Page:The White House Cook Book.djvu/254

 230 EGGS AND OMELETS.

in milk and any salad, as parsley, onion, celery, the bread being half of the whole; or with grated cheese, a little olive oil, drawn butter, fla- vored. Fill the cavity in the egg with either of these mixtures, or any similar preparation. Press the halves together, roll twice in beaten egg and bread crumbs, and dip into boiling lard. When the color rises delicately, drain them and they are ready for use.

OMELETS.

IN MAKING an omelet, care should be taken that the omelet pan is hot and dry. To insure this, put a small quantity of lard or suet into a clean frying pan, let it simmer a few minutes, then remove it ; wipe the pan dry with a towel, and then put in a tablespoonful of butter. The smoothness of the pan is most essential, as the least particle of roughness will cause the omelet to stick. As a general rule, a small omelet can be made more successfully than a large one, it being much better to make two small ones of four eggs each, than to try double the number of eggs in one omelet and fail. Allow one egg to a person in making an omelet and one tablespoonful of milk; this makes an omelet more puffy and tender than one made without milk. Many prefer them without milk.

Omelets are called by the name of what is added to give them fla- vor, as minced ham, salmon, onions, oysters, etc., beaten up in the eggs in due quantity, which gives as many different kind of omelets.

They are also served over many kinds of thick sauces or purees, such as tomato, spinach, endive, lettuce, celery, etc.

If vegetables are to be added, they should be already cooked, sea- soned and hot ; place in the centre of the omelet, just before turning ; so with mushroom, shrimps, or any cooked ingredients. All omelets should be served the moment they are done, as they harden by stand- ing, and care taken that they do not cook too much.

Sweet omelets are generally used for breakfast or plain desserts.

PLAIN OMELET.

PUT a smooth, clean, iron frying pan on the fire to heat ; meanwhile, beat four eggs very light, the whites to a stiff froth and the yolks to a thick batter. Add to the yolks four tablespoonfuls of milk, pepper and salt ; and, lastly, stir in the whites lightly. Put a piece of butter nearly half the size of an egg into the heated pan ; turn it so that it will

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