The fluffiest little 3-Cheese Omelette you ever did see

Three Cheese Souffled Omelette

We've all been there.  You've just woken up.  You're hungry.  You open the fridge and see a few perfect little eggs and a vegetable drawer filled with bits and bobs and inspiration strikes: "I'll make an omelette for breakfast!"

You grab some veg, maybe an onion, some mushrooms, a handful of greens, and hurriedly and haphazardly chop them all up.  You pop your pan onto the heat, crank it all the way up to high because, gosh darnit, you're hungry and want to dig into this bad boy as soon as possible!  

Fast forward to a warbly, flat-ish omelette filled with still-crunchy onions, sad and weepy mushrooms, wilted no-longer-green greens, and overcooked eggs.  

Less.  Than.  Appetizing.  And definitely not what the doctor ordered.

This here is my argument (read: recipe) for the most perfect omelette you'll ever have the joy of whipping up and gobbling down.  A souffled omelette not only looks spectacular from start to finish, it also cooks up in the blink of an eye and has the most wonderful, even consistency.

A soufleed omelette does not lend itself well to veg but, personally, I don't much care for them in my eggs anyway as I find that they are always under or overcooked.  I'd much rather dig into this cheesy lofty little number with a green salad or steamed asparagus on the side.

If the souffle aspect of this recipe seems a bit intimidating, believe me, it's as easy as anything!  Check out this segment on The Marilyn Denis Show where I prepare my Three Cheese Souffled Omelette to see just how simple it is!

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Three Cheese Souffled Omelette

Makes 1 - 7” omelet

3 large eggs, separated
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon butter
2 tablespoons grated extra old cheddar
2 tablespoons grated gruyere
1 tablespoon grated parmesan
2 teaspoons finely chopped chives
Salt and pepper, to season

Heat a 7” nonstick skillet over medium low, arrange your top oven rack about 6-8” below your broiler, and turn the broiler on to high.

Meanwhile, separate your eggs by placing the yolks in a medium bowl and the whites into a very clean large metal or glass bowl.  When separating your eggs, it is important to make sure that no yolk gets into your whites.  Even the littlest bit of yolk or fat can stop your whites from whipping up.

Using a clean metal whisk or hand mixer, whip up the egg whites until they are fluffy and hold soft peaks.  Set those aside and whisk up the egg yolks with a bit of salt.  The yolks need to be whisked for about 10 seconds or so, just until they lighten up a bit. 

Using a metal spoon or large whisk, gently fold the yolks into the whites just until combined.  The mixture will fall a bit and lose some of its fluffiness but be careful not to over stir as this will ruin the soufflé.

Pop the butter into your preheated pan, swirl around a bit so that the bottom and edges are nicely coated, and gently pour the egg mixture into the pan.  Cook the omelette over medium low heat for 1 minute, gently sprinkle the cheeses on top, and pop the pan under the broiler for 3-4 minutes or until the cheese just begins to turn golden.

Remove the omelette from the oven and carefully fold it over on itself and transfer to a plate.  Top with a scattering of chives and a bit more salt and pepper, if desired.

Breakfast for Dinner: Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes

Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes

Mardi Gras.  Fat Tuesday.  Shrove Tuesday.  Whatever you call it, there is only one thing to do today: eat all of the pancakes. 

As a kid, my favourite meal was pancakes and “chachiches” (read: garbled baby-speak for breakfast sausages) so Pancake Tuesday has always been a favourite of mine.  To be honest, I think the tradition of tucking into a big old stack of fluffly little cakes for dinner on a mid-winter Tuesday is one of the only unchanged holiday rituals us Berg’s have.  Christmas has been bent to accommodate new families, Easter is spent sans Mama Berg as she usually skidaddles down South for a girl’s trip, and Thanksgiving is kind of just a free-for-all.  Somehow, thankfully, Pancake Tuesday has stood the test of time.

The idea of “Fat” days has been recently expanded by my hubs’ Polish heritage.  He introduced me to “Fat Thursday” where you are meant to indulge in these gigantic Polish doughnuts called Paczki.  Holy bananas, are they ever tasty but do be warned: some that appear to be filled with chocolate are in fact filled with pureed prune.  It’s not a wholly unpleasant flavour but it is quite a shock when you are expecting a rich chocolate ganache and are instead met with the unctuous, I guess sort of sweet, funk of a prune.

As per usual, I digress.  Back to pancakes.

Here is my recipe for my current fave ‘cakes, lemon poppy seed.  The zest of a lemon and speckley little poppy seeds makes this childhood favourite seem just a little more ‘adult’.  Stacking them high and drowning with melting butter and warm maple syrup on the other hand is a total 4-year-old Mary move. 

One can’t be expected to be grownup all the time.

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Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes

Makes 10 – 12 pancakes

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp poppy seeds
1 ½ cup buttermilk
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla
1 lemon, zested
Butter and canola oil, for cooking the ‘cakes

In a large non-stick skillet over low heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and preheat your oven to 200F.

Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and poppy seeds in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, vanilla, and lemon zest.  Pour this wet mixture over the dry and stir about five times to slightly combine.  Pour in the melted butter, placing the pan back over the heat, and stir the pancake batter just until it comes together but a few lumps still remain.

Turn the heat on the pan up to medium and pop a little pat of butter and a splash of oil in there to melt together.  When the butter is bubbling, spoon about a ¼ cup of batter onto the skillet for each pancake and cook until bubbles start to appear on top.  Check the underside to see if they are golden brown and flip.  Cook about another 1 – 2 minutes on the second side and keep the pancakes warm in your oven until all of the batter is used up.

Serve warm with lots of butter, maple syrup, fruit, and maybe some lemon curd!

Notes: If you’re looking for plain old pancakes, just omit the poppy seeds and lemon zest.
If you find yourself with any leftovers, place a small square of wax or parchment paper between each pancake, wrap the stack well with plastic, and pop in the freezer.  To reheat, just use your toaster!