Baked Ham and Cheese Omelette

MLK weekend and Portland is doing what Portland does on holidays: brunch. The brunch culture here is a religion, complete with long lines of worshippers waiting for eggs Benedict and bottomless mimosas. I do not participate. My brunch is miso soup and rice and a soft-boiled egg, eaten at home, in quiet, without waiting in a line that wraps around the block. This is not snobbery. This is self-preservation. Standing in a line for forty minutes with a nine-month-old and an anxiety disorder is a recipe for a panic attack, not a meal.

I made Japanese-style scrambled eggs this week — tamagotoji — soft, barely set, stirred gently over low heat with a splash of dashi and soy sauce. They are silkier than American scrambled eggs, more custard than scramble, and they melt on the tongue in a way that makes Western scrambled eggs feel aggressive by comparison. I served them over rice with nori and pickled plum, and it was the best breakfast I have eaten in months. Simple food, done with care, is always better than complicated food done with ambition. Fumiko taught me this. Every meal she makes has three ingredients. Every meal she makes is perfect.

Brian took Miya for the whole day on Saturday — his custody practice, though we are still married and the word "custody" should not apply. But it does. We are practicing, whether we admit it or not, for a future we are not discussing but are both preparing for. He took her to the park and to his parents' house and texted me updates every two hours, which was both reassuring and insufficient. I spent the day writing. I wrote for six hours straight, the longest I have written since Miya was born, and the words came like they had been waiting — about Fumiko, about the kitchen, about what it means to cook someone else's recipes after they are gone, which they are not, not yet, but will be, and the preparation for grief is its own form of love.

I wrote something I might submit somewhere. Not to the blog — bigger than the blog. An essay about miso soup and motherhood and anxiety, about the three AM kitchen and the woman who makes soup in the dark while the world sleeps. I do not know if it is good. I know it is true. Sometimes true is enough.

The tamagotoji I made this week reminded me that eggs, treated with patience, are one of the most honest foods there are — no pretense, no performance, just heat and care and attention. I wanted to share a Western counterpart that holds the same spirit: the baked ham and cheese omelette, which rewards slowness the same way. It won’t taste like something you’d wait forty minutes in a Portland brunch line for, and that’s exactly the point — it’s quieter than that, and better for it.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

6 large eggs
1/3 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3/4 cup diced ham (about 4 oz)
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons thinly sliced chives or scallions, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat. Heat your oven to 375°F. Place a 10-inch oven-safe skillet (cast iron works beautifully) on the middle rack while the oven heats.
Whisk the eggs. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and Dijon mustard until the mixture is fully combined and slightly frothy — about 60 seconds of steady whisking.
Add the fillings. Stir the diced ham and half the shredded cheddar into the egg mixture.
Butter the pan. Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven using oven mitts. Add the butter and swirl to coat the entire surface, including the sides. The butter should foam immediately.
Pour and top. Pour the egg mixture into the buttered skillet. Scatter the remaining cheddar evenly over the top.
Bake. Return the skillet to the oven and bake for 20–25 minutes, until the center is just set and the edges are lightly golden. The omelette should not jiggle when you gently shake the pan.
Rest and serve. Let the omelette rest for 2 minutes before slicing. Garnish with chives or scallions and serve directly from the skillet.

Nutrition (per serving)

Baked Ham and Cheese Omelette — When Eggs Are the Whole Point