Breaking Some Eggs, or Winter in the Hilltop Kitchen

This has been a great week! The Austerity Campaign is bearing fruit, maybe not great, big, juicy ones, but productive fruit, none the less. We keep hearing horror stories from sales reps about debt collectors, closed accounts, businesses going under... We are okay, but I dare say, if we hadn't reined things in a few weeks back....

My accounts payable are going down, down, down. My wage bill has halved. The inventory is ticking over. Wastage is minimal The Man and I are working harder than usual, and I for one, am enjoying it way more than normal. Life is Good!

Today, everyone wanted omelets. Omelets are actually one of my favorite things to prepare. I know the mere word "omelet" puts fear in the bones of many a seasoned cook. Funny thing, though -- I struggle with omelets at home, but not in the commercial kitchen. I put it down to the well-seasoned skillets and gas cook-top.

I am making a tomato, mushroom and bacon omelet for you! Slice the tomato and mushrooms. Dice and fry up the bacon. When the bacon is done, I toss the mushies into the pan with a bit of butter (Hey, I'm these peoples cook, not their dietician!) and saute until tender. Meanwhile, I heat a bit of canola oil in one of the well-seasoned skillets. I broke two of Flo & Myrtles finest fresh laid, free-range eggs into a bowl, added a bit of cream, parsely, S & P, and gently mixed. Beating eggs is NOT the secret to a fluffy omelet. Like muffins, gentle mixing, until just blended is all you need.

The skillet is now hot, and as I pour the eggs into it, I want to hear a nice sizzle. As the eggs cook around the edge, a gentle tip of the pan, while gently pulling the edge back with a spatula to let the runny stuff flow under, creates the perfect omelet.

Lift, tip and flow until the top of the omelet is almost done, or bavois as the French fancy chefs call it...

Top with your fillings, and pop the pan in the oven for a few minutes. (If you are doing a cheese omelet, this is when you cheese will melt).

When nice and puffy (and the cheese melted and all the fillings hot), remove from the oven.

Easy does it with a spatula, fold and plate!

Bon Apetit!

Now, the Austerity Army's Commander-In-Chief sold out of the lamb-burgers! But, we still have ground lamb in the freezer. Hmmm... Moussaka, Shepherd's Pie or Lamb Burgers again? The Man cleverly points out that the burgers are more profitable. Lamb Burgers it is! And, I get to make them. My Way! Well, we often do the Lamb Tagine recipe from AR as a weekend special. This tagine is GREAT! As the description says, don't back away because of the long list of ingredients, mostly spices. Well, we do this often enough and in large enough batches, that I mix up the 'rub' in big batches. I love doing it because it looks and smells gorgeous.

On to the lamb burgers... Two kilos of ground lamb (about 4.5 lbs), about 1/4 cup of the Tagine spice mix (because it just screams out lamb!), some freshly picked and chopped mint, about a cup of rolled oats and 2 eggs to bind. The Man suggested I use the KA with the dough hook, but there is something deeply satisfying about getting in there with your hands.

Once mixed, it was time to 'scale' the burgers. In the cafe, we use the scales a lot. It helps with portion control and consistency. I made 16 x 160 gram burgers (almost 1/4 pounders) from this.

Now, it is time for a restaurant reality check. We bake our burgers, to a food safe 64 C temperature. I am so sorry, but when you order a burger, it will be re-warmed. It WILL taste excellent, and it WILL be plated to order, but the batches WILL be cooked ahead. Explanation: We may sell all 16 lamb burgers tomorrow. We may not sell any lamb burgers for several days. Raw lamb burgers do not store well. It would also take 15 minutes or so to cook your burger from scratch and I know you are hungry and don't want to wait!

So, lamb burgers done! (Note to self: must make burger buns first thing in the morning -- GO PROJECT BREAD!!!)

And, the highlight of my day! A party of three, an elderly couple with their (ahem) fairly middle-aged daughter. To start, three Tomato and Basil Soups (with home-made rolls, thank you again, Project Bread!). And then, two Akaroa Salmon on Dauphinoise! Mom doesn't eat much these days, so the two Salmon will be shared between the three.

Akaroa Salmon with Hollandaise on Wilted Spinach and Dauphinoise!

(You know what? Bacon grease is the BEST thing for wilting spinach, and I had lots left over from those omelets!)

Akaroa Salmon comes from "OUR" Akaroa Harbour (we look out on it every day)! It is farmed, but it's farmed in the Pacific Ocean (actually, in the entrance to the harbour, which gives it a great sea-water taste,) sustainably, and was good enough for no less then Bill Clinton on a recent State Dinner NZ trip! It's something we LOVE to serve because you can see where it came from as you eat it! NO food miles!!!

This family hung around for ages! They were clearly having a great time. I cleared the table after the soup: "Lovely!". I cleared the table after the Salmon: "Can we take the leftovers home? We keep picking at it, but just can't finish it."

This is NOT me patting myself on the back. This is me feeling like I have made people happy. And, as they walked out the door, apologizing for staying SO long (they certainly had not outstayed their welcome), I thought, that might just be one of Mom's last lunches out. I am SO glad they enjoyed it so much! Oh, there are so many reasons why I like cooking!