Comfort

Comfort food makes you feel good no matter when you eat it. For me, one of life's great little indulgences is a piece of warm, crunchy toast with butter. Even the smell of bread cooking in the toaster oven makes me insanely happy. I feel the same way about my homemade omelette, although my version is really more of a frittata sans the cheese. It feels like a treat partly because we have it for dinner and you're supposed to have eggs for breakfast. You can make this in 20 minutes or less and I'll share a few tricks to make it low in fat and high in flavor. Have a glass of really cold Sauvignon Blanc or Sancerre with this dish and voila! It will feel like you're dining at a bistrot.

"Omelette" dinner

Ingredients:

• Two eggs per person
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive oil
• A handful or two of chopped fresh herbs (I like a mix of basil, cilantro, chives, and tarragon)

Preparation:

Drizzle a teaspoon of olive oil in a non-stick, oven proof skillet. Use a paper towel to moisten the entire skillet with oil.

Set your skillet over a burner at high heat.

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.

Crack eggs into a bowl. Using a whisk, combine the egg whites and yolks. Whisk very well until the eggs are almost foamy - this is the trick to an airy texture. Add herbs, salt and pepper to taste, and a table spoon or so of water per 2 eggs. Whisk again.

Pour the eggs into the hot skillet. Turn down the heat to medium. After about 3 minutes, or when the bottom is firm and the top starts to settle, put the skillet in the oven. Bake for 6-8 minutes, until the top of the omelette is firm but still very yellow (this is very important - a golden omelett will be pretty but dry).

Side dishes:

I serve this with steamed potatoes and asparagus. For optimum time management, before you start on the eggs, cut off the asparagus ends. Set water to boil in a medium pan. When the water is boiling, add the asparagus and cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain the asparagus in a colander and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking - this keeps them nice and green. Set on a plate and drizzle with a vinaigrette of olive oil, vinegar, and a touch of dijon mustard.

Wash and slice the potatoes (I buy organic ones so I don't have to worry about peeling them). Steam them for 10 minutes or so in the same pot you used for the asparagus. When they are soft, remove the basket. Serve the potatoes drizzled with olive oil. If the are really sweet, that's all you need, otherwise sprinkle with salt and pepper.

As the potatoes cook, make the omelet. Everything will be ready around the same time. Pour the wine and bon appetit.