Instructions: Omelets are almost fool-proof to make and so quick to put together that they should be in every cooks bag of quick-supper tricks. Breakfast, lunch or supper, omelets are delicious. Add toast or a muffin and a piece of fruit for dessert.

Can you pat your head with one hand and make circles on your stomach with the other? Good. You possess the motor skills that are necessary to make an omelet.

All you need is a flat non-stick spatula, an 8 inch non-stick skillet with sloping sides, a couple of eggs and a little practice.

I learned to make omelets in an old black cast-iron skillet that I swiped from my grandmothers kitchen. It is used only for omelets and is never washed on the inside, only wiped out with a damp cloth. If I get a sticking place, I

"scour" it out with kosher salt and a paper towel. Before hanging the skillet back on the pot rack, I spritz it with non-stick cooking spray and wipe to a film. If you have one of these oldies, get it out and use it.

Omelets are the perfect host for add-ins. Finely chopped fresh herbs add color and flavor when stirred into the raw egg mixture. Filling ideas begin with leftovers you might have in the fridge: sauteed onions, mushrooms and other cooked vegetables, crumbled crisp bacon or diced ham. Cheese omelets are on my A-list for comfort food. Add grated cheddar cheese just before the eggs set so it can melt. Then top the finished cheese omelet with warmed salsa.

Dont worry if you cant make a perfect omelet at first. This is a technique you acquire by learning to judge the point when the omelet has set just enough to be rolled and tipped out. The whole process takes less than a minute.

Why not invest in a dozen eggs and half an hour (thats about all it should take) and practice until you get the hang of stirring and rolling? After the fifth two-egg plain omelet, you should have the technique down pat. Then make the last omelet, add filling and eat it for supper.

Heres the drill:
Have ready about a third of a cup of some sort of filling. It should be at room temperature or warm. Break two eggs into a small bowl, add a generous pinch of salt and pepper and a dash of hot sauce along with one tablespoon of water.

Beat lightly with a fork just long enough to blend yolks and whites.

Heat your omelet pan over high heat until a drop of water skitters around when flicked onto the surface. Add a tablespoon of butter and swirl it around until it melts and foams, which will happen immediately if the pan is the right heat. (If the butter burns, the pan is too hot. To cool it, remove the pan from the heat, wipe out with paper towels, swing the pan back and forth in the air to cool it and start again.)

When the butter stops foaming, quickly pour in the egg mixture and shake the pan forward and back with the left hand if you are right handed (palm down over the handle) so it moves over the heat. With the right hand, stir the eggs in a wide circle using a pulling motion as if you were making scrambled eggs. Expect a few holes and tears that the loose egg will fill out. When the eggs are about done to the creaminess or dryness you prefer, add the filling (if you are using one) by spooning it across the "equator" of the omelet.

Quickly reverse your grip on the handle, holding it from underneath (palm up over the handle). Now tip the pan upward at an angle, and start to roll and fold the omelet by running the spatula under it at the handle end so the omelet begins to curl onto itself.

Put a plate close to the pan and start to invert the pan, which will tip the omelet onto the plate in a neat roll, with the edges underneath and a smooth surface on top. Serve right away. Not to worry if it isnt perfect. The worst case scenario is a supper of scrambled eggs.

Remember, omelets wait for no one, so set the table, make salad and pour your beverage before you start cooking.

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