An Omelette and a Glass of Wine(or, bottle of beer)

I'm really working on the eating what I have thing. Last night, I made myself a totally passable sloppy joe (well, the first pass was just ok, but once I looked on the internet for homemade manwich recipes I realized what I was missing was vinegar and brown sugar) using up some ground beef, half an onion, a few pieces of frozen diced hot pepper from the garden, and a jar of tomato paste. Not to mention a couple slices of the really good whole wheat bread I bought almost two weeks ago at the East Liberty Cooperative market that is still kicking on account of the fact that I have been keeping it in the fridge. (we don't eat bread fast enough in this house to use the bread box. that's why when I bake bread I make little loaves, and why this is perfect for us)
Tonight after putting in a herculean effort to wash ALL the dishes and clean all the counters, I wanted something easy that would not make a giant mess. A look in the fridge revealed I had some lettuce that really needed to be a salad ASAP and a dozen eggs. Further investigation revealed four sundried tomatoes and a half empty freezer container of arugula pesto from this summer's harvest. So, inspired by MFK Fisher, I set out to make an omelette dinner.
First, I chopped up the sundried tomatoes and soaked them in a little hot water to soften them up a bit.

Next, cracked three eggs into a bowl and whisked them really well with a little pepper and salt. That's the classical French way, but I guess you can add some dairy if you want.

I melted a nice chunk of bougie Euro butter in my thrift store Revere ware small skillet. It's a perfect omelette pan.

In the small cast iron skillet in the back, I tossed some bread chunks with a little olive oil, black pepper and garlic to make croutons for my salad. And use up some more bread.
Back to the omelette--there aren't any more pictures because you really have to pay attention and work smoothly when doing an omelette. Pour the well beaten eggs into the very hot melted butter and swirl it around the pan so that a thin skin forms quickly on the bottom. Using a spatula, lift up and tilt so that the liquid egg spreads underneath, puffing the omelette up. If you are brave or super confident, you can flip it. I don't go in for that. I just keep lifting and tilting until the surface is almost dry, then I slide it out and turn it VERY quickly to finish cooking on the other side. Then put your fillings in. I spread a nice layer of pesto and sprinkled on the tomatoes, then slid the omelette out while folding it over. It came out absolutely beautiful if I do say so myself.

Backing up: before I started melting the butter in the pan, I made a really simple really dairylicious dressing for my salad. Into a small mixing bowl, I put about one clove of crushed garlic (I just used the crushed garlic that stayed in the bowl after I tossed the croutons) about a tablespoon of mayonnaise, a teaspoon of dijon mustard, a teaspoon of vinegar, a tablespoon of buttermilk, a pinch of basil, and a nice grinding of black pepper. Then for kicks I grated in the last of a tiny piece of horseradish cheese from the farmer's market. Whisked it up good, tossed it with the lettuce and croutons, and I was good to go. MFK Fisher would call this a perfect dinner for dining alone, though she would have a glass of white wine while I had a Saranac India Pale Ale. Yum.
I enjoyed this dinner while listening to Moment of Forever by Willie Nelson. It seems to have gotten a lot of bad reviews, but I think it is a fantastic record. Check it out.