Flammeküche
Serve this rich Alsatian bacon-and-onion tart with a few bowls of Quick-Pickled Vegetables (recipe follows) for a study in contrasts. For wine drinkers, try pairing the starter (the whole meal, in fact) with Gewürztraminer or a dry Alsatian Riesling.
Cornmeal or semolina, for baking sheet
1 small onion, very thinly sliced
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into ¼-inch pieces
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 pound pizza dough, homemade or store-bought
All-purpose flour, for surface
Coarse salt
1. Place a pizza stone on the lowest rack in oven. Preheat oven to 500°F. Dust a baking sheet with cornmeal. Stir together onion, cream, bacon, and nutmeg in a bowl.
2. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll into an irregular 12-by-18-inch rectangle. Place on prepared baking sheet. Spread onion mixture evenly over dough, leaving a 1-inch border. Drizzle with any cream remaining in bowl; season with salt.
3. Place sheet on stone in oven. Bake until bottom and edges of dough are golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Cut into squares and serve.
Quick-Pickled Vegetables
You can substitute two small fennel bulbs for the green beans; just cut them into ¾-inch wedges.
3 cups cider vinegar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1½ teaspoons coarse salt
1½ teaspoons whole coriander seeds
¾ teaspoon whole fennel seeds
3 dried bay leaves
1 pound green beans, trimmed
6 small carrots, peeled and trimmed
1 Kirby cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
Stir together vinegar, sugar, salt, coriander, fennel, and bay leaves in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Stir in green beans, carrots, and cucumbers. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Cover and refrigerate at least overnight or up to 1 week.
German Sausages with Apples, Sauerkraut, and Onion
Half (if not more) of the fun of cooking this main course is seeking out the best of the wursts at your local butcher (or from online purveyors). Use any fully cooked German-style sausage, such as bratwurst, flavored with ginger, nutmeg, and other spices; smoked knockwurst, made with beef or pork; and mild weisswurst with cream, lemon, and cardamom. Store-bought sauerkraut is just fine, but if you are feeling ambitious and want to make your own, visit marthastewart.com for a recipe.
1 to 2 tablespoons safflower or other vegetable oil
12 links assorted fully cooked German sausages, such as bratwurst, knockwurst, and weisswurst
1 large white onion, thinly sliced
2 crisp red apples, such as Gala or Braeburn, cored and cut into ½-inch slices
¼ cup apple cider
1 pound sauerkraut
Assorted mustards, for serving
1. Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium and add 1 tablespoon oil. Halve sausages lengthwise, if desired. Cook until browned and heated through, about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a serving platter and cover to keep warm.
2. Add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet if necessary. Add onion and cook until softened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add apples, stir, and cook until softened, 6 to 7 minutes. Stir in cider and cook for 1 minute. Add sauerkraut and heat until warmed through, about 2 minutes.
3. Transfer sauerkraut mixture to a warm serving platter; serve with sausages and mustards. (Sausages and sauerkraut can be kept warm, covered, in a 250°F oven for up to an hour.)
Warm Potato Salad with Arugula
Tossing a tangy vinaigrette with warm spuds is the formula for a classic German potato salad. But because there’s already plenty of meat on this menu, this one features healthy, peppery greens instead of the usual bits of crisp bacon.
3 pounds small red potatoes, scrubbed
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Finely grated zest and 1 tablespoon fresh juice from 1 lemon
1½ teaspoons sherry vinegar
5 ounces spicy greens such as arugula or watercress, washed well and drained, tough stems removed
1. In a large saucepan, bring potatoes to a boil in salted water over high. Reduce to a simmer and cook until tender when pierced with a knife, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain, cool slightly, and halve.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together oil, lemon juice, vinegar, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a bowl.
3. Place warm potato halves in a serving bowl. Add half the vinaigrette and toss to coat. Add greens, lemon zest, and remaining vinaigrette; toss until greens are wilted, and serve immediately.
Pretzel-Crust Ice Cream Pie with Caramel Bourbon Sauce
Instead of setting out a bowl of pretzels before dinner, save the savory snacks for last with this fun twist on dessert. Crush up a bag and use the crumbs to make a press-in crust for ice cream pie. The from-scratch butterscotch sauce picks up the saltiness of the crust and plays off the sweet ice cream filling just beautifully. Chocolate sauce would work well, too.
For crust
6 ounces pretzel twists, crushed (1½ cups), plus more for serving
¼ cup packed light-brown sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For filling
2 pints vanilla ice cream, well softened
For sauce
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped, or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
⅓ cup heavy cream
1 to 2 tablespoons bourbon, to taste
¼ teaspoon coarse salt
1. Make crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. In a bowl, mix crushed pretzels, sugar, and butter until well combined. Press evenly into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Bake until lightly golden and set, 9 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
2. Fill pie: Transfer softened ice cream to cooled crust and spread evenly using an offset spatula. Swoop and swirl as desired. Cover and freeze until set, at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
3. Make sauce: In a saucepan, bring brown sugar, butter, and vanilla bean and seeds to a boil; cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add cream, bourbon, and salt. Return to heat, bring to a boil, and cook 30 seconds. Discard the vanilla pod and let cool slightly. (Sauce can be refrigerated up to 1 week; warm over low before serving.) Serve ice cream pie with sauce and additional crushed pretzels.