Food You Can Eat: Celebrity Sunday Matinee: Elliott Gould’s Western Omelet

Happy May Day to you all! In much of the world, today is Labor Day, or more commonly called “International Day of Labor.” For Americans the only nod to the holiday I can remember is when I was in kindergarten we erected a maypole, just like in The Wicker Man, but with different results.

I cast around for a celebrity who embodies the ideals of the Labor movement. Astonishingly, Samuel Gompers never let on any of his secret recipes; ditto for Walther Reuther, Eugene Debs, and Jimmy Hoffa. Stumped, I turned to Hollywood, one of the most unionized industries on earth, and the name Elliott Gould kept coming up. Perfect, because he’s just the right age (he’s 83) to have coughed up a recipe 50 or so years ago, when celebrity recipes were thick on the ground.

Rather than natter on with a full bio, let’s consider Elliott in the late 1960s, long about when this recipe probably saw the light of day. In 1969 he’s been married to Barbra Streisand for five years and they have a son, Jason, Streisand’s only child. That year he does two things: he separates from Barb and appears in “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.” A star is born, and like most stars who come out of nowhere, he has lots of work behind him, but he has made it. 

Then, in 1970, he’s in the movie “M*A*S*H” (he played Trapper John) and soon enough he’s on the cover of “Time” magazine. Around this time he gets going with Jennifer Bogart, daughter of TV producer/director Paul, and they welcome two children, Molly, in 1971, and Samuel, 14 months later, in 1973. Just in the nick of time (right before Molly’s birth) he and Barb divorce. He eventually marries Jen, twice, and divorces her twice. It was The Seventies (and 80s, for the second divorce.) Most recently, he popped up on “Grace and Frankie” and for some reason showed up on the “Friends” reunion but I didn’t watch that so I can’t tell you why.

So here’s his Western Omelet recipe:

1/2 cup scallions, chopped

5 tbsp butter

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 cup canned corn, drained [yum!]

3/4 cup ham, diced*

8 eggs

1/2 cup milk

a little salt and pepper, to taste

2 large beefsteak tomatoes

1 loaf of French bread, cut into 1” slices

Brown scallion and green pepper in butter; add corn and ham. Keep turning with a spatula, browning lightly. Remove to a warm place. Beat together eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Heat large skillet; pour in egg mixture as soon as eggs starts to set, spread the ham-vegetable mixture on top. Loosen edge of eggs with spatula and carefully fold omelet in half. Slide onto serving platter. Serve at once with thick slices of beefsteak tomatoes and French bread. Eat at once — it’s delicious. Serve 4. Note: If skillet is not large enough for 8 eggs, divide egg and vegetable mixture in half and use two skillets.

* I have “a very deep Jewish identity.”—Elliott Gould