Well Fed Buff serves up tasty dishes to boost your HP, stats and appetite – with that special WoW twist, of course.

My wife grimaces whenever I stop my channel surfing to watch Giada de Laurentiis on Everyday Italian. She can't complain, though, since I do the cooking at home and I use, ahem, culinary education as my excuse for watching the show. Today on Well Fed Buff, I'll do my own celebrity chef impression and continue my trend of outlining perfectly simple dishes that any lazy gamer can whip up at home without messing it up too much. Just like fried bananas, of course, it's pretty hard to go wrong with an omelet.

We're not just talking about any omelet, though, mind you. It's a Monster Omelet! In-game Monster Omelets require a Giant Egg and a couple of Soothing Spices, which really aren't difficult to put together. Of course, the key ingredient is a Giant Egg, which isn't too easy to come by but some delis and well-stocked grocers might have ostrich eggs. One supermarket in Manila fortunately had one in stock, and it retailed for about $14. Because I'm not loaded with RL Gold, I decided to fake the "giant" in Giant Egg and instead took about six normal eggs and beat them into one yellow mass. Since the regular eggs cost about $1.26 for a dozen, I think I made the prudent choice. If you're truly epicurean, however, I do recommend using the ostrich egg which -- depending on the size -- can be the equivalent of almost two dozen regular eggs.

Materials:
1 giant egg (or 6-8 large regular chicken eggs)
1 red bell pepper, diced
2-3 Strips of smoked bacon (Giada would probably use Prosciutto ham)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cup straw mushrooms, sliced
1/2 small red onion, minced
1/4 cup fresh whole milk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup grated quick melting cooking cheese
fresh parsley
salt
pepper

Process:
Brown the strips of bacon over high heat, making sure to reduce the fat and and bring out the smoky flavor. Once done, remove the bacon from the pan and let it cool. Sauté the garlic in the bacon fat in very low heat until nicely brown. Add the onions until it caramelizes, and then mix in the mushrooms. Sauté for about five minutes or until the mushrooms have been saturated in garlic and bacon.

Beat the eggs (or giant egg, if you used one) in a large bowl and mix in the milk and grated Parmesan. Sprinkle a dash of salt and pepper -- these are our Soothing Spices. Using a large, non-stick pan, cook the eggs under extremely low heat until you see the edges firm. When the eggs are about halfway done, sprinkle the diced bell peppers. Take care not to overcook the eggs, as this will make a rubbery, spongy omelet. When you see the egg start to solidify around the peppers, toss in the bacon, sautéed mushrooms, quick melting cheese, tomatoes, and fresh parsley. After about a minute, take the pan out of the fire and let the egg cook through its own heat. Fold the omelet in half like a nice sandwich.

There are no real rules to making a Monster Omelet. Just like salads, you can toss in pretty much anything you like. This is one version I particularly enjoy, specially if the eggs are still soft. The added milk will add to the creaminess of the omelet, but the surface touching the pan will also quickly brown like a pancake. Don't be compelled to throw in everything, as this can overload your omelet. If you think you have too much filling, don't hesitate to set the ingredients aside for a future omelet. Don't forget to add in a dash of Frank's Red Hot pepper sauce and enjoy!

Tags: Giada-de-Laurentiis, Giant-egg, Monster-omelet, Soothing-spices, Well-fed-buff

Filed under: Cooking, How-tos, Odds and ends, Features, Well Fed Buff