When I became a married woman at the age of 18, I wanted to make our home as inviting as I possibly could, and that meant learning to cook. I watch Julia Child as a youngster with my mom and loved this witty woman who made cooking sound easy. I learned many things from her, and one of them was the omelet. I mastered "the flip" readily enough and my eggs were always so creamy and good.
Over the years I have adopted a more "Americanized" way of making omelets, including fillings like cheese and vegetables. I've learned about frittatas and scrambled eggs and have included them in our breakfasts. When #Winophiles host Cindy from Grape Experiences choose this theme, I knew I had to go back and look at omelets again.
I have the first cookbook that Julia Child wrote, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and it is a well-loved volume. My husband and I would pour over which recipes we wanted to try. It was so fun to find French favorites, and when we turned "of age" we started learning about French wines at first before we branched out to the other areas of the world. It was a fun time, even when we couldn't afford good wine.
That reminds me though, my husband and I went to an elegant restaurant called Jack's Coronado in Columbia, Missouri to celebrate our friend Al's graduation from vet school. We were so excited because we were all 21, Al had just sold the mobile home he had lived in through college and felt "rich" and we were all dressed up. We ordered anything and everything we wanted: escargot, mignon, gratin dauphinoise, and a bottle of Lafite Rothchild Bordeaux 1969. It's worth about $1,400 a bottle now, so it must have been quite a fortune to young college students! I remember it being a beautiful, big wine, soft to the pallet, with notes of red fruit, leather, and tobacco. It was literally the very best thing I had ever drunk. Thus the bar was set.
So back to the omelet. I created an omelet for dinner, more Americanized, but still incredibly delicious. Thank you, Julia Child, for introducing me to good cooking and fine dining. I cannot wait to discover your Paris.
The wine we chose was Meyer-Fonne Riesling, a wine from Alsace, France. It's a dry, mineral wine, with notes of aniseed and citrus. I was so pleased and excited to have this wine pair so well with the eggs. It turned out to be quite an elegant dish. I'm guessing that Julia would have thought so as well.
Check out these other great posts featuring Julia Child and French wine:
- Host Cindy Rynning of Grape Experiences is recreating Julia’s first meal in France with Dîner Ce Soir: Sole Meuniere à la Julia Child and La Perrière Blanc Fumé de Pouilly 2018.
- Wendy Klik of A Day in the Life on the Farm tempts with Supremes de Volaille a l’Ecossaise and a Chardonnay from Burgundy.
- Terri Steffes of Our Good Life pairs A Julia Child Omelet and Meyer-Fonne Riesling.
- Jane Niemeyer of Always Ravenous presents Coq au Vin à la Julia Child and Savigny-Lès Beaune Pinot Noir.
- Nicole Hudson of Somm's Table surprises with Julia's Rôti de Porc Grand' Mère and Couvent des Thorins Moulin-à -Vent.
- Gwendolyn Alley of Wine Predator entices with Julia Child’s Braised Short Ribs with a Bordeaux Petit Verdot.
- Camilla Mann of Culinary Adventures with Camilla embraces La Vie en Rose with Pink Apples and Pink Bubbles: Tarte Tatin + JCB No. 69 Brut Rosé Crémant de Bourgogne.
Julia's Omelet Terri Style
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon mixed fresh herbs
- 4 slices muenster cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1/4 cup chopped red pepper
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Crack eggs into a bowl.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Heat a 10" skillet.
- Melt butter in skillet.
- Add vegetables and saute until soft.
- Pour in eggs. Rotate the skillet and jerk the pan back and forth vigorously.
- Lay cheese slices on top of cooked eggs.
- Fold over the top.
The omelet is the perfect staple in a cook's repertoire. It can be breakfast or dinner. The omelet has saved me often when I only had eggs and herbs in the garden. Awww Julia!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing all of these lovely memories. And I'm very impressed with your omelette flipping skills.
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