Oktoberfest!

While cruising the web I've searched for an Orange County Slow Food convivia and finally hit gold! I sent them an e-mail and received a reply with a potluck invitation to boot! This was my lucky day!! Bring your best "Fall Harvest" side dish, they'll provide the sausages and great company. I'm in....

I head back to the Internet to find a recipe describing itself as 'authentically' German, and found Zwiebelkuchen (Onion Pie). I decide to cook a pie on Saturday to make sure it's 'worthy'. I figured if it wasn't a success, the chances of my teenage sons devouring it were pretty good. Saturday's pie was beautiful. The crust was substantial and was more 'biscuit like' than standard crust. Better to hold the caramelized onions and bacon I think!

Onion Pie
Title: Zwiebelkuchen
Servings: 8

1 pk Yeast; Active Dry
1 t Sugar
1 1/2 t Salt
3 c Unbleached Flour
1 T Shortening
1 c Water; 120 to 130 Degrees F.
6 Bacon; Slices, Cut Up
2 Onions; Medium, Sliced
1/4 t Cumin
1/2 t Salt
Pepper; As Desired
1 Egg Yolk
1 c Sour Cream

Mix yeast, sugar, 1 t salt, and 1/2 cup flour. Blend in shortening and warm water. Beat for 2 minutes. Add enough flour to make a soft dough.
Knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place dough in a
lightly greased bowl. Cover and let dough rise in a warm place 1/2 hour.
Pat dough into a lightly greased 12-inch pizza pan or onto a lightly
greased baking sheet. Press up edges to make a slight rim.

Fry bacon until crisp. Remove from grease and drain on absorbent paper. Add onions to bacon grease; cook slowly until tender and caramelized.

Sprinkle onion,bacon, cumin, 1/2 t salt and pepper over dough. Bake at 400 Degrees F.for 20 minutes.


Brush crust with little yolk & water.Blend egg yolk and sour cream. Pour over onions. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer or until golden brown and sour cream is set.
Serve warm or at room temperature. Yum! We're good to go for Sunday!

I duplicate my success on Sunday, or so I thought! My pie looked beautiful, but since I cooked it earlier in the morning and refrigerated it, I re-heated it for 30 min @ 300 degrees. The result, a crust too hard to cut. The topping was delicious, but I needed the 2 glasses of wine I had just to cut through it! Don't you love wine?! Note to self, next time, don't re-heat, or consider a puff pastry crust. Hmmm....puff pastry sounds good. Next time!

As I gathered my empty dish and I said my good byes, I was grateful for a wonderful evening under the stars in beautiful Laguna Beach with such a welcoming & gracious group of people. It's not hard to live well. Connect with people that are passionate about food, drink and life. They'll show you how. Does it get any better??? Thank you!

Let's eat!