Auflauf, gratin, casserole…?  Because I am 1) living in Germany, 2) obsessed with french cookbooks, and 3) decidedly American at heart, I sometimes just don’t know what to call the things I make for dinner.  Gratin?  no… this isn’t elegant enough to be called a gratin.  Casserole?  no… this conjures images of canned tuna and cream of mushroom soup.  Auflauf?  what in the world is auflauf?? (answer: it’s the German word for casserole).  OK then, we’ll go with “auflauf”.  Besides, assonant words tickle my fancy… pow-wow, humdrum, teeny-weeny, sci-fi, potpourri, soporific… let’s add “auflauf” to the list.

Whatever one decides to call it, this is an incredibly simple dish to prepare. The only prep work is to seed and chop the tomatoes, chop an onion, sliver some basil, and mix the cheeses together.  There is no precooking (no sweating onions, blanching tomatoes, etc), so the dish comes together in about 10 minutes.

The end product has a fairly loose consistency, and spreads a little on the plate.  Creamy, fresh, and just a little spicy, the auflauf is delicious eaten on its own  or scooped onto warm bread.  And although I haven’t tried it, I imagine it would also be tasty spooned over pasta or polenta, or perhaps mixed with cooked whole grains for a summer grain salad (I am imagining a mixture of barley, farro, wheat berries, etc).  Or of course, you can follow the original idea from Simply Recipes and make it into a pie.

Long live auflauf! :)

Tomato and Cheese Auflauf
Adapted from Tomato Pie at Simply Recipes
serves 3-4, depending on accompaniments

~1 1/4 lbs ripe tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 medium red onion, chopped
1/4 c. basil, slivered
Salt and Pepper
2 c. grated mixed cheese (suggestion: 2/3 c. mozzarella, 2/3 c. cheddar, 2/3 c. gouda)
3/4 c. mayonnaise
1/2 T. Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly oil a medium sized casserole dish.

Spread chopped tomatoes over the bottom of the casserole, then sprinkle evenly with the red onion and basil.  Season liberally with pepper, and lightly with salt.

Mix the cheese, mayonnaise, and hot pepper sauce in a bowl, then evenly spread over the top of the tomatoes.  Bake until bubbly and golden brown, about 45 minutes.  Enjoy!

Crustless Quiche with Tomatoes, Zucchini, and Salami
Adapted from Tartine

~1/3 c. sun-dried tomatoes (dry packed)
~1/3 -1/2 c. salami, chopped
1/2 of a zucchini, cut into small uniform pieces

5 large eggs
3 T. flour
1 c. creme fraiche
1 c. whole milk
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
1 T. fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9 inch pie plate.

Heat 1-2 c. water until boiling.  Place the sun-dried tomatoes in a medium bowl and pour the boiling water over them.  Re-hydrate the tomatoes for 15 minutes, then drain and finely chop.  Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a small frying pan over medium heat.  Lightly saute the salami until some fat is rendered and the edges start to crisp.  Press the salami to one side of the pan so some of the fat drains off.  Remove the salami from the pan and set aside, but leave the fat.  Reheat the pan, then saute the zucchini pieces in the rendered fat (if there isn’t much fat, add a little bit of butter or olive oil).  Saute the zucchini for about 5-7 minutes until the edges start to turn brown.  Add the zucchini to the salami and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk one egg and the 3 T. of flour until smooth.  Add the remaining four eggs, and whisk until smooth.

In a large bowl, whisk the creme fraiche until smooth.  Add the milk and whisk again.  Add the egg mixture, then the salt, pepper, parsley, sun-dried tomatoes, salami, and zucchini.  Mix well.  Pour into the prepared pie plate, and place in the middle of the oven.  Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to 325 and bake for an additional 35-40 minutes, until the center of the quiche is slightly firm to the touch.  Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before slicing.  Enjoy!

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I had a quiche epiphany the first time I tasted the quiche from Tartine Bakery in San Francisco.  The texture was amazing — light, fluffy, and almost custard-like.  It was a far cry from the dense, slightly dry, slightly rubbery texture that my mind conjured when I heard the word quiche.

Though I sadly live thousands of miles from oh-so-delicious Tartine Bakery nowadays, the Tartine cookbook has a recipe for basic quiche that is just as good as the quiche they sell in the shop.  The key ingredients for the fluffy texture are copious amounts of creme fraiche and whole milk, along with a little bit of flour.

If you’re appalled that the recipe calls for 1 cup of creme fraiche AND 1 cup of whole milk, then, well, that’s unfortunate because you’ll be missing out on perhaps the most amazingly textured quiche in existence.  I fall pretty squarely into the camp that ‘fat doesn’t make you fat, sugar and excess carbohydates do’, so you’ll get no apology from me for the fat content of this quiche.

