Those who know Julia Child's story know her fame was launched with the publication of the massive cookbook "Mastering The Art Of French Cooking", a collaboration with Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck. It was originally published in 1961, then a revision (which reflected modern innovations such as the food processor) was published in 1983.
The original French omelette is a bit different than what you get at IHOP, etc. Though lightly browned on the outside, the inside should still be creamy. And fillings are optional; an omelette made just with egg is still an omelette.
MTAOFC describes a couple of methods to make omelettes. L'Omelette Roulée a.k.a. "rolled omelette" takes a little more skill but is utensil-free, aside from beating the eggs. It works better over gas than electric.
This is from MTAOFC revised edition, Vol 1, page 132.
This is a very fast cook, less than a minute. You need to have everything ready to go (mise en place) before you start cooking. A standard 2-3 egg omelette works best in a #5 with 1TB butter. In this example I was cooking 1 egg omelettes in a #3 for the kids.
Melt butter over high heat. After bubbling subsides, add your scrambled egg (scrambled with salt and pepper). Let set for about 3 seconds.
Pick up the pan and hold it at a 20 degree angle. Give it sharp jerks towards you, about 1 per second. This should keep the egg separated from the pan and even out the liquid top without folding anything over.
If you're going to add toppings, do it now (after a few jerks). In this case I used a 3-cheddar blend.
Increase the angle of the pan and continue the 1 second jerks. This should fold it over a bit with each jerk, rolling it up. After it has shaped, hold it at the angle for a few seconds to lightly brown the bottom.
To serve, grip the handle with your off hand from the bottom with your thumb pointing away from the pan, like you would hold a knife if you were to stab downwards. Hold the plate in your other hand angled towards the pan, then flip the pan over, gently dumping the omelette onto the plate (in this pic I couldn't hold the plate because I was working the camera).
The original French omelette is a bit different than what you get at IHOP, etc. Though lightly browned on the outside, the inside should still be creamy. And fillings are optional; an omelette made just with egg is still an omelette.
MTAOFC describes a couple of methods to make omelettes. L'Omelette Roulée a.k.a. "rolled omelette" takes a little more skill but is utensil-free, aside from beating the eggs. It works better over gas than electric.
This is from MTAOFC revised edition, Vol 1, page 132.
This is a very fast cook, less than a minute. You need to have everything ready to go (mise en place) before you start cooking. A standard 2-3 egg omelette works best in a #5 with 1TB butter. In this example I was cooking 1 egg omelettes in a #3 for the kids.
Melt butter over high heat. After bubbling subsides, add your scrambled egg (scrambled with salt and pepper). Let set for about 3 seconds.
Pick up the pan and hold it at a 20 degree angle. Give it sharp jerks towards you, about 1 per second. This should keep the egg separated from the pan and even out the liquid top without folding anything over.
If you're going to add toppings, do it now (after a few jerks). In this case I used a 3-cheddar blend.
Increase the angle of the pan and continue the 1 second jerks. This should fold it over a bit with each jerk, rolling it up. After it has shaped, hold it at the angle for a few seconds to lightly brown the bottom.
To serve, grip the handle with your off hand from the bottom with your thumb pointing away from the pan, like you would hold a knife if you were to stab downwards. Hold the plate in your other hand angled towards the pan, then flip the pan over, gently dumping the omelette onto the plate (in this pic I couldn't hold the plate because I was working the camera).
