Stolen from Deetsa

Last week, Deetsa mentioned an Alsatian specialty that sounded good to me so I "borrowed" the idea from her blog and went searching on the internet for a recipe.

Tarte Flambee'. Or, if you're one of those who believe that Alsace really should still belong to Germany, Flammekueche.

It's a simple dish of very flat, thin bread covered with a mixture of creme fraiche, sauteed onions and crisped bacon bits with a little nutmeg, salt and pepper for spice and baked until the crust turns nice and brown. It sounded like heaven to me.

The dough for this pizza-like dinner rises twice, developing the flavor of the bread nicely. It's not as much of a hassle as it sounds, either - I was interrupted by some fun during the rising, stuck it in the fridge overnight, and it was still delicious the next day. Then, you roll it out very thinly on a baking sheet, top with the mixture of cooled, sauteed onions, creme fraiche and spices, and sprinkle on the bacon bits before sliding it into a 450 degree oven for about 12-15 minutes, or until the crust is richly browned but, ideally, not as close to burned as one side of ours got.

We liked it but we didn't love it. I guess we like bolder flavors. I'd make it again but I'd jazz it up a little with something more tangy than creme fraiche, maybe add some plain yogurt or mild feta cheese. When you had a bite with bacon in it, it was really yummy (as Dagny says, everything is better with bacon) but the in-between bites were a little flat. I'd also add zucchini slices and/or fresh tomato slices next time and I might not saute' the onion first.

It's a fun start to a whole bunch of different ideas for dinner, however, and I send thanks out to Deetsa for a fun idea!