NANCY'S RETURN TO THE KITCHEN HAILED AS A SUCCESS

It was 17 days ago when Nancy Silverton made an infamous omelet that was so un-Nancy-like that she first thought something could be wrong with her. Two days earlier, an excruciating back pain - now thought to be the first real Covid symptom - was dismissed as the natural payback for standing up at Mozza 2Go for 13 hours. But, that omelet? That was a sign.

Three days later she was told by storied Nurse Practitioner Mary DeNicola that her Coivd test was positive. She was sentenced to San Quarantine. Her cooking days were put on hold. In baseball terms, you might say she was on the injured reserve.

Sunday night she returned to the mound with a lamb shoulder. seasoned for 21 hours with a spice blend she is calling Covid-10 salt, black pepper, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, cardamon coriander, Calabrian chile, Persian dried lime and smoked paprika. It was then browned and put in the oven at 300 degrees for longer than it takes to watch “The Big Sleep” with Bogart and Bacall and “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father” with Glenn Ford and Shirley Jones.

The dinner was hailed as a success. Was it Koufax returning with a no -hitter? Not quite. But it marked the very successful - and straight out beautiful - return of Nancy Silverton to the kitchen The memory of that omelet was melting away like the fat off the lamb shoulder.