country french omelet

Apparently January brings something out in me that is breakfast obsessed.  I have been making pancakes and muffins right and left.  And then there were grits and biscuits (admittedly rarely for actual breakfast though).  And now there is the French country omelet, which while under our breakfast category, we thoroughly enjoyed for a light dinner.

And of course I have to tell you that I’ve never been an omelet person because I never know what’s in them.  If you give me an omelet with cheese, that’s fine.  But as soon as you add onions and peppers, I’m out.  Not all omelets are created equal, and I’m not sure why people think they are.

But this solves that problem because there is nothing about this omelet that is hidden under folded eggs.  It’s all right there at the top of the omelet, bacon and potatoes, so you know what you’re getting.  Which I tend to generally like both food-wise and life-wise.  And what you’re getting here is a fluffy light omelet with a touch of bacon flavor throughout and potatoes that are perfectly soft and crisp at the same time.

The other thing I loved about this omelet is that I didn’t have to get everything all at once in one bite.  I know that that’s like the consummate goal for chefs, that everything tastes good all together in your  mouth and makes a cohesive bite.  Which this does, but I also loved that I could take a bite of potato, or bacon, or egg, or two at once or all three at once.  Whatever I wanted.  So while it was one dish (that took about 20 minutes to make and 2 dirty dishes, by the way), I didn’t feel like I was being deprived with only one thing on my plate.  That is the perfect kind of omelet to me.

Food Blog South: This past weekend I got to travel down to Birmingham and attend Food Blog South.  It was so great to be among fellow bloggers and talk about what we do and how we can do it better.  I met some fantastic people and learned so much.  Thanks to all who made it such a great event!

Country French Omelet
adapted from Ina Garten

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 8 minutes

Serves 2

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 slices thick cut bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup (1 inch cut) small gold potatoes
Salt
Pepper
5 large eggs
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon fresh chopped chives (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Heat olive oil in a 10-inch, oven-proof, non-stick saute pan over medium heat.  Add cut bacon and cook until bacon is brown but not too crisp, about 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.  When bacon is ready, remove from pan with a slotted spoon and set aside on a paper towel lined plate.
3. Add the potatoes to the pan with the bacon fat that has now melted off the bacon.  Season potatoes with salt and pepper and cook until tender and browned, 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  When potatoes are done, remove with a slotted spoon and place on the same plate with the bacon.  Remove pan from heat while you mix the eggs, and pour the remaining fat out of the pan.
4. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together eggs and milk.  Season eggs with salt and pepper.  Return pan to heat, turning the heat down to low.  Add butter, and swirl it around until butter is melted and coats the bottom of the pan.  Add eggs to pan and evenly distribute bacon and potatoes (and optional chives) on top of the eggs.
5. Bake omelet in the oven (in the saute pan) until eggs are set, about 8 minutes.  Remove from oven and slide omelet onto a plate.  Cut into pieces to serve.