As for filling, let your taste and imagination be your guide.  The past few quiches I have made have used sun-dried tomatoes and brianza salami that I picked up on a recent trip to Lake Como, Italy.  Chopped cooked asparagus or spinach would also be delicious, along with numerous other vegetable and herb combinations.  I have heard that at Tartine they even make a nettle quiche during the spring!

And though this quiche is crustless, I am quite sure that it would be delicious with a crust as well.  If you decide to go that route, use your favorite crust recipe, and fully bake it before adding the filling.  Then, bake the quiche as directed above.

I’ve been in the routine of making a quiche on sunday, which I then eat for breakfast during the week.  When I get up, I place a slice in a low oven to reheat it, and by the time I am out of the shower and dressed, the quiche is thoroughly heated and ready to be eaten.  Delicious and filling!

Sundried Tomato and Fennel Sausage

1/3 c. dry packed sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 – 1 T. olive oil
4 T. cold water
2 t. fennel seeds, freshly ground
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 T. fresh thyme, finely minced
1 1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. white pepper
2 lbs pork shoulder, well chilled

Place the sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl, and cover with boiling water.  Allow to soften for 15 minutes, then drain and finely chop.  Place chopped tomatoes in a small bowl, then mix with the olive oil, water, fennel, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper.  Set aside

Cut the pork into smallish cubes, about 3/4 inch or so.  Pass through the coarse plate of a meat grinder.  Place pork in a bowl, then using your hands, mix in the tomato and fennel spice mixture until well combined.  Pass meat mixture through the coarse plate of the meat grinder one more time, then place in a bowl and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight to allow the flavors to blend.

Shape into patties and fry, stuff into casings, or simply saute the loose sausage.   Enjoy!

Alternatively, if you don’t have a meat grinder, if you ask nicely, most butchers will grind the meat for you in their shop.  Or you can simply start with ground pork, adding 1/4 c. or so extra chopped fat from slab bacon or pork belly

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Sometimes you find an ingredient that just inspires you.  Usually for me it’s not something that’s exotic or expensive, but rather something that is of such high quality or is so fresh that you want to run home and cook something with it *right now*!

Such were the dried tomatoes I found at a small salumeria in Como, Italy this past weekend.  Steven and I went down for a long weekend and pretty much ate ourselves silly with amazingly delicious Italian food.  The highlight was an under-the-stars dinner on the terrace at Al Giardino (on Via Monte Grappa, if you happen to be in the area) in the outskirts of Como — fresh burrata, handmade pasta with fresh spicy sausage, breaded and fried lamb chops, a chocolate and pear tart, and oh the red wine!

But back to the tomatoes.  These dried tomatoes are perfectly pliable, deep rusty red, and highly aromatic.  Personally, I find more uses for dry packed tomatoes than tomatoes packed in oil, though both have a time and a place.  Once I got back home, I started thinking of ways to use the tomatoes… tomato cream sauce, polenta with dried tomatoes, egg custard with dried tomatoes and herbs… and then my mind drifted to sausage — I do live in Germany, you know :).

Making sausage is really much easier than one would think, especially if you just make patties or use it as bulk sausage.  Most of the time when I buy sausage links, I end up taking it out of the casings anyway, so when making my own, I rarely bother with the stuffing step.  If you don’t have a meat grinder, then things are even easier!  Just ask your butcher to grind whatever meat you purchase there in the shop.  If possible, start with a cut of meat rather than buying pre-ground pork, as you are more likely to get the meat to fat ratio correct with a cut like a picnic shoulder or boston butt.  Then just mix in the seasonings, and you have bulk sausage.

And one last note, definitely don’t skimp on the fat when making sausage — an 85/15 or 80/20 meat to fat ratio is ideal.  Less than that and your sausage will have a grainy, dry texture.  And really, if you’re going to go to the trouble of making sausage from scratch, shouldn’t it be as tasty as possible?  And speaking of the taste of this sausage — it’s fantastic!  Herby with a hint of savory sweetness from the tomatoes, and just the right amount of pepper — delicious at any meal!

Bulk Sausage

Breakfast Patties

Wintertime Tomato Sauce

2 T. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
6-8 garlic cloves, minced
1 t. salt
1 t. red pepper flakes
28 oz. can diced tomatoes

Heat olive oil in a 2 qt pot over medium heat.  Add onions and garlic, and saute until the onions start to relax and the garlic takes on a little bit of color, about 7 minutes.  Add salt and red pepper flakes and mix well.  Add tomatoes, still well, and bring mixture to a gentle boil.  Reduce heat, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Enjoy!

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Let’s face it — fresh tomatoes you buy in the grocery store during the wintertime are awful.  They’re usually shipped in from factory farms in far off lands, and more often than not have a mushy, mealy texture, and a color closer to salmon than the glorious deep red of summer tomatoes from the farmer’s market (or if you’re one of the lucky ones, from your garden).  I am going to go ahead and say it — yuck.

