droplet of water to make a sizzling sound, add the egg mixture. Let sit for about a minute so the bottom will set. Using a heat-proof spatula, gently push one edge of the omelet toward the middle of the pan and tilt the pan so the liquid flows to the other side. Do this until there is no liquid left but the eggs are still soft. Add fillings in the center of the omelet and gently fold one side of the omelet over the other. Cook for another minute to allow the fillings to heat through. Fold onto a plate and serve with toast and a salad for a delicious meal. 

Disclaimer: We received the three OXO egg tools mentioned above for free as part of the OXO Blogger Outreach Program. We have not been otherwise compensated for our opinions which are, as always, our own.

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap (with Recipe for Meyer Lemon and Black Pepper Cookie Bites)

This year, the whole idea of The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap intrigued us and so we decided to join in the fun. In the swap, food bloggers from all over the world are paired up to exchange cookies. Each blogger paid a nominal fee to be involved, then each sends one dozen cookies to three different bloggers, and everyone receives a dozen from three other bloggers, for a total of three dozen cookies sent and received. The sponsors of the swap are donating the funds to Cookies for Kids' Cancer, and even better, OXO matched the donation and sent us all "Be a Good Cookie" spatulas as a thank you gift. Seriously fun stuff!

The cookie we decided to try is new to us this year, and it's basically Chow's Meyer Lemon and Black Pepper Cookies with the one minor addition of lemon oil. We also made ours into smaller bites for easier packaging, as you can see, and so we could have more cookies to share! 

We love the delicious sweetness the Meyer lemon zest added to each bite (enhanced by the lemon oil of course), which balanced exquisitely with the subtle spiciness of the black pepper, all in one beautiful bite. And how wonderful is it that the dough can be made ahead of time and frozen? Perfect for this busy time of year. This is probably going to become one of our many go-to cookie recipes for the holidays. We sure hope Lou and Esi, Grandma Loy, and  Lori enjoyed them as much as we did. (Click their names to see what cookies they sent!)

Thank you very much to Jenny, Morgan, and Jenn for sharing their cookies with us (click their names to see their cookies and recipes). What a treat it was to get these packages in the mail knowing they were filled with yummy goodies.

Meyer Lemon and Black Pepper Cookie Bites

minimally adapted from Chow

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup loosely packed, finely grated Meyer lemon zest (from about 4 medium  or 6 small lemons)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon lemon oil

Whisk together the flour, zest, baking powder, pepper, and salt in a medium bowl to break up any lumps; set aside. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until lightened in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle with a rubber spatula. Return the mixer to medium speed, add the egg, vanilla, and lemon oil, and beat until incorporated. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle with the rubber spatula.Turn the mixer to low speed and slowly add in the reserved flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and divide it in half. Roll each portion into a log measuring the desired diameter. Wrap each log tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 3 days (or freeze up to one month). When ready to bake the cookies, heat the oven to 350°F and arrange the racks to divide the oven into thirds. Remove the dough logs from the refrigerator (allow to thaw if frozen), remove the plastic wrap, and slice the dough into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Place the rounds about 1/2 inch apart on 2 baking sheets (about 20 cookies per sheet). Place both sheets in the oven and bake for 6 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom and bake until the edges of the cookies are firm but the tops are still soft, about 6 to 7 minutes more. Place the baking sheets on wire racks and let them cool for 5 minutes. Using a flat spatula, transfer the cookies to the wire racks to cool completely.

To see all the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap recipes, and to get some wonderful holiday ideas for yourself, go to The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap recipe roundup.