Meal: Goliard

An unbeatable meal. After starting off with some local olives, we got down to business.

For the wine, we went local. Definitely dry, but in a good way.

Arguably the highlight of the night, Squid tentacles served on a bed of ground asparagus and artichoke. It was out of this world good.

We doubled that up with a plate of local cheeses, both hard and soft. A good break from the Swiss we're getting used to, these had less of a sharp flavor while still being , um robust?

Main course. For Jaren, it was a cod dish in a potato cream sauce topped with a local dry aged ham. All was very good (with a particular shout out to the local smoked meats - they we're literally hanging all over town, and I fully understand why).

For me, it was grilled prawns served on a bed of garbanzos and a mild curry. De-licious, although I could have done well with a second helping.

And to top it all off, Semicuit de chocolate con helado de avellanas --it looked like this:

Wine: Vin Chaud

Vin Chaud is French for hot wine, which is essentially mulled spiced wine. It is the Swiss winter beverage of choice.

Vin Chaud includes:
2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
4 cinnamon sticks or a few sprinkles of ground cinnamon
6 whole cloves
1 fresh whole nutmeg
2 oranges or clementines, thinly sliced
1 bottle red wine

Simply combine 2 cups of water with the sugar and spices in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Add the orange slices, remove pan from the heat and let sit for 15 minutes. Stir in the wine. Reheat gently over low heat, never allowing to boil. Serve hot.

Bon santé.

This is a pictures of vin chaud made in a caldron at a Christams market.

Beer: Amsterdam Maximator

Lest you think everything we review here gets enthusiastic approval, we offer the below for your consideration.

If you will, picture a Tuesday night in Geneva, most every shop closed and we in the mood for a beer but not for getting out of our pajamas. So, like the good bums we are ,we roll out to the corner kiosk to pick up a pair of beers.

Not looking for fancy, just something cold and flavorful. Always up for the adventure, we reach past the Heiniken and go for the unknown label: Amsterdam Maximator.

Now the name alone makes one cower in the potential awesomeness of this beer. They didn't call it Amsterdam Prettygoodimator now did they?


It. Was. Awful. Imagine Old English malt liquor with a random aftertaste of stale whiskey (and not in that good Boilermarker way either).

They were finished, but barely. I think this botched attempt at "Blue Steel" says it all.

Meal: Rabbit Fricasse

"Little bunny foo foo

Hopping through the kitchen
Picking up the flavors
And popping 'em in the pot"

-Popular children's limerick

Or that's at least how I remember it, I may be wrong.

Regardless, as may have been mentioned here before, many of the foodstuffs available in Swiss markets are far different than those you may find at your local butcher. One such item, "Lapin" a francais, has been drawing my attention since we got here. So when rabbit went on sale, it went on the menu.

Having not a clue how to prepare rabbit (my original plans involved a live rabbit in a large black cauldron over an open fire coming to a slow boil while I carefully cut carrots, might have had something to do with scenes like this:

Getting on with it, I hunted through the Food Network website until I came along a recipe that if our needs, tastes and resources. An Emril Legasse creation, the Dutch Oven-cooked rabbit dish was as delicious as it was interesting.

On the stove:

On the plate:

So what does rabbit actually taste like? The common misconception is that it tastes like chicken. In truth, it has the chicken texture, but the flavor has much more of a duck taste minus the fatty richness. Very good though, and highly recommended.

Wine: Dole Du Valais

The first of many local wines you'll be seeing, as the saying with Swiss wines is that its all the stuff that was too good to export.

This white comes from Switzerland's third largest canton, Valais. Fruity without being too sweet, it also hada slight "fizz" (not like champagne, more subtle).

Wine: Loggia Del Conte

A good Italian Chianti, good flavor without "insisting on itself" (ok, so we don't know wine so much, but it was really good with a beef dish).

Beer: Kaiser Bier

A flavorful Austiran lager. We enjoyed many.

Meal: Quiche

Last night I made Steve true French meal, quiche.

I made it with spinich sauted in garlic and onions, smoked salmon, and feta cheese on top of the pie crust with the egg and milk mixture poured on top.

