Too many people in this country have been sold a bill of goods. They've been tricked, flim-flammed, conned, and hustled. They've been bamboozled into believing that food comes wrapped in plastic from the freezer at the nearest Walmart. They've learned to believe that cooking is a chore -- like laundry or washing windows -- to be avoided if at all possible and then done only grudgingly when it can't be.
I understand that some people just plain don't like to cook. That's fine. But there are also those who would actually enjoy it, if they hadn't been conditioned to think cooking is too expensive, in terms of time or money or both, to be practical. As a result, they've forgotten anything they were ever taught about how to cook -- if they were taught anything at all. Those of us who learned at our grandmothers' apron strings, and then kept cooking into adulthood, are becoming a rare breed.
But a cooking demo I gave at the farmers market last Saturday taught me something: There are still plenty of people who want to get back into the kitchen. I'm hoping the economic situation is not the only reason, but it's a good one. While proving that cooking is easy and fun, my wife Kim and I also managed to debunk the notions that it's too time-consuming to cook and that it's too expensive to shop at the farmers market.
We faced down some stiff competition. Our country's marketing machine has conjured up a King and a Clown designed to convince us that it makes more sense to zip by the drive-thru (they even shorten the word "through" -- damn, they're quick!) than to prepare a healthy, delicious meal at home. They've used pusher-like techniques on us since we were children, so that as adults we think it's normal to fuel our bodies in the same fashion as our cars. Yet in 45 minutes at the market, I was able to demonstrate four different dishes and sample them out to all 50 people for less than $30.
I made a summer ratatouille, a chopped salad that creates its own dressing, auflaufs (a type of Austrian crepe) filled with raspberries and cherries, and a breakfast dish my kids call "diggity": potatoes, onions, and peppers topped with eggs. Granted, I'm a classically trained chef with nearly three decades of experience; but seriously, none of the things I made require much more than a skillet, a knife, and an opposable thumb or two. My grandmother's recipe for auflauf batter calls for "two forkfuls of flour, an egg, and enough milk." She was admittedly a bit vague, but it really could not get much simpler.
In today's world, it's unrealistic to expect people to cook every single meal for themselves. Heck, I own a restaurant -- I'd lose my livelihood if they did. But to sacrifice one's respect for the creative process of cooking and the reverent act of eating in order to mistake frenzy for efficiency just seems downright sinful to me. Eating is important -- more important than sex. Think not? When's the last time you went a week without eating?
Chef Kurt's Grandma's Auflauf Recipe
Doing Granny proud.
Photo: Kurt Michael Friese
1 egg
"enough" milk (I'll explain in a minute)
Heat a 10-inch skillet (non-stick, if you prefer) over medium-high heat and melt a teaspoon of butter in it. While the butter melts, crack the egg into a bowl, add the flour and beat. It'll get thick and pasty. Mix in enough milk to get the consistency you like. Thinner batter makes a thinner, more delicate auflauf.
When the butter is melted, pour the batter into the pan and tilt side-to-side to spread the batter out thin. As bubbles begin to appear on the surface, the auflauf is ready to turn (usually 2-3 minutes). Flip it with a spatula, cook 1 minute longer, and remove to a plate to serve.
Auflaufs are fine plain, but are more interesting filled and rolled. Your favorite jam is always a good filling, or brown sugar, or orange liqueur. At the farmers market, I simply sautéed some sour cherries with raspberries and added a little honey. With a little imagination, the possibilities are legion.
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Kurt Michael Friese Posted 1:24 am
10 Jul 2008
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carolcarre Posted 2:21 am
10 Jul 2008
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B Amer Posted 4:33 am
10 Jul 2008
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Schrmin Posted 8:55 am
10 Jul 2008
The term "Auflauf" generally refers to a variety of meals that are made in casseroles and baked in the oven...like "Reisauflauf," which is a sweet dessert-style dish made with rice...it has an appearance and consistency somewhat similar to a cobbler, I suppose, for lack of a better example. Here's a picture http://www.koch-idee.at/163_1-Rezeptfotos/Foto-Reisauflau ...
There is, however, an Austrian dessert called "Palatschinken-Auflauf," where crepes similar to those pictured above are then placed in a casserole-type pan, ingredients like milk and eggs are added, and then it's baked in the oven.
Anyhow, just FYI for those interested.
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Kurt Michael Friese Posted 11:16 am
10 Jul 2008
Could be any number of causes to the differentiation, having to do with regional differences, changes during immigration of different people at different times, who knows?
To me the fundamental difference between these and crepes is that crepes have melted butter in the batter and these do not. But such semantic arguments are endless. The important thing is that we keep our respective family traditions alive in the kitchen and around the table.
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Kurt Michael Friese Posted 11:20 am
10 Jul 2008
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Schrmin Posted 3:37 am
11 Jul 2008
An Auflauf is always baked in the oven...it's similar to a casserole or a cobbler.
A Palatschinke is made in a pan on the stovetop as you described in your recipe above.
I looked up both of these terms to make sure, and did not find any instances where the two were used interchangeably.
And of course I agree with you that really the main point here is to keep traditions alive and well, which is why I'm pointing this out...so that tradition isn't lost or accidentally distorted over time or across cultures, so don't take this as a criticism or any such thing.
Thanks for the recipe regardless.
Peace
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pjbf Posted 4:23 am
15 Jul 2008
Kurt's Grandma came from the area south of Amstetten. She also made a "Fleischknoedl" consisting of a potato dumpling filled with, apparently, all of last weeks leftover meats. I once asked the Viennese chef in our office cafeteria for a recipe for Fleischknoedl and he gave me a recipe for Koenigsburger Klops. However, we did find Grandma's dumplings in a restaurant in Linz.
Did you know that a mango in Ohio is a bell pepper?
Good wishes from
Kurt's Mom
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