But just because it’s winter doesn’t mean that I don’t want homemade tomato sauce… During the summer it’s easy to make homemade tomato sauce — a few fresh tomatoes, some roasted onions and garlic, salt, pepper… chop, mix, heat, simmer — and you have delicious and simple tomato sauce.  But what to do in winter?  My first instinct is to say, ‘preserve in summer, eat in winter’… but my life is such that making huge batches of tomato sauce during the summer and using it throughout the year isn’t really feasible.  For one, I just made a trans-atlantic move, and shipping quarts of homemade tomato sauce (though a tempting idea) didn’t make a lot of sense.  Also, before that, my apartment was approximately 520 square feet (shared with Steven and our cat Fluppha), so storage for more than a few jars of my favorite homemade lemon marmalade or elderberry preserves was non-existent.

So what to do?  For my answer I turn to canned tomatoes.  Surprisingly better than you would expect, with canned tomatoes you can make a homemade sauce coming in somewhere around 7 – 7.5, where store-bought sauce is typically a 3 – 4, and homemade summertime sauce is in the 9 – 10 range.  If you start with high quality canned tomatoes, you will end up with a tasty, nearly from scratch sauce that is great for a lot of things — spaghetti, lasagne, pizza topping, base for tomato soup, etc — with only about 10 minutes of work.

Tonight we finished up the last of the latest batch (one batch is about four servings, or two meals for two people).  Tonight it was a topping for plain spaghetti, served with garlic bread (knoblauch brot) on the side.  Delicious and simple.  And a little spicy!

Pie Crust with Rendered Bacon Fat (aka Bacon Grease Pie Crust) (aka the BEST pie crust ever)

1 c. rendered bacon fat
2 1/2 c. AP flour
1 t. salt
1/2 t. sugar
4-6 T. very cold water

Measure bacon fat and then freeze either in plastic wrap or a platic cup/bowl for approximately 1 hour.  Remove cold fat from freezer, then cut into 1/2 inch cubes.

Sift flour, salt, and sugar into a mixing bowl, then cut bacon fat into flour mixture until it resembles coarse pea-sized pebbles.  Gradually mix in 4T of water, mixing with a fork until dough just comes together.  The dough is ready if you pinch a fingerfull together and it does not crumble.  If necessary, Add more water, 1T at a time until dough reaches desired consistancy.

Place dough onto a clean cutting board, press together, then split into two balls.  Wrap each ball in plastic wrap, flatten, and refrigerate about 1 hour (or longer).

Remove dough from refrigerator, place on a lightly floured cutting board, then roll out into a 12-inch circle (about 1/8 in thick) (Hint: often I will place the plastic wrap or a piece of wax paper over the dough while rolling it out so it won’t stick to the rolling pin).  Transfer to 9-inch pie pan, and trim the edges if desired.

Repeat with second dough ball, and either use immediately, refrigerate for up to 2 days, or place dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper, roll up, wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze for future use.

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Oh.  My.  God.  This is the best pie crust I have ever tasted!  So flaky.  So moist.  And oh the hint of bacon…

In preparing for our move to Germany, I have been going through the cupboards, the refrigerator, and the freezer trying to use up all those things that I bought ‘for future use’ that I have never gotten around to using (ummm, 6 types of dried seaweed for example!) or have been saving because it’s too good to throw away (namely, rendered bacon fat from all that lovely farmer’s market bacon I’ve been buying most weeks — no matter how much bacon I buy, Steven and I seem to go through it with gusto!)

Looking through my refrigerator, I realized I had not one, but TWO pint jars filled with rendered bacon fat.  I think it’s great to cook with, but really, am I going to use 4 cups of bacon grease between now and when we’re leaving at the end of december?  probably not.  So, I decided that rather than throwing away all that good, organic fat, I would perform a culinary experiment I’ve always wondered about (and that there is frightfully little information on the internet about) — a homemade pie crust made with rendered bacon fat!

So, I went to my typical go-to pie crust and adapted it to use rendered bacon fat.  And oh, it was delicious!  Besides the hint of bacon, the most remarkable thing about the crust is how incredibly flaky it is.  This is due (I believe) to freezing the fat beforehand and not overmixing.

Note though — this is not a neutral pie crust!  I wouldn’t recommend using this crust for sweet pies (though it *might* be good if you wanted to make something like this).  No, this is meant to be used as a base for savory pies, quiches, and tarts (imagine spinach pie, onion tart, tomato quiche).  I think it lends itself particularly well to vegetable pies;  it has a hint of smoky meatiness that pairs well with a zingy, fresh vegetable filling.

