yesterday in the Great Swamp
There is something that happens right about at this time of year that makes your entire psyche alter toward the hunkering down mentality – well at least for me. I retire to the kitchen and to the house to bake, stay warm and the image of eating luxurious things permeates my thinking.
Yesterday, I was driving through the Great Swamp and the image on my left caught my eye. I couldn’t bypass how intriguing the blue in the water off in the background was. I wondered how this could be so. I turned the car around and returned and captured this phenomenon. It was late morning. When I walked to the side of the road, the ducks and geese took flight, cackling at me in their utter annoyance. Directly across the street, I captured these geese who couldn’t have cared less that I was there. They were farther away. The Great Swamp can be a beautiful and peaceful place at this time of year. While I prefer it in its greenery, this is inspiring, too.
I hope someone out there is following my suggestion and making a cookbook for their kids or grandkids per my post on November 28, I really do. Or, at the very least you’ve incepted on a merry baking extravaganza with those little hands.
Yesterday, I caught this adorable video on instagram. Thanks, to our niece, Eileen for agreeing to share! Here is Hanley Coombes in action – baking cookies with her Mom! It warms my heart! And, the technique is priceless!
watch the video for her very professional technique!
A few years ago I got the idea from a friend to have a fondue party on Christmas Eve. It wasn’t a big affair, it was just the 4 of us. My kids gave me the Mauviel Fondue pot, a treat unto itself, and we went to town.
For those of you actually cooking and baking with your kids, you, of course can make a chocolate fondue if you don’t want to do the cheese!
It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of Manuela Darling Gannser. I have written about her books on this blog several times before. In her Winter in the Alps book, my favorite of hers and perhaps the book I turn to for inspiration every years when the weather turns cold, you can see exactly how important cheese is in the culture of Europe, and particularly the region of her home, Italian-speaking Switzerland. Cows are treated lovingly here and they give back based on their grazing opportunities high up in the mountains in the Summertime. The visions of alpine cows as well as sitting there, by a roaring fire in Winter, eating a prized fondue, just moves me. It’s on my bucket list.
I suggest you make a trip to your best cheese purveyor before making this. Murray’s Cheese would be my W. Village favorite:
Here is Manuela’s recipe. I also cut up a couple of organic Granny Smith Apples to eat with this. I have to confess, that I actually prefer the tart apple playