Champagne Omelette

Enough of the holiday leftovers, I said. Yet, when I opened the fridge to get out the eggs, I found another leftover — a forlorn, opened, bottle of bubbly with a decent amount left, sans bubbles, to be sure, but with a lovely, dry, fruity, lasting reminder that there's still some life left after the mimosas have been consumed.

I planned on sautéing some minced sweet onion, and red pepper with a small diced Yukon Gold spud. After the mix began to sauté in a little olive oil, I gave the vegetable medley a pinch of kosher salt, a few grinds of spicy peppercorns, and then a generous splash of the flat sparkling wine. I popped on a lid, for a few moments, to let the flavors marry, and give the veggies a little steambath in the fruity haze. Then with the lid removed, I turned up the heat a bit to let the liquid evaporate and to finish up the peppers, potatoes and onions as they turned a lovely golden brown, before adding two well beaten eggs whisked with a little half and half, a touch of salt, a few grinds of fresh pepper and a scattering of basil chiffonade.

Following my grandmother's frequent admonishment to "waste not; want not", I poured the remainder of the flat bubbly into a flute to enjoy with the plated omelette, a sliced tomato and a bit of sweet roll.

Among the many gifts and surprises my sons bestowed on me over the holiday weekend was a little individual panettone which turned out to be the perfect accompaniment to my hastily improvised champagne omelette.

Another simple, quick kitchen adventure.