Saturday, July 30, 2011

StephenC wins Denver omelet challenge - Egg Week Begins



The (spinach) tree line and the snowcapped mountain peaks




The sunflowers of the eastern plains



You have to put these two egg-coctions into the same pan to come up with the concept. There is no original picture.
From Jason Sheehan, food writer for Westword in Denver: “In the October 4, 2007 "Bite Me", I asked for suggestions for a new, true Denver omelet. The best recipe ... comes from my friend Stephen Crout, a champion gastronaut of the first order, who’s as important as the recipe itself, and he’s right. So follow his directions, and then enjoy:”
The Snowy Peaks and Sunflowers Denver Omelet (one serving)
Ingredients:
Freshly prepared Rocky Mountain Oysters; 3 large eggs; 2 tbsp parsley, chopped; 2 scallions, chopped (white and green parts); 1 tbsp Hatch chiles, seeded and chopped; 3 Tbs cooked baby spinach; 1 tbsp butter;1 tsp olive oil; salt and pepper to taste
Preparation: Turn on the broiler.
Melt the butter into the olive oil over medium heat in a non-stick skillet. Add the scallions and saute for 2-3 minutes.
Meanwhile, separate the egg whites and yolks. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to each. Whisk the whites into something frothy (aka plenty of air incorporated).
The idea is to not mix the egg components together. Beat the yolks lightly and stir in the chiles and the parsley. Them into the whites along with the chiles and 1 tbsp of the parsley together. The finished product should have areas of white and areas of yellow, representing our snow-capped peaks and our fields of sunflowers, respectively. You want the whites to stay as puffy as possible.
Slide the eggs into the pan with the scallions and reduce the heat to medium low. Keep the whites on one side of the pad and the yolks on the other. Spread a line of cooked spinach between them. This represents the trees in the foothills below the tree line. Now leave them alone until the bottom has set. Place the pan under the broiler on the second level from the heat source, definitely not the closest level.
When the top of the omelet has just barely set, remove it from the broiler and slide it out onto a heated plate. Top with several pieces of Rocky Mountain oysters and the other tbsp of parsley and serve.
I consider the oysters and the chiles required elements of this omelet. Possible seasonal variations might include warmed-up thin slices of Colorado peaches, steamed Olathe corn kernels, or tiny cubes of steamed Colorado squash. Seeded and diced local tomato would also be nice.
Should a person request his/her server to "hold the oysters," the server should inform said customer that he can't have the actual Denver omelet and should then call out loudly to the kitchen, "One Interloper with no balls." Further, a request for egg whites only should be announced thusly: "White Guy, no tits, no balls." And lastly, a request for "fake eggs" should be called out as, "Wife Beaters, no balls."
May you live long and prosper, grasshopper. -- Stephen


“Back at you.” -- Jason Sheehan

Here's what you do in your head. Imagine putting 5 lightly beaten egg yolks on one side of a non-stick pan along with some scallions (that would be sort of the top photo). The scallions and yolks represent the remarkable fields of sunflowers grown in eastern Colorado.
This caught Jason's imagination and yours truly became a champ. I thought this might be a good way to start off egg week, with something no one else would ever make or even think of making. I'll try not to sprain anything patting myself on the back.






























3 comments:

Unknown said...

Love this idea! Rocky mountain oysters AND Hatch chiles? I'm sold...
It's a little late, but congrats on the excellent review :)

Shu Han said...

Congrats! haha those are works of art ;)

btw looking forward to your egg week. I love eggs. Can't wait to see what else you'll bring us!

Chris said...

Not only good recipes but fun play on word titles.

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