October 6, 2011: The 20 Layer Omelet Mille-Feuille! Halloween swag from the Picardos! Recommend me an anime series!

Now that I'm back home and have access to my kitchen, I can finally start cooking again.  Pictured above is my latest culinary foray.  I want to call it an Omelet Mille-Feuille but the actual name of the dish slips my mind.  It's a variation on an old Alain Ducasse recipe which sees five different omelets stacked to form a colorful multi-layer edible extravaganza.  I say it's a variation of the Ducasse recipe because the actual recipe calls for five layers while this version contains twenty.  It's not that I was feeling particularly bold on the day.  I was simply making due with what I had to work with – specifically, a tiny telfon-cloated frying pan that would only permit me to make mini omelets.

My lovely assistant prepares to slice and dice.

After chopping up the various ingredients for the various omelets, my assistant whisked ten eggs, two in each bowl, and then added the ingredients: 1. Parmesan, thyme and chives, 2. Roasted pepper, sliced cucumbers, and parsley, 3. Diced black olives, 4. Diced tomatoes and avocado, 5. Caramelized onions and chervil.

She then proceeded to cook the omelets in that tiny teflon-coated frying pan with a touch of butter and olive oil, alternating and stacking to create the multi-layer marvel -

A closer look at those twenty layers.

Once stacked, we set another dish atop it, sealed it in cling wrap, then set a heavy can on top and chilled it in the refrigerator.  One hour later -

Voila!

It was surprisingly good.  I say "surprisingly" because I never imagined eating eggs as a satisfying dinner (I admit to hedging my bets with some leftover spicy Korean pork).  Even Akemi was surprised, informing me it was so good it didn't even need Ketchup!  How's that for a glowing review?

Look at what arrived in the mail today from Linda, Bob Picardo's wife (note the vampire pug sticker).  Every Halloween, she and Bob deck out their house in super spooky fashion, transforming their lovely home into a haunted estate that would make many horror film set decorators ghoul green with envy.  I was keen to find out what she'd sent but knew I had to wait for Akemi to get back from the hairdresser before I could start unwrapping.  Or face her ninja wrath.

The swag: halloween post-its, mini pumpkin candles, mini bat candles, and a tie for the discerning zombie.  Perfect timing as Akemi has been on a candle tear lately and absolutely loved the assortment, immediately lighting up two pumpkins and a bat for our special candlelit dinner.

I emailed Linda to thank her and asked her to send me pics of their haunted house come Halloween.  You WILL be amazed.

On the anime front, just finished this -

Darker Than Black

Excellent – although Akemi was so spooked by certain episodes she was afraid to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.  A great series – smart, thrilling, with some wonderfully detailed personalities and a story that isn't afraid to take chances and actually off a character or two.  Or three.  Highly recommended. Anyone seen it?  If so, I'm ready to move on to my next series and I'd appreciate some recommendations

Tagged: Darker Than Black