Fresh Corn Omelet -- The Pan, the Practice, and What We Make for the People We Love

Thanksgiving is next week. I spent this week prepping. I brined the turkey on Thursday (wet brine, 24 hours). I made the cornbread for the stuffing on Wednesday. I made the cranberry sauce on Tuesday. I made the pajeon batter late Saturday night so the pancakes could go straight into the pan on Thursday. I will drive out Wednesday evening and stay at Karen and David's through Friday morning. Kevin and Lisa are driving up from Portland on Wednesday and arriving late. James is driving out Thursday morning.

Karen has been making lists. Karen writes lists when she is anxious. The lists have been getting longer and more detailed. By Wednesday morning, the list on her kitchen counter will be four pages. David has been accommodating by doing exactly what is on the list, which is the correct husbanding move. I have been accommodating by adding my own lines to the list ("Steph: pick up flowers") because Karen likes having control over the schedule and I like giving it to her.

I have been nervous about Lisa. Not about Lisa herself — everyone I trust says she is lovely — but about the fact that Kevin has not brought a girlfriend to a family holiday in over a decade. The last time was a woman named Ashley who turned out to be using with Kevin at the time, a fact we did not know until much later, and the Thanksgiving dinner in 2011 where she was present is not a dinner we talk about. This one matters. I want it to go well for Kevin.

I wrote Jisoo about all of this. She said, "Feed her. Feed her like she is your sister. If she is good for Kevin, she is your sister." That is a Jisoo sentence. It is, I have learned, what mothers say. Karen would have said something very similar. Karen did say, when I told her I was worried, "Make her a pie. Just make her a pie." I said, "Mom, you're making the pies." She said, "Make her a small one. Personal size. With her name." I am going to do it. I am going to bake Lisa a personal pie with her name on it.

Work: I shipped a small patch on Thursday. Priya took half of Friday off for a holiday weekend start. The office was half-empty. I enjoyed the silence.

On Sunday James and I made pajeon for dinner — practice run for the Thanksgiving version. Green onion pancakes, with seafood added (shrimp and squid), fried crisp in my big cast iron. I had forgotten how much I love this dish. The outside crackly, the inside tender, the green onions sweet and caramelized. James eats it by folding it into squares with his hands and dipping each piece in the sauce. He looks, when he eats this way, like someone I married. Which I am going to, in ten months. The ring on my hand is starting to feel normal. I am starting to believe it.

The recipe this week is seafood pajeon. Flour, rice flour, egg, ice water, salt. A lot of green onions. Shrimp and squid. Fry in enough oil to matter. Dip in the soy-vinegar-sesame sauce. Eat with the people you love. If you love them, and they love you, and the green onions are fresh, it will be fine. Actually, more than fine. It will be what you wanted it to be.

The pajeon practice run with James is what put me back in love with simple pan-cooked food — the kind of dish that doesn’t ask much of you except a hot skillet and ingredients worth tasting. This fresh corn omelet lives in that same tradition: honest, quick, and the sort of thing you can make on a quiet Sunday morning or a half-empty pre-holiday Friday when the office is silent and the week has finally let go of you. I’ve been making it on the mornings I need to feel settled before a big stretch of days ahead.

Fresh Corn Omelet

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 20 min | Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup fresh corn kernels (cut from about 2 ears; frozen thawed and patted dry works too)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions (green parts), plus extra for serving
• 1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

Instructions

1. Beat the eggs. Crack the eggs into a medium bowl, add the milk, salt, and pepper, and whisk vigorously until the yolks and whites are fully combined and the mixture looks slightly frothy. Set aside.
2. Blister the corn. Heat a 10-inch nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and swirl to coat. Add the corn kernels in a single layer and cook without stirring for 2 to 3 minutes, until the corn picks up some golden color and blisters in spots. Stir in the green onions, season with a pinch of salt, and cook 30 seconds more. Transfer the corn mixture to a small bowl and wipe the skillet clean.
3. Cook the omelet base. Return the skillet to medium heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, swirling as it melts and foams. Pour in the egg mixture. Let the eggs sit undisturbed for about 30 seconds until the edges just begin to set, then use a silicone spatula to gently push the cooked edges toward the center, tilting the pan so the uncooked egg flows to the edges. Repeat until the eggs are mostly set but the surface still looks slightly wet, about 2 minutes total.
4. Fill and fold. Scatter the corn mixture and the cheese over one half of the omelet. Using the spatula, fold the unfilled half over the filled half. Slide onto a plate. Repeat with remaining ingredients for a second omelet, or serve from the pan family-style if you prefer a thicker, open-faced version.
5. Serve immediately. Top with extra green onions. Eat while the cheese is still melted and the corn is still sweet. This one does not wait well.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 16g | Fat: 21g | Carbs: 17g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 380mg