Granny’s Omelets

Ingredients:

1 medium-sized Granny Smith apple, cored, quartered, and sliced very thin

sprinkle of cinnamon

a pat of butter (scant tablespoon is fine)

3 eggs (ethically raised; free-range and vegetarian fed)

1 1/2 T water or milk

pinch of salt

a hearty sprinkling of white cheddar cheese, shredded (I used a combination of smoked cheddar and plain cheddar for a depth that wouldn’t overpower the apples; get cheese from pastured cows if at all possible)

In a good omelet pan (I use a well-seasoned cast iron pan), melt the butter over medium heat while you slice the apple thinly.  I give you permission to snack on the last quarter of the apple instead of slicing it.  Yum!  You will have plenty of apple without it.

Add a very tiny sprinkle of cinnamon to the melted butter, but be careful–this is easy to overdo.  You want only the slightest suggestion of cinnamon.  Add the sliced apples to the pan and sautée the apple slices until they are tender, fragrant, and beginning to brown.

Meanwhile, beat the three eggs with the water or milk just until the yolks and whites combine, then add the pinch of salt and mix in.  Once the apple slices are ready, pour the eggs into the pan over them.  (You’ll note my apple and egg amounts look sort of skimpy in these pictures.  I admit it–I  cheated.  I wanted Sabrina’s many-layered texture to my omelet, so I divided my omelet into two separate pans.  Sadly, this didn’t really contribute much, so I left it out of the directions.)

As the omelet begins to set, use a heat-safe spatula to lift the firm edges and push them in so the uncooked egg flows down and makes contact with the pan.  When the top is still very wet-looking but nothing sloshes when you shake the pan or runs when you tip it, it’s time for cheese.  Sprinkle the grated cheese over and fold the omelet in half.  The heat of the egg will melt the cheese.

We like our omelets well-browned in our household.  Julia Child would probably be scandalized.  Actually, she’d probably be scandalized by a lot that happens in my kitchen.  But hey, we’re doing okay.

If you want, you can add a sprinkle of cheese to the top to pretty it up.  We skipped that, as we’d gone for a workout before breakfast and were bordering on ravenous.  This omelet was split between the two of us this morning, but it could work for one person with a hearty appetite.  If that’s not you and you’re dining solo, cut it down to two eggs and adjust the other ingredients accordingly.