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'Omelette making is both very simple and very difficult.'

- Jacques Pepin, Complete Techniques

4. Bacon omelette

 This recipe--which appears under the headings of 'bacon' and 'omelette'--proves the French are dangerous people. Larousse Gastronomique asks the reader to fry bacon in butter.

 The recipe is dead simple. You dice some rindless bacon. You fry the diced bacon in a little bit of butter. You combine the bacon with eggs (I used 3 eggs and a single piece of 'short cut' bacon as I'm cooking for myself today) and then cook it as you would a normal omelette. Noticeably absent from the recipe is any mention of milk.

When it comes to making omelettes, I follow Jacques Pepin's method. I use a little bit of butter as a frying medium. I agitate the pan gently and use a fork to stir the eggs as they cook, ensuring even coagulation. Once the mixture is reasonably stable, I attempt to fold it over itself (this bit can be a bit messy) to form an 'envelope.' I fry the envelope briefly on each side--no more than a few seconds--and then turn the stove off. The residual heat in the eggs and pan is enough to lightly cook the centre. An omelette is true fast food. The basic model can be prepared in a couple of minutes and can be enlived with simple garnishes and seasonings--some diced ham, some chopped herbs, some grated cheese--to elaborate stuffings.

The final product, in this instance, is garnished with a piece of bacon and seasoned as the cook sees fit. I was really happy with my result--the presentation sucked, but I can work on that, but the omelette was wonderfully creamy. Pepin says that a making omelettes is at once easy and challenging and he's right. If you approach this dish with heavy hands you'll overcook it and end up with a rubbery lunch.