Ellen's Monthly Recipe

FEBRUARY 2012

Spring is just around the corner and we can almost feel the first stirrings of new awakenings trying to push through the last vestiges of winter.  The Celtic calendar actually holds a day in early February that celebrates and rejoices in all the opportunities that are about to come forward alongside the sun returning too.  Candlemas is traditionally celebrated on the second day of February and reminds us that contrary to what we might think the days are continuing to lengthen and the darkness of the previous season is receding.  The Celts believe that this rebirth of the sun enters us into a ‘comforting’ part of their Wheel of Life while also offering us limitless reserves of renewed vitality and strength.  This next recipe will offer those same qualities as well giving us all an opportunity to bless and thank our own homes for protecting from the outside elements and keeping us safe and warm these past few months.  If the mood or the match strikes you can also light an orange candle while cooking this meal on order to represent and symbolize the return of the sun and of the bright to our lives.

CANDLEMAS OMELET
Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 large eggs, separated
4 tablespoons cream (1 per egg)
2 tablespoons salted butter
1 teaspoon olive oil
¾ cup blue cheese
Course salt and pepper to taste
Sprigs of fresh rosemary and fresh orange slices as garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and in a bowl beat the whites of the eggs until they form stiff peaks.  In another mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks until slightly thickened.  Add the milk to the YOLK mixture and season with the salt and pepper.

Melt the butter in a large ovenproof skillet and add a teaspoon of olive oil and wait until sizzling.  Fold the yolk mixture into the beaten whites and pour the entire mix into the heated skillet.  Turn the heat to LOW and cook slowly allowing the omelet to slightly brown on the underside.  This will take about ten minutes.

Remove the skillet from the stovetop and place in the oven.  Bake until the eggs are lightly browned on top, about 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and make a deep crease across the center of the omelet with a spatula.  Sprinkle ½ cup of the cheese onto the eggs and fold omelet in half without breaking.  Roll the omelet onto a platter and top with rosemary sprigs and fresh orange slices.