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Category Archives: Swiss Food & Culture
…it’s beginning to smell like christmas…spitzbuebe
Christmas is next week, but being here in Florida I never feel that Christmas spirit.
Although I have grown up in tropical climes I actually have spent more than half of my life in Europe.
I have spent Christmas everywhere in the Continent, where it means, frosty cheeks and nose, chestnuts roasting, gloves, scarves, hot drinks….. the coming of Christmas means the smell the wafts around is just so intoxicating….
These Christmas cookies are one of my favourite, spitzbuebe means little rascals. Last time I have baked these was long way back 2005 the last time I remember that I did not work on Christmas.
This recipe was taken from an old recipe collection of Betty Bossi, the Betty Crocker of Switzerland.
Betty Bossi is fictitious kitchen character created by Emmi Creola-Maag.
I have not spent any Christmas in Switzerland, the closest Swiss Christmas I have experienced was with some Swiss people I have met in Aspen, Colorado. But at home many moons ago, the Swiss cheese would bake these for me.
I have learned the craft of baking these delicate cookies, the rolling, the cutting is all worth it as these spitz buebe are so delicate and buttery.
To do this try using a good butter.To add more Swiss character to these “little rascals” I went out of the way to look for a Swiss raspberry jam. I did find a Heio one.
Here is the recipe once again…. I have given some of these cookies to close friends here in Ft Lauderdale and they all love it.
200 butter
125g icing sugar
1 egg
350 g flour
1 tsp lemon juice
raspberry jam or apricot
1) Whisk butter until smooth, add sugar and stir until creamy
2) Add the rest of the ingredients
3) Work it together till you form a soft dough
4) Cool in fridge for 1 hr at least
5) Roll dough flat about 5mm and cut with round cookie cutters (for every cookie cut out a pair with a hole in the centre)
6) Lay on greased tray and bake for 15 mins
7) Spread the cookie with jam and lay the pair on top
Sprinkle with powdered sugar
Brunsli Swiss Almond Chocolate Cookie
On Marianne Haltenbach cookbook on Cooking in Switzerland, it says
“In the German part of Switzerland, Christmas without Christmas cookies is something UNIMAGINABLE. By the end of November or at the latest during advent nearly all households are busy kneading dough and making all shapes and sizes of cookies to be kept in tin boxes until Christmasâ€
Also posted in Baking
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Káseschitten , A Swiss Classic
Káseschitten is listed as one of the Swiss national dish, of course tourist only dream of fondue and raclette, but I have discovered more than that and the real Swiss love affair of cheese.
We wanted something quick to prepare and M said he is going to make Kaseschitten basically a toasted cheese but he will do it the Swiss way. I said the Swiss way? That would mean kirsch isn’t it? He wished its kirsch but he drizzled the bread with chardonnay. It turned out to be great and he was a bit insulted when I said this is similar to the French croque monsieur. But no matter how you call it it’s the perfect way to use leftover bread.
Procedure:
1)Slices of white bread are browned in butter or just toast it quickly in the oven.
2) Drizzle the bread with wine
3) Grated cheese is mixed with beaten egg yolk.
4) The cheese is on the toasted / fried bread
5) You can add some cold meat
6) Layer sliced tomato
7) Top again with the cheese mixture
Gratinated in the over or under the broiler
As soon it came out from the oven with the cheese melting it let is rest for at least 2 mins then must be served as soon as possible. We cleaned our plates and accompanied the meal with a bottle of chardonnay, Pinnacle estate from central Californian coast. We took note of the estate, perhaps on our next visit to California, we will drop by.
He cooked, I helped,we cleared up together. For this evening, we had Momo who is vegetarian so we just took out the ham, added more cheese mixture to his share!
Geneve, Suisse
Geneva Sept 1997 We had a long weekend, we took the train from Monaco via Remo, Genoa till Milan. From there a train to Switzerland. My first visit. Markus wanted to show me his country… his place of birth.
It was just a weekend, on our return we took the train Zurich via Geneve. From Geneve the express back to Cote D’ Azur – Nice.
Why I kept that chopstick wrapper?Maybe it was the meal, unexpected, thru our experciences any meal near a train station is never good, but the one in Geneva was just too good, or was it because we were hungry. I wonder!
Few laters later we explored the Lake Geneva at Vevey & Montreaux, up to now I have not seen Geneve itself
One of my favourite journey
The Swiss Alps
If you would ask me what is my favourite journey,I probably say when the plane crosses the Alps on a clear day.
This picture was taken October 2000. I just came back from Manila with a Frankfurt stopover, before Athens. It was a morning flight and the autumn sun just shone over the peaks, then the Captain announced that we were just flying over Mt Blanc. At 4,807m Mont Blanc is the highest mountain on the Alps. If Chef had been with me, he would be giddy with excitement, after all he himself has a love affair this beautiful mountain range.
Also posted in Photo Essay, Travels
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