Recently I've being doing something that I can hardly believe originated with me, but which I haven't encountered before—frying onions (and, sometimes other things, like chopped bell pepper) in the omelet pan before adding the eggs. This adds another, and sometimes welcome dimension to the omelet experience. In this instance, we had an ear of corn left over from a Sunday corn-on-cob feast, and after supper, I cut off all the kernels.

The next morning I sautéed these and some chopped onion in butter—seasoning them with salt and black and red (hot!) pepper—until the corn had slightly caramelized and the onions were tinged with brown. Once I had it the way I wanted it, in went the eggs (beaten with a tablespoon of water and a pinch of salt) and, just as these were beginning to set, the slices of ham and (white American) cheese. I love the totally goopy way that American cheese melts, but obviously something higher toned could be substituted.