In the Kitchen: Revisiting the French Omelette

I had just enough butter sitting in the fridge to have another go at Bill Buford's French omelette, minus the aux fines herbes. (Are the italics The New Yorker's way of indicating a foreign word or phrase?) I've made a few omelettes since the last time I tried Buford's method, but those were an exercise in brutality - torch the hell out of some whisked eggs and roll.

The best part about attempting Buford's version is watching his video and reading the accompanying article. Buford's method relies heavily on getting the temperature of the pan correct, which sets the butter and eggs on a path towards success. He also mixes his eggs with a fork instead of whisking them.

Buford won't accept a pan and butter that are too cool or too hot. He wants the butter to sing. I tossed my butter in the pan and it screamed. Unfortunately, that was the last of the butter. I removed the pan from the heat for a bit, but it wasn't long enough, and I figured I'd just be introducing other errors. Sorry, eggs; into the volcano you go.

I ticked off most of the failure indicators Buford mentions in the article and video. Dejected, there was nothing to do but throw on the Los Roast green chiles. The omelette tasted okay to me, but I haven't got sophisticated tastes. Still, I'd like to get it right one of these days, just to see if I can tell the difference.