Baked Omelet and Arugula, Beet, and Goat Cheese Salad

So I found my camera cord...under the chair in the living room. This enabled me to finally upload a lot of pictures of my recent cooking--woohoo!

A few nights ago, I was exhausted, and fell back on a recipe I found at Talk of Tomatoes, the first foodie blog I started following about a year ago. Her Baked Omelet recipe made my mouth water when I saw it for the first time, and I thought, "Hey, this looks easy!" I had just moved to France when I stumbled on this post, and had been trying to figure out what to do with all of my leftover baguettes from lunches. I always have about 1/4 baguette left after making sandwiches for my husband, my daughter and myself. I tried the recipe, and it has been a staple in my repertoire ever since! I've listed her recipe below with changes I've made in red. This is a very versatile and forgiving recipe, I've found.

Talk of Tomatoes' Baked Omelet

Serves 4.
5 eggs
2/3 cup whole milk (or a mix of lowfat milk and heavy cream)
pinch kosher salt & coarse pepper (KS&CP)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 oz prosciutto, diced (I used some chopped up, crispy bacon this time around, and it was yummy...I could imagine that a lot of different meats could work well in this dish.)
1 cup (plus) gruyere or Swiss cheese (I use Emmentaler because it's cheap and easier to find here in Strasbourg.)
1 cup bread cubes cut in 1/2 inch dice (I usually use more bread cubes because the first time, there wasn't enough to cover the eggs, and my husband really, really liked the crisp bread on top. I usually cut up the bread first, and place it in the empty baking dish. When bread covers the bottom, I know I have enough, and then place the bread in a bowl until I'm ready to use it.)
3 T olive oil
1-2 tsp dried Italian herbs

Whisk eggs in bowl; add all but last three ingredients. Stir to blend. Butter dish and pour in egg mix. Toss bread cubes with 2 T oil; plop on top of eggs and pour another 1 T oil over cubes and sprinkle with Italian herbs. Bake in 350 oven for 25-30 minutes.

Pre-baked:

Ready to eat:

I've also been trying to add beets to our diet here because they are just so good for you, and you can buy them already prepared and prepackaged for very little money. The French often just eat them chopped up with a splash of vinegar on them, and although we really like them this way, it can get a little boring. I found the following recipe through TasteSpotting on Italian Food Forever, and really liked it. It has beautiful color and the texture went great with the egg dish. I cut this recipe in half since we are a small family, and used pre-cooked beets, but it still turned out great! I even used leftover ingredients the next day to make the same salad with some pear sliced in, and I liked that even better!

Italian Food Forever's Fall Harvest Salad

4 Medium Small Sized Beets
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
3 Oz. Log Semi Soft Goat Cheese
4 Cups Baby Arugula
1 Small Red Onion, Thinly Sliced

Dressing:
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
5 Tablespoons White Balsamic Vinegar (I used regular dark balsamic and the taste was great, even if it did cover the brillant color of the salad somewhat.)
1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano
Salt And Pepper

Mix the dressing ingredients together and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. F. Place the beets in a shallow baking dish, and pour over half the olive oil. Roll the beets to coat, and cover with aluminum foil. Bake until fork tender, about an hour and thirty minutes. Remove from the oven to cool. Once cool, skin the beets, and cut into 1 inch pieces. (I obviously skipped this part since I bought pre-cooked beets.)

Assemble the salad by dividing the greens between four salad plates. Arrange the beet slices and onion slices attractively on top. Mix the dressing once again, and drizzle just enough on each plate to lightly coat. Crumble the goat cheese, and garnish each plate with the goat cheese crumbles. Serve! (I served this in a bowl, but it was still beautiful...)

And because of this recipe, I found a really yummy goat cheese in the grocery store--St. Maure Chevre. In Kentucky, where I live when I'm not in France and have lived for much of my adult, cooking life, we don't get a choice in our goat cheeses...it comes in a small or a large package, if you can find it at all in our local grocery stores. So I was more than thrilled when I discovered that there are different types of goat cheeses! Don't you just want to sink your teeth into this?!