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.
In 2011, Sam received his doctorate in Mathematics. His thesis was called Justification Logics with Common Knowledge, and he asked me to proofread the English for him. It was nearly flawless, but he still offered to compensate my services in any way I saw fit. For me, the most logical choice was to be paid in my favourite food, chestnuts.
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!"
Faster than you can say Jack-O-Lantern, your pumpkin can be turned into a mini fondue.
Sometimes my Swiss friends ask me questions about North American baked goods like: "what's the difference between a cupcake and a muffin?"
And I ask them questions like: "What's the difference between a Torte and a Kuchen?"
I've never seen my little Luusmeitschi devour something as rapidly as this gourd-y Älplermagrone.
How many Swiss millionaires are there?
A lot.
As I wrote last week, we had a big pear surplus chez nous. It was pears for days, which necessitated a pear topping for our Friday night pizza—hence Pizza Williams.
You won't regret making your very own sourdough baby—sourdough pizza crust is, if time consuming, exceptionally delicious.
A little while ago we got the call, same as every year.
"They're here."
Pears that is.
Ziger.
My mother-in-law, Josy, often waxes poetic about the stuff, which is made from whey, a byproduct of cheesemaking.
Creamy no-bake cheesecake, with the nostalgic taste of Bärentatzen.
Why should Spitzbuben have all the fun?
When I asked Sam about his favourite Swiss summer dishes the classic, meaty, Siedfleischsalat was at the top of his list.
Polenta is yellow cornmeal that's cooked over low heat until it becomes a delicious, tender mash. It belongs, with chestnuts and risotto, to the traditional peasant foods of Ticino.
An easy cake that features the best of Swiss summer produce—apricots and plums.
With the mercury just over 30°C at the moment, it's certainly too hot to cook, and luckily my Aunt Vreni recently gave me her super quick and easy recipe for Birchermüesli.
My grandmother, Rosa von Gunten, had four children and some great quick dinners up her sleeve. This garlicky tomato and bacon tart was one of them, and a favourite of her kids.
Wandering bakers ventured forth from Graubünden and eventually made it home—then baked this delicious caramel and walnut tart.
The Caesar was invented in my hometown of Calgary in 1969, the same year that my mum moved from Switzerland to Canada.
And she was in good company. Immigration from Switzerland to Canada really began in the late 1800s, when the Canadian Pacific Railway hired three dozen Swiss guides to help set up mountaineering tourism in the Rockies.