I used this crust to make a fold-over spinach and tomato tart.  Instead of placing pie crust in a pie pan, I transferred it to a baking sheet, sprinkled on some grated swiss cheese, then layered sauteed spinach with garlic, oven roasted tomatoes (homegrown, thank you very much!), some leftover cooked squash, some fresh oregano, and more swiss cheese, leaving about a two inch border of crust.  Then, I folded the crust over, brushed it with an egg wash, then baked it at 375 for about 30 minutes until it was golden brown and the cheese was bubbly.  Delicious!!!

And one final note, I looked up the nutritional information about rendered bacon fat versus butter, and calorie and fat content-wise, they’re not that different.  So, even though this feels totally decadent, it’s really no worse than a regular butter or lard crust.  And it is oh so tasty…

Summer Squash and Roasted Tomato Timbales
makes 2 timbales

- 3 fist sized round green summer squash, or an equal amount of small zucchini or other summer squash
- olive oil
- between 4 and 12 roasted tomato halves, depending on size (see recipe below)
- 8 or so large basil leaves
- 3 – 4 T. farmer’s cheese or good quality ricotta

Preheat broiler. Remove the tops and very bottoms of summer squash and slice into thin rounds, about 1/8 inch thick or less (if using long instead of round squash, slice vertically into long strips). Lightly brush a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Place slices on baking sheet, and brush the tops with a small amount of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil for about 5-6 minutes, until top is beginning to turn golden brown. Flip slices over, and broil and additional 4-5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool somewhat. Turn oven to 400 degrees.

Lightly brush 2 -1 cup ramekins with a small amount of olive oil. Place one squash piece flat in the bottom of each ramekin. Using about half of the roasted squash, line the sides of the ramekins with overlapping slices. Place a quarter of the tomatoes in the bottom of each ramekin. Pat a quarter of the cheese into each ramekin on top of the tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top cheese with two basil leaves, pressing gently. Place one or two roasted squash slices on top of the basil. Repeat layering: tomatoes, cheese, salt & pepper, and basil. Top with remaining squash slices, and fold over any edges so you have a little roasted-squash-sealed package. Place ramekins on baking sheet, and heat in oven for about 8-10 minutes, until warmed throughout. Remove ramekins from oven, gently loosen edges with a small spatula or knife, turn timbales out onto a plate and remove ramekins (either by placing a plate on top of ramekin and flipping over, or by deftly flipping hot ramekins face down onto a plate). Enjoy!

Roasted Tomatoes
- Small tomatoes (1.5 inches is ideal, though you can use larger or smaller tomatoes)
- Salt & Pepper
- Thyme (fresh or dried)

Preheat oven to very low, about 225 degrees. Slice tomatoes in half vertically (or if using larger tomatoes, quarter them) and place cut side up on a rimmed baking pan. Sprinkle each tomato half with salt, pepper, and a bit of thyme. Roast for about 1.5 hour, or until tomatoes are very soft. Flip tomatoes so the cut side is down. Roast an additional hour and a half, or longer until tomatoes have reduced in volume by about half. Use tomatoes immediately, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week (though mine never last that long!). If the tomatoes are on the smaller side, you will need to reduce roasting time to about 1 hour per side.

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Last weekend I saw the first tomatoes of the season at the Palo Alto farmer’s market! Greenhouse-raised? perhaps. Unusual variety? not so much. Super delicious after over six months without eating a fresh tomato? absolutely.

Not only did I find the first tomatoes of the season, but I found some lovely green summer squash, which I haven’t seen in even longer than six months! These two exciting farmer’s market finds, plus some farmers cheese I had at home and fresh basil from my trusty indoor basil plant, combined wonderfully to make a gastronomically and aesthetically pleasing vegetable dish that is happily at home on the center of the plate.

I had never heard of the word timbale before I came across Patricia Wells great cookbook, ‘Vegetable Harvest: Vegetables at the Center of the Plate’. Similar to ‘tagine’ and ‘casserole’, the word timbale refers to both the cookware, as well as the food cooked in the cookware. In the book she has a delicious-looking recipe for roasted eggplant and tomato timbales, which I based this dish upon.

Not too difficult, and not too fussy, these vegetable timbales have a clean, fresh flavor and an almost melt-in-your-mouth texture. I can imagine a late summer version of the dish using entirely raw ingredients and served slightly chilled (tomatoes, dill, cucumbers, and feta; chioggia beets, mint, ricotta, and strawberries; zucchini, sweet corn, cilantro, and farmer’s cheese… to name a few). Geez, I see the first tomatoes, and I’m already imagining August! Silly me — how foolish it would be to miss out on other equally mouthwatering late-spring/early summer combinations: asparagus, new potatoes, and dill; spring onion, green garlic, and spinach; leek, potato, and sage; snap peas, basil, and broccoli — all with cheese, or course — use your imagination and the possibilities are endless!

That being said, do you have any ideas for tasty or unusual combinations? I’d love to hear them!