Omelets

Cooking teacher Tara Stevens created this recipe spur-of-the-moment. “It was a way to use up a fridge full of eggs, goat cheese and mint the night before my family went on vacation,” she says. “I always have mint in the fridge because my housekeeper, Rachida, thinks it’s appalling if I don’t.”

Chef Ana Sortun is a vegetable genius. Here, she tops her superfast, Middle Eastern-style omelets with a delicious mix of escarole and feta that’s been seasoned with scallion and jalapeño.

The trick to this wonderfully puffy souffléed omelet is to beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks, then fold them into the yolks.

The idea for this creamy-tangy omelet comes from a fish dish often on the dinner menu at Grace Restaurant that includes some of the same ingredients here: shiitake mushrooms and delicate fresh pea shoots.

Sylvan Mishima Brackett uses a rectangular skillet specifically designed for making this thick sweet-and-savory omelet, called dashimaki tamago. The method takes some practice, and watching the "easy tamago tutorial" by japanese1cooking on YouTube can help.

Aki Kamozawa and H. Alexander Talbot, of the food science blog ideasinfood.com, are beloved by chefs like Richard Blais for culinary innovations. Here, they share their method for creating a fluffy omelet from their book, Ideas in Food.

The dill, fish sauce and scallions in this round omelet may seem like an overly bold combination of flavors, but the result is surprisingly delicious. It's also adaptable: Eat it for breakfast or as a quick, light supper.

In a superlative combination of fish eggs and chicken eggs, Jacques Pépin stuffs a classic French omelet with sour cream, chives and diced pressed caviar. For an extra indulgence, he also drapes the omelet with long, thin strips of pressed caviar.

These ethereal free-form soufflés—filled with strawberry jam—are equally good for brunch or dessert.

“I’ve been making a version of our ‘hangover breakfast’ since before I was old enough to drink,” says Mark Canlis. He adds a little whisky to the bacon, along with brown sugar, to caramelize and flavor it. In Scotland, they use “rashers,” or ham-like Canadian bacon.

Why does Thomas Keller make a one-egg omelet? Because the result is so much more delicate and alluring than the supersize omelets made with multiple eggs, especially with a creamy chanterelle filling.

To make tamagoyaki, thin layers of cooked eggs are rolled together into one delicate omelet. It's light and a touch sweet, making it perfect for the Japanese breakfast table.