"It was imprudent of us, in the first place, to become authors. We could have become something regular, but we managed not to.
We were lucky, but we were also determined." Roy Blount Jr

"I don’t change the facts to enhance the drama. I think of it the other way round, the drama has got to fit the facts,
and it’s your job as a writer to find the shape in real life."
Hilary Mantel

Monday, August 04, 2008

To Make an Omlet (sic) Divers Ways

I combined elements of several recipes to make my supper omelet. The ones I incorporated were:

The Second Way
Take twelve eggs, and put to them some grated white bread, parsley minced very small, some sugar beaten fine, and fry it well on both sides.

The Sixth Way
Beat the eggs, and put to them a litle cream, a little grated bread, a little preserved lemon-peel minced or grated very small, and use it as the former.

The Ninth Way
Made with eggs and a little cream.

The Eleventh Way
Mince some parsley very small being short and fine picked, beat it amongst the eggs, and fry it. Or fry the parsley being grosly cut, beat the eggs, and pour it on.

The Thirteenth Way
Take endive that is very white, cut it grosly, fry it with nutmeg, and put the eggs to it, or boil it being fried, and serve it with sugar.

The Fourteenth Way
Slice cheese very thin, beat it with the eggs, and a little salt, then melt some butter in the pan and fry it.

Deleting all the stuff I didn't have (endive, lemon peel, borage--the latter two are at the Lodge, not here) and putting together the rest, we have...

My Way
Take two eggs and beat them with a little cream, parsley flakes, a little salt and less sugar, a little grated bread, and some grated cheese. Fry (i.e. sauté) in butter some spinach "grossly cut" with nutmeg. Pour egg mixture over it and cook on both sides until done.

This is what you get:



It was thoroughly delicious.

In the 17th century, the enormous 12-egg omelet would've been one of many, many dishes served all at once. The nuclear family was a thing unknown, and numerous persons would've dined upon it. Lacking the 17th century appetite, and the outsized retinue, my little omelet and a glass of wine was really all I needed.

The Eighteenth Way calls for fish. The Nineteenth Way involves mushrooms. The Twentieth Way uses asparagus. The One-and-twentieth Way includes apples. I'm sure I'll attempt all of these versions in due course.


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