Smoked Salmon Omelet

Sometimes food is not only tasty, but reminds us of another time and place.

Several years ago Peg and I went Christmas shopping in Seattle. We stayed at the Mayflower Park Hotel and did most of our present buying at the Westlake Center, which is adjacent to the hotel. By the time we reached our last day in Seattle we were worn out, so we decided to sleep in a little bit and order from room service. That was the first time we dined on smoked salmon omelet. We’ve loved that dish ever since, but it requires excellent smoked salmon to work its wonders.

On a recent Saturday afternoon, our son Patrick stopped by with a huge plate of ribs and half a plate of smoked salmon. We nibbled on the salmon and the ribs provided several meals. One morning it was time for smoked salmon omelet day.

I began with an onion and a little olive oil in a small frying pan, then I added the smoked skin of the salmon (cut into little strips) for a little crispiness. Next I added sliced mushrooms, salt & pepper and finally, three thin slices of baked sweet potato.

The second step was to heat up a medium size frying pan. I pored in two eggs mixed with a little salt and couple good twists from our pepper mill. When the egg mixture was just perfect, I added a few shakes of dry Parmesan pizza cheese to soak up some of the egg mixture, slices of cream cheese, the contents of my small frying pan, and then I crumbled a large hunk of tender smoked salmon over the cream cheese and fried tid-bits.

I called Peg to breakfast and served her half of omelet with a piece of buttered multi-grain toast. The only thing that could have made breakfast better would have been a glass of sauvignon blanc . . . and room service at the Mayflower Park . . . and perhaps some caviar.