471. Omelet à la Vanderbilt.
—Take two fine, sound, green peppers, plunge them into hot fat for half a minute, then take them up and lay them on a dry cloth; skin them neatly, remove all the seeds from the insides, and when emptied cut them into small slices. Put these into a saucepan on the hot stove with two medium-sized fresh, sound, sliced tomatoes, twelve nicely shelled shrimps, and three tablespoonfuls of Madeira wine sauce ([No. 185]), then season with half a pinch of salt and a third of a pinch of pepper; cook slowly for fifteen minutes. Break twelve fresh eggs into a bowl, season them with half a pinch of salt and a third of a pinch of pepper, and beat well for five minutes. Put two ounces of good butter in a frying-pan, place it on the hot stove, and when the butter is melted drop in the eggs, and with a spoon or fork mix briskly for two minutes. Fold the opposite side up with a skimmer, lift up the thick part of the prepared sauce, and place it in the centre of the omelet, fold the other side either with a knife or fork, and let it cook for two minutes longer, then turn on a hot dish; pour the rest of the sauce in the saucepan around the omelet, and send to the table very hot.
472. Omelet à l’Espagnole.
—Put in a stewpan on the stove one finely shred onion, one ounce of butter, a chopped green pepper, six minced mushrooms, and one large, finely cut-up tomato; season with half a pinch of pepper and one pinch of salt, adding a spoonful of tomato sauce ([No. 205]); let cook for fifteen minutes. Make a plain omelet with twelve eggs, as for [No. 450], fold the opposite side, and put more than half of the stew inside of it, say three-quarters; fold the other side up, and turn it on a long dish, then pour the rest of the sauce around, and serve.
473. Omelet Mexicaine.
—Have a pint of velouté sauce ([No. 152]) in a saucepan, place it on a moderate fire, add a piece of lobster butter ([No. 149]) about the size of an egg, twenty-four shelled and cooked shrimps, and season with half a pinch of salt and a very little pepper. Let cook for three minutes, stirring it lightly, then add half of a good-sized, empty and peeled green pepper, finely hashed; cook for two minutes longer, then let rest on the corner of the stove. Make an omelet with twelve eggs, as for [No. 450], fold up the opposite side, pour half of the preparation in the centre, fold the other end up, turn the omelet on a hot dish, and garnish both sides with the rest of the shrimps, pouring the balance around the dish; then send to the table.
474. Omelet Soufflée, for Six Persons.
—Have a deep, cold, silver dish ready, fifteen inches long by eleven wide. Put into a vessel four ounces of powdered sugar. Break twelve fresh eggs, drop the whites into a copper basin, and the yolks of five into the vessel containing the sugar, reserving the other seven yolks for other purposes. Add to the vessel containing the sugar and yolks a light teaspoonful of vanilla essence: now with the wooden spatula, begin to beat the yolks with the sugar as briskly as you possibly can for fifteen minutes. Lay it aside. Then with the aid of a pastry wire-whip, beat up to a very stiff froth the twelve egg whites in the copper basin, which will take from twelve to fifteen minutes. Remove the pastry wire-whip; take a skimmer in the right hand, and with the left take hold of the vessel containing the preparation of the yolks and sugar. Gradually pour it over the whites, and with the skimmer gently mix the whole together for two minutes. The preparation will now be of a light, firm consistency. Now, with the aid again of the skimmer, take up the preparation and drop it down in the centre of the cold dish, ready as above mentioned, taking special care to pile it as high as possible, so as to have it of a perfect dome-shape; a few incisions can be made all around, according to taste; immediately place it in a moderate oven to bake for fifteen minutes. Take it out of the oven, and, in order to avoid burning or soiling the table-cloth, lay the dish containing the omelet on another cold one, liberally sprinkle powdered sugar over it, and immediately send to the table.
N. B.—Special care should be taken when piling the preparation into the cold, silver dish; and the making of the incisions should be done as rapidly as possible, so that success will be certain. When desired, the vanilla essence can be substituted with the same quantity of orange-flower water.