Cheese fondue and games

I found this recipe on Jamie Oliver.com, contributed by a Swiss ladyand include it because I love the translation, it also gives quantities of cheese per person (always useful)
I used half Beaufort (not the expensive Alpage variety) about 3/8 Swiss gruyere because it is stronger than the Beaufort, and 1/8 Emmental to give it some 'ficelle' (stringiness) as advised by my man on the market here who supplied the cheese, together with a delicious selection of raw ham and mountain sausage sec.

I only eat this during the day to avoid cheesy dreams, and DO NOT DRINK COLD WATER with it.

Yum

- About 800g cheese
- 4 dl dry, acidic, tangy white wine (per 200g white cheese 1 dl)
- 2-3 teaspoons coated Maizena (cornstarch)
- 1 small glass of kirsch (cherry schnaps) (or water)
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- About 500g of bread (white bread, baguette)
- Pepper and nutmeg
-Pickles
Method
Basic recipe for 4 people

It is calculated per person between 150g and 250g cheese (2-thirds mature Gruyere, Emmentaler third mature and fribourger vacherin), according to the eater and above all, depending on how well the fondue is. The amount of information per person on fondue mixes and pre-packaged fondue are unfortunately often too tight.



The cheese and wine should have roomtemparatur. Cut the garlic into half, then countersink the Caquelon (cheese pan) and leave it in the pan (its great fun to fish them out in the end). Then grate the cheese, put it together in the Caquelon with the wine, cooking slowly on low heat about 15-20 minutes on the stove by constant stirring to melt it. When the cheese is completely melted, mix the Maizena and the lemon juice with kirsch in the glass and give it to the cheese. Cooking further by constant stirring about 2 minutes on high flame untill its viscid. Season it with pepper and nutmeg. Now you can serve it.

Wreak:
The Caquelon on the table is most suitable controlled at a spirit stove (which you emblazed before), where it should permanently simmering (do not cook or boil). Serve bread cubes cuts and the pickles. For the Drinks, serve white wine or black tea. When dipping the bread cubes into the fondue stirr it well. Through this stirring the fondue remains bound and viscid until the end, it also prevents the burning on the ground of the Caquelon. After the fondue, drink a little glass of the schnaps for a better digestion.
Here in switzerland, we have a traditional „game“ during the fondue: if a man loses his bread during stirring it in the cheese, he has to spend a bottle of wine. If a woman loses the bread in the cheese, she has to give a kiss to someone at the table. There are many versions of the „game“, for example: In winter, in the mountains, you have to jump half naked into the snow or something.
Enjoy your meal.
Greetings Siiri

PS: You can mix the cheese fondue with tomatoes, mushrooms and nuts or maybe broccoli. Instead of bread you can take pieces of potatoes.


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Location:Pralognan la Vanoise

Mince Pies

Paul Hollywood’s mince pies
Ingredients
For the pastry
375g/13oz plain flour
250g/9oz butter, softened
125g/4oz caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 medium free-range egg
Zest of 1 lemon

For the filling
600 g jar mincemeat
2 tangerines, zest grated and flesh chopped 1 apple, finely diced
Preparation method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. To make the sweet pastry, rub the flour, butter, sugar and egg together with a splash of cold water until it just comes together as a dough. Do not over work the dough. Wrap the pastry in clingfilm and set aside to chill in the fridge while you make the filling.
2. To make the filling, turn the mincemeat out into a bowl, grate the zest of the tangerines into the mincemeat, then peel and chop the fruit. Throw the tangerine and apple pieces into the bowl and blend by hand.
3. Roll out the pastry to a 3mm/1/8in thickness. With a round pastry cutter, cut out 6 x 9cm/31⁄2in discs of pastry. Press the pastry into the muffin cups and fill each one with a good helping of the mincemeat mixture, so that it reaches three-quarters of the way up the side of the pastry-lined cup.
4. With a fluted pastry cutter, cut out 6 x 8cm/31⁄4 in pastry circles for the lids (slightly bigger than the top of the muffin cups). Place a lid on top of each pie and gently push down. Sprinkle with caster sugar.
5. Bake for 20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm with fresh cream.
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Location:The Great British Bake Off

Perfect Rosti

Never content to accept just one recipe for something I want to make I always search out alternatives. I can never find them again when I want them so I save them here for future testings.
One from The Guardian and another from Channel 4 4Food



From the Guardian food and drink.
Felicity's perfect rösti. Photograph: Felicity Cloake
They're glorious plain, but a rösti can be made into a complete meal with the addition of onion, bacon and nutty Alpine cheese. (Some areas even add coffee; those crazy Swiss, eh?). All you really need for a good rösti, however, is some firm potatoes, parboiled to give a soft, melting interior, and fried in plenty of hot butter and goose fat until crisp, and a few mountains to climb to work up an appetite.
Serves 4 as a side dish, 2 as a main course
2 medium-sized waxy potatoes
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp goose fat
1. Parboil the potatoes in salted water until just tender, but not soft. Allow to cool, and chill for at least a couple of hours.
2. Coarsely grate the potatoes and season. Heat half the fat in a small, heavy-based frying pan until sizzling, and then add the grated potato, allow to cook for a couple of minutes and then shape it into a flat cake, pressing down as lightly as possible. Allow to cook for a couple of minutes, then gently shake the pan to loosen the potato.
3. Continue to cook for about 10 minutes until golden and crisp, then place a plate on top of the pan and invert it so the cake sits, cooked-side up, on the plate.
4. Add the rest of the butter and goose fat to the pan and, when hot, slide the potato cake back into the pan the other way up. Cook for another 10 minutes, then serve.
Is a rösti nothing more than a hash brown with Alpine airs and graces, or a distinctive national dish Switzerland should be proud of? What are your top tips, and what other foods do you favour to keep off the mountain chill?



An alternative recipe from Channel 4 4Food:

Choose the right potatoes and these rosti will be a success every time
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

1kg Charlotte, Vivaldi or Desiree potatoes, peeled and coarsely grated
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried mixed Italian herbs (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
Fresh chives, to garnish
METHOD

Dry the grated potato with a clean tea towel - it’s important to remove as much moisture as possible. Mix with the onion, garlic and herbs (if using) and season with salt and pepper.

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan. Add mounds of the grated potato mixture, flatten the surface with a fish slice, and cook over a medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. The potato needs to cook and brown on the base, so avoid trying to turn them too soon.

Turn each rosti carefully and cook the other side for a further 10 minutes. Remember to keep the heat low so the inside of the rosti cook without over browning.

Tip: Grate the potatoes by hand rather than in a food processor where they can become too wet. Once grated use right away to prevent discolouration.

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