Sunday, August 1, 2010

Flaming Omelet


I do love to play with my food.
So imagine my delight when I came across this book at a recent library book sale.
The Pyromaniac's Cookbook: The Best in Flaming Food and Drink (by John J. Poister). What could be more fun?
I'd never set my food on fire (on purpose, that is; the blazing toasted sesame seeds and the s'more pie's marshmallow topping hardly count, and I'd prefer we not mention those again, thank you for asking) until last fall, when I tried a banana, butter, and brown sugar number that you ignite with a touch of rum. Seeing as that was my first intentional kitchen conflagration, I had my son standing by with the fire extinguisher.
That experiment was a complete success, so it was with supreme confidence I set out this morning to flame my omelet, fire extinguisher snugly tucked away in its kitchen cabinet home.
I am happy to report that the flaming omelet was another complete success. All flames stayed in the pan where they belong. You'll note the lack of spectacular flaming photos because, well, I was a little busy there for a few seconds.
We have lots of these onions on hand at the moment, since we had to harvest them before the bunnies did. So I rejoiced to see this omelet called for onion. And also for blue cheese, which, if you check out this post, you will learn is a particular favorite of mine. I am sure, for the non-blue cheese lovers out there, you could substitute any kind of favorite cheese.
Now get out your little skillet, check the cabinets to see if you have any gin handy, find a nearby relative with a fire extinguisher if you're a tad nervous, and get cookin'.
Oh and please do not sue me if you happen to catch anything on fire.
BLUE CHEESE AND ONION FLAMING OMELET FOR ONE
about 1 T. diced onion (or green onion)
1/2 T. butter
2 eggs
2 t. milk (or cream)
2 t. water
salt/pepper, to taste
1 T. crumbled blue cheese
about 2 T. dry gin, warmed in the microwave for 15-20 seconds
Saute onions in butter until soft, but not browned. Remove to small dish. Add a smattering more butter to your skillet, if needed. In small bowl, whisk eggs, milk, water, salt and pepper. Pour into skillet and cook over medium heat until top is pretty well set.
I like to use the wooden spoon to gently lift up the edges of the egg as it's cooking, tilting the pan so the runny part makes its way to the pan's edge. If the center of the omelet is still too gooey for my liking, I'll poke a couple small holes in the middle to let the egg run down to the pan's bottom to cook.
When eggs are pretty set, sprinkle on the onions and the blue cheese. (Poister also added green olives and chopped parsley here, but I did not.) While top of omelet is still creamy, fold over, add the warmed gin, and light on fire. Make sure your wooden spoon is not still on the edge of your pan (ahem). Serves one. Deliciously.
Quote from The Pyromaniac's Cookbook: "The pyrotechnical display connected with flaming dishes does and should have a positive psychological effect on both the server and the servee. At the very least it should be a treat, if not a feast for the eye."
Additional note: If you check out the Amazon link to this book, you'll see a very sweet review written by the author's son.

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12 Comments:

Blogger Joanne said...

I love the idea of setting my food on fire! All of the sake of flavor of course. Not because I'm a pyromaniac or anything...

This looks fantastic!

August 1, 2010 at 11:20 AM  
Blogger Julie said...

How fun! The omelet looks great. I got to set my food on fire when I made beef bourgignon (or however it's spelled). I got a kick out of it!

August 1, 2010 at 11:44 AM  
Blogger Lynn said...

Julie, I've never heard of a boeuf bourgignon that you get to set on fire! Sounds like fun :) Did you post about it?

August 1, 2010 at 12:17 PM  
Anonymous jacque said...

Ummmm, love anything with blue cheese and onions! Great recipe!

August 1, 2010 at 12:45 PM  
Blogger Mimi said...

A planned kitchen fire, sounds like fun to me.
Mimi

August 1, 2010 at 3:47 PM  
Anonymous Faith said...

I don't think food gets more fun than this! Love the blue cheese/red onion combo!

August 1, 2010 at 4:20 PM  
Anonymous Juliana said...

Wow, never heard of flaming omelet...sounds fun and I am sure it wakes you up for sure :-)

August 2, 2010 at 10:29 AM  
Blogger The Bumbles said...

I will give this to Andy as he loves Blue Cheese too - not me. I'll let him test it out on his own omelet first. But you just turn it into Sparky and that's it? Does it not fry to a crisp? Or is it just a brief burst and then it goes out on its own? I don't get it. Likely because I don't get the concept of stoves in general. But you understood that about me already.

August 3, 2010 at 11:28 AM  
Blogger Lynn said...

Good questions, The Bumbles. Yes, you light the alcohol on fire and the flames go out on their own in probably five seconds or so. The alcohol is burned off, leaving an indefinable yummy taste afterwards -- not booze-tasting, just an interesting, hard-to-pinpoint flavor that's really good. And watching the flames is fun, too ;) I'm going to do this again, soon.

August 3, 2010 at 12:21 PM  
Blogger teresa said...

this is so fun! i need to show this to my husband, he's always looking to set stuff on fire!

August 3, 2010 at 3:01 PM  
Blogger Moore Minutes said...

This post is fascinating to me because lately I have been wanting to flame my food! I'm intrigued for sure. And this recipe sounds incredible. :)

August 4, 2010 at 3:01 PM  
Blogger Miss Meat and Potatoes said...

What an awesome book and recipe! I love finding slightly obscure gems like these. So glad you shared it.

Have a great weekend!

August 13, 2010 at 10:20 AM  

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