Hi, I'm Andie.
I live near the Swiss Alps, in Bern, and I love not only melting cheese, but all kinds of Swiss cooking.
All in Swiss Apèro
This isn’t your typical, overly sweet Christmas market Glühwein—it’s a generously spiced, serve at an intimate dinner party kind of Glühwein. It’s how to be a festive wine mom.
Belper Knolle is a magical, hard, peppery and garlicky cheese ball that you can grate over just about any dish.
I often have a difficult time ordering Brät at the butcher's, as I find it really hard to pronounce in Swiss German.
"Brät, bitte"
"Brot?"
"Nein, Brät."
"Brie?"
"Nein, Brääät."
"Oh, Brät!"
As early as Roman times filled eggs were served as a first course for wealthy diners. Through the ages they have been enjoyed all over Europe with numerous filling variations including: cheese, raisins, herring, anchovies and even caviar. The Swiss version is like a bacon and egg breakfast with christmas spices.
Originally the flammkuchen was used as a way to test the heat of wood-fired ovens. The embers were pushed aside and a very thinly doughed tart (almost like a pizza, but thinner), usually topped with bacon or cheese, would be set in the middle of the oven. If it could cook in as little as 1 - 2 minutes, the oven was at an ideal temperature.
In mid December, I took in the Strasbourg Christmas market with my buddies Lauren and Emily. The highlight was lovely steaming cups of warm, spiced white wine that went right to our heads.
A couple of sips and our eyes got glassy, our speech emotional, and the cobblestones became difficult to negotiate.
It was some good mulled wine.
The market stalls in Bern are filled with late autumn fruit and the plums are holding court. If Zwetschgen is King, then his Queen is the tiny golden Mirabelle.
I've set my mirabelles to soak, using gin as my boozy base, and in a few weeks' time, there'll be boozy fruit for spooning over ice cream, as well as mirabelle infused gin, perfect for cocktails.
So, maybe you have some puff pastry kicking about. Why not make these deliciously cheesy little puff pastry parcels?
Apparently you can make anything out of cervelat, Switzerland's national sausage. Although I think its most perfect form is grilled, with mustard, I am not adverse to using it as often as possible in all manner of dishes.