"Mmmmmmmmmm....." - Steve.

Meal: Fondue and Mussels

During our day in Neuchâtel, we had dinner at a little Bistro called The Jura. Looking for something local, this place offered the variety and authenticity we were looking for.

First up, the fondue. In this case, it was Fondue Neuchâteloise, meaning that it was local variations on the Gruyere cheese, local white wine served melted with basic baguette. Fondue, of course, comes in a variety of forms -- both bread/ cheese and meat/oil combos -- most of which will be profiled at some point on this blog.

Steve had Les Moulles et Frites. This is essentially mussels steamed in a white wine and garlic sauce, served with a side of fries and mayonnaise. A Francophone delicacy, we deduced that this simple, eat-with-your-hands experience was essentially the European equivalent to buffalo chicken wings (that's a good thing).

Furthermore, we had a couple of local, unpasturized/ unfiltered beers to go with. Dark and somewhat sweet, the beers complemented the meal well (and came in sweet bottles with hinge-tops like Grolsch does stateside.



Naturally there was a lot of sharing going on (particularly the fries in the fondue).

Put a bubbling vat of cheese in front of Jaren, you know she'll be happy. Add a steaming vat of flavorful finger food for Steve and you've got two very happy diners.

Cheese: Tonneau

Steve and I were in Manor, one of the main everything department/grocery stores in the centre of town, and came across the 'samples lady'. She was yelling out "Mister, please try this delicious cheese, it is on sale today" and "Madame, please take." Of course we took a sample. I wasn't sure what Steve would think about the robust and nutty flavor, but by the time I finished my sample he already put a block in the cart. It took that as a good sign.

Voila, Le Tonneau:

Le Tonneau is a new cheese from Switzerland ripened for four months. Its rind has a natural dark color, with grooves that resemble a barrel. Like the character of a large cheese, Le Tonneau has a unique taste with a full, fruity flavor. This fresh, partially skimmed cow's milk cheese has a novel consistency and an exceptionally delicate creaminess.

Chocolate: Chocolat chaud

Last night, I took a few swiss chocolate bars and made REAL hot chocolate. Oh my lucky stars. This hot chocolate was like sipping curdling sweet goodness.

The ingredients:

100g chocolat noir (1 very large bar of dark chocolate)
100g chocolat au lait (1 very large bar of milk chocolate)
...depending on your chocolate preferences, you can use one or the other. I prefer a melange of the two!
1/5 L of milk (I'd say roughly 2 cups and it needs to be fatty milk, none of this "non fat" stuff)

Pour the milk into a sauce pan, place under moderate heat and stir constantly until the milk begins to bubble. Dump in small pieces of chocolate. Continue to stir (this is important otherwise the milk will scold). Once the milk turns into a dark and delicious color, your hot chocolate is ready to serve!

Enjoy!

Meat: Lamb

Lamb is one of the most widely consumed meats in Switzerland. You could say, what beef is to the US, lamb is to Switzerland.

One day, Steve was shopping at MIGROs and saw a lamb shank on "ACTION" (sale, but more of an "oh my, we've got too much meat" sale than an "oh my, this meat is 4 hours from spoiling" sale) for 5 Swiss Francs (roughly $4.) What a bargain! He brought the lamb shank home and conjured up a meal idea to complement the lamb.

On the menu:

Glaze of Salt, pepper, paprika, dill, lemon and honey. Cover pan with foil and roast for 55 minutes on 425 F. Remove foil and cook for 350 F for an additional 25 minutes.








Served with a mushroom risotto et, voila!

Cheese: Gruyère

A long favorite of Jaren - we've already had two very good blocks bought at a farmers market.



Gruyère is a hard yellow cheese made from cow's milk, named after the town of Gruyères. Sweet but slightly salty, with a flavor that varies widely with age, Gruyère is often described as creamy and nutty when young, becoming with age more assertive, earthy, and complex. When fully aged (five months to a year) it tends to have small holes and cracks which impart a slightly grainy mouthfeel.

See HERE for more information