Julia Child has been teaching this subject for the last few decades. Here are the basics:
Break four eggs into a bowl. Add 1/8 cup water and whisk until blended. Add salt and pepper to taste. BTW that's water, not milk. Milk is for making scrambled eggs.
Melt 1/2 Tbsp butter in the pan. Heat until the butter is foamy but before it turns brown (Julia says that makes it taste "cheap.") Pour eggs into pan.
Keep the pan moving as the eggs are cooking so they don't stick. Lift the edges and let the eggs run down underneath. When the top is almost set add filling in center and get ready to flip. Lift the pan and push it forward quickly, then jerk it back. It takes some practice but looks quite impressive. In The Goldwulf Manuscript ch. 12 Spenser notes "I'm very good a flipping omelets." Sure, you could fold it over with a spatula but what kind of gumshoe would that make you?
Below are the variations mentioned in the books.
Spanish Omelet[]
The Godwulf Manuscript ch. 12
- 1 green pepper
- 1 tomato
Slice pepper and tomato, add at the appropriate time.
For authenticity serve with "thick slices of fresh pumpernickel."
Mushroom Omelet with Sherry[]
Mortal Stakes ch. 2
- 1/4 pound mushrooms, sliced thin
- 1/2 Tbsp butter
- 1/8 cup sherry
Heat the oil, add mushrooms and cook, stirring, for five minutes. Add sherry and continue to stir until the alcohol and liquid cooks off. Remove from pan.
Serve with fresh squeezed orange juice and "a warm loaf of unleavened Arab bread." Remember that this book was published in 1975 and the word "pita" was pretty much unknown outside of the ethnic community.
Potato and Onion Omelet[]
Early Autumn ch. 10
- 1 potato
- 1 onion
- 1/2 Tbsp butter
Peel and dice potato and onion. Melt butter and add both to pan. Cook and stir until potato has softened and onion is limp.
Potato and Scallion Omelet[]
Ceremony ch. 2
- 1 potato
- 2 or 3 scallions
- 1/2 Tbsp butter
Peel and dice the potato. Set aside.
Cut off the root end of the scallions and half of the green, then chop.
Spenser and Susan disagree on the next part:
She said: Melt the butter and add both ingredients to the pan. Cook and stir until the potato has softened.
He said: Melt the butter and cook the potatoes, stirring often, until almost cooked, adding the scallions during the last few minutes to soften and just slightly brown.
Serve with biscuits from a mix, boysenberry jam, and Great Western champagne.
Onion Omelet[]
Potshot ch. 62
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1/2 Tbsp butter
Melt butter in pan, add onions and cook, stirring, until translucent.
Serve with biscuits.
If feeding seven hungry gunslingers adjust amounts accordingly. Note that you cannot just make one big omelet for several people. "You have to make omelets in small batches or they don't work. And the pan needs to be cured, and the heat needs to be right. You don't just break a bunch of eggs."