BDCSG Part II

Tip #256:
Mooching is also a form of cooking, but don't rely on it.


Back in high school, and tipping over into these days, I was a self-declared mooching master and was set on working on a self-help guide. I worked really hard at not paying for food and usually got a decent meal out of it. For example, going to fast food restaurants with friends and saying you weren't hungry got you a handful of french fries.

Or in college, just work in the dining hall and bring plastic baggies and small dishes for the food they throw out. (Fun fact: It's tons! You can only shove so many overly priced pizza slices into your plastic workers glove before it explodes in your pocket and you're left with grease stains on your work jeans....But I wouldn't know from experience or anything.)
 
Point of the story is I never turn down food, but don't get me wrong, I do make my own food sometimes. In all honestly, I really love to cook. For Christmas I got a green dayplanner that has every other page blanked and since I've gotten it almost every one of the blanks are filled with great recipes that I've found in Germany. Anything from pizza dough to brownies. I basically have a book for a seven-course meal and I thought it would be fun to toss out a couple of my favorites. And my families, too.

Flammkuchen: Flat doughed pizza-type dish. Delicious and way too easy to eat. My mom and sister fell in love with it. It translates to Flame Cake. Also if you don't want to make the dough, use some phyllo dough instead.

For dough:
250g (ca 2 cups) Flour
2.5 Tbsp Canola Oil
150ml (ca 2/3 cup) Water
Pinch of Salt

For toppings:
250g (ca. 1 cup) Crème Frâiche (can be substituted with 1/2 cup sour cream and 1/2 heavy whipping cream.)
1 onion (can be red or sweet onions)
1 Tbsp Butter
125g (ca. 1/4lb) Bacon
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 clove Garlic

Combine ingredients for crust. The dough shouldn’t be sticky. Slice onions into rings and sauté in butter until clear (don’t caramelize). Cook bacon until crisp. Finely chop garlic and add it with seasonings to the cream. Roll out the dough as thinly as possible and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. On the highest heat your oven will go (or around 400-450 degrees Fahrenheit) bake for around 10-15 minutes, or until the dough has begun to create bubbles and you see nice browning (you don’t want burnt!). 

You will have to keep an eye on this, baking it is an art and each oven is different so watch it carefully the first time you make it. 

Or if you want something that looks super fancy but really took about ten minutes, try this one...

Pork medallions in Basilsauce:

1 cup cream
Basil
1/2 cup broth
2 Pork filets
2 Tbsp. Tomato paste
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 clove garlic, pressed
3 Tomatoes, sliced
Basil leaves
2 cup Mozzarella cheese (In Germany they come in balls so I'm guessing on this, but you can never have enough cheese.)
Combine the cream, broth and basil together in a pot and cook until reduced. About 10-15 minutes. Cut the pork filet into 1inch thick slices and pan-sear them 1-2 minutes both sides. Take them out of the pan and salt and pepper to taste. Lay the meat into a casserole-style dish with enough space for the sauce. 
Mix the tomato paste, olive oil, and garlic and spread mixture over the meat. Top every pork slice with a slice of tomato, a leave of basil, and mozzarella. Spread the cream sauce over top. Place into a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. Serve immediately.

I realize that some of these ingredients aren't as popular in the states as in Germany, but here these are everyday household items. If anyone is interested I could toss out my sweet homemade recipe for Tomato-Mozzarella Sandwiches. Or you could take Sean's approach--yeah the noodle frosting kid--and just go to a Whole Foods during sample time and make rounds until you've eaten your fill.

Your choice.