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One thing I do not like in my omelets is so much cheese that it's transmogrifies into a protein-based grease delivery system.
The first way to reduce the volume of cheese--cheddar, of course--but not the flavour is to use Old cheddar, not the medium or the mild.
Secret Weapon No. 1 is to use a medium grater. The holes are about 1/8" wide; mine is a hand-paddle grater but I've seen box graters with both the large and medium holes. Why? Because the thinner that cheese is cut, the easier it is for the warmth of your mouth to melt it and spread that tangy goodness all over your taste buds. But! If you have only a large hole grater, just use a chef's knife to chop it into smaller pieces.
Not So Secret Weapon No. 1 is to use a 7" or 8" teflon frying pan to make 2 or 3-egg omelets. If you use more eggs for more servings, go to a 9" or 10" pan.
You'll also need a spatula of some kind.
It goes without saying (well, it does now) that goodies such as mushrooms, onions, bell peppers have been sauteed in advance of making the omelet.
So, by request, my recipe for the Cheesiest Tasting Omelet w/Surprisingly Little Cheese:
* pre-cooked omelet goodies
* 2-3 eggs, beaten with fork in small bowl
* small dab of butter - maybe a teaspoon
* 1 oz. old cheddar (about the size of a golf ball)
Preheat your frypan over medium high heat. Add butter to pan, swirl/smoosh with spatula to coat it as best you can.
Grate most of your cheese portion directly into the pan first (yes, before the eggs), spreading it out as best you can.
Let it melt and start to bubble, then pour in the beaten eggs. Let it sit unmolested in the pan for 2 minutes, then start to lift the edge of the egg while tilting the pan to let uncooked egg run underneath. You should need to go around the pan doing this just once. There will be a thin film of uncooked egg, but that's okay, the heat of the egg will cook it when you roll it onto your plate (not right now though!)
Sprinkle your goodies on, and then grate the rest of your cheese on top.
Lift the edge of the omelet closest to the handle with your spatula. Tilt the pan downwards towards your plate and help to start it into a roll. Then tilt the pan downward even more so the omelet rolls off onto your plate in a neat cylinder shape.
Putting the cheese in the pan first intensifies the flavour of the cheese, and you will get a lot of tang from relatively small amount of cheese.
I -love- "toasted cheese" on/in omelets. Have you tried it with swiss cheese yet? It's AMAZING! Slice a chunk of shallot wafer-thin and saute it in the butter, and THEN put the cheese in the pan...then the egg. You can even saute mushrooms before you add the cheese - as long as you do the cheese before you do the egg.
I learned this years ago from a lil ol Southern lady to cook the "cheese" first. It's amazing how a simple matter of putting in the ingredients in certain order makes such a difference.
One trick we do is fill a parm shaker full of Nutritional Yeast Flakes. It's has a nutty cheese flavor. I sprinkle it in anything that is going to have cheese in it. About a tbsp or so. It's really tasty.
Butter first. Mushrooms and onion went in before the cheese to saute for awhile, then the cheese which quickly began frying, so I lowered the heat to slow it a bit. I used muenster. Beaten eggs and milk last. Turned out great!
For some reason I can see myself making a big mess of this
Tip: Have everything ready next to you. Bowl of beaten eggs. Salt/Pepper. Butter. And cheese. I would have it grated first just to increase your chance of success. And don't walk away from the pan.
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