On January 12th, I attended the 2009 Mid-Atlantic Innkeepers and Trade Show Conference at “The Homestead”, a historic resort established in 1766 outside of Roanoke, Virginia. What a beautiful place. It’s nestled in the spectacular Blue Ridge Mountains.  Though the exterior of the resort is still its original, the inside has been brought up to the most modern hospitality standards and is absolutely luxurious.

I was invited by the Virginia Egg Council to give an omelet workshop to the Innkeepers and Bed and Breakfast owners who attended the conference. An omelet workshop is a way of permitting guests to make their own omelets. I ship tabletop burners, ladles, spatulas, etc. to the venue where the event will occur, and the venue supplies the omelet filling ingredients. Though the logistics sound unwieldy, it’s actually quite simple (as you can see in the pictures below).  I allow one “cooking station” (burner and pan and omelet ingredients) for every 10 guests, so, if there are 100 guests, 10 stations are set up. At the start of every event, I demonstrate the easy 40-second omelet making technique to the group.  If each guest actually prepares their omelet in the 40-second to 1-minute time frame, all of the cooking is accomplished in 10 or 15-minutes total. Really! Because I have given the omelet workshop to this Virginia group in the past, I decided to raise the bar this time. Rather than filling one side of the omelet and folding it, I had them sprinkle their ingredients all over the top of it. They slid the whole omelet out of the pan and onto a warm flour tortilla already waiting on the dinner plate. Then, the tortilla is rolled with the omelet inside and cut in half making a perfect omelet wrap.

It was an experiment. Could a hundred people cook an omelet, fill it, slide it onto a tortilla, roll it and walk away with it in a minute or so’s time? The answer is YES! Well, most took about 90-seconds or slightly longer, but it didn’t matter. Our guests were so pleased to learn this new spin on breakfast that the event was a huge success. It all couldn’t have happened without Cecilia Glembocki and Mary Rapoport from the Virginia Egg Council who not only coordinated this opportunity with the group, but plunged right into every aspect of the event’s planning and execution.  Tip o’ the hat to them!

Here is the recipe for an omelet wrap.

TEX-MEX OMELET WRAP

For the omelet

• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons of water
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 1 burrito size flour tortilla (at least 10” dia.)

For the filling

• ¼-cup diced red & green peppers, combined
• ¼-cup diced red onion
• ½-cup diced pre-cooked bacon, chicken, shrimp and/or ham
• ¼-cup diced fresh tomato
• ¾-cup shredded cheddar and/or jack cheese
• 3 or 4 tablespoons salsa

Heat a 10-inch omelet pan.  Heat the tortilla in the hot pan for about 15-seconds on each side.  Place the tortilla on a serving plate.

To make the omelet:
Beat together eggs and water until blended.  In the same omelet pan, heat butter or margarine until it sizzles.  Pour in egg mixture.  With an inverted spatula pull cooked portions of egg from the perimeter of the pan to the center so uncooked egg can reach the hot pan surface, tilting the pan and moving it as necessary.  Continue until the egg is set and will not flow, but is still moist on top.

Sprinkle all of the filling all around the top of the omelet.  Holding the plate with the tortilla in one hand and the omelet pan in the other, slide the omelet on top of the tortilla.  Roll the tortilla (don’t do it too tightly).  Fold the sides inward first, then roll from the back forward.

To serve:
Slice the rolled tortilla in half.  Place one half horizontally on the plate and lean the other half upright against it.  Puddle some salsa, guacamole and/or sour cream on the plate.  Makes 1 serving.

Last week, I headed down to Phoenix to judge Arizona’s egg entries for the 2009 White House Easter Egg display. The event was hosted by Hickman Farms, Arizona’s largest egg farm, and held at the Banner Estrella Medical Center.

Each year, every state commissions a local artist to decorate an Easter egg that best “screams” the state’s image to be featured in the White House Visitors Center throughout the Easter season. Before the eggs go on display, all of the artists are invited to the White House for a luncheon with the First Lady. This year, everyone is especially excited about meeting Michelle Obama.

After carefully judging the 8 beautiful and creative entries, the egg that won the competition was oh, so delicate. The shell was cut away to reveal a tiny “scene” inside depicting tiny model cowboys and Indians in a colorful desert setting with a painted grand canyon in the distance. The whole scene was smaller than a square inch! The artist surely had a very steady hand, tiny fingers and a huge magnifying glass to accomplish it!

I was also in Arizona to help call attention to the importance of breakfast to the media that assembled at the event. From 4:30 a.m. (!) to 9 a.m., I turned out cheese omelets for the doctors, nurses, nutritionists and other staff, many of whom already understood the importance of breakfast. While I whipped up the omelets, I discussed eggs’ nutrition, versatility and, of course, their deliciousness. I also stressed some recent research which showed that eating eggs for breakfast resulted in eating less food in general throughout the rest of the day. One television station appreciated this information so much they did a 1-minute or so segment with me outlining the benefits of eating eggs, which made me quite happy.

 Here are some of the official state eggs from 2008’s Easter display!