Cheese Omelet and French toast

It’s such a luxury to be able to get up at 9.00 a.m. and have a leisurely cup of coffee or two before it’s time to make breakfast. It’s Saturday and after a grueling week and a late Friday night at the movies, we just wanted to relax. Unrushed, I was able to prepare a full breakfast of cheese omelets, cold cuts, and (more) slices of quick-melt cheese served with mango juice and more coffee.

When we say cheese omelet in my family, we don’t mean omelet sprinkled with grated cheese. We mean whole slices of cheese, and lots of them, laid on one side of a circle of semi-cooked eggs and allowed to melt before the other half is folded over. I learned it from my husband. It’s something of a specialty that he perfected as a bachelor. Adding chopped vegetables to the beaten eggs is my idea though. Making a cheese omelet is easy. Beat some eggs (I used three) until frothy. Add some chopped onion leaves, parsley, and pimientos and stir well.

Heat a teaspoonful of butter with a teaspoonful of cooking oil in a pan (I used a non-stick pan). When hot, pour in the beaten eggs and vegetables. Swirl the pan for even cooking. Or, do as my husband does. Push the mixture towards the center as the eggs cook. When the mixture is a little firm, lay several slices of quick-melt cheese (mozzarella is best, actually) on half of the semi-set egg mixture. Cook over medium-low heat until the cheese starts to melt. Fold over the other half, cook for a few seconds longer, and slide the omelet onto a large plate.

I used to make French toast by mixing a beaten egg, milk, sugar, powdered cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Thought I’d try using sweetened condensed milk and sprinkling powdered cinnamon after the toast is done. Difference? In taste, not much. In texture, this new recipe resulted in less soggy French toast. We had them for breakfast today. Stir together the beaten eggs, salt, and sweetened condensed milk.

Heat 2 tablespoonfuls of butter in a non-stick pan. Dip both sides of a slice of bread in the egg-milk mixture and fry in the hot butter over medium heat, flipping over to brown both sides evenly. Cook only 3-4 pieces of bread at a time to make flipping easier. Add more butter to each batch of bread. Repeat until all the bread has been cooked. Drain the cooked French toast on paper towels. Place side by side on a tray. Place the cinnamon powder in a sifter and sift on the cooked French toast. Serve at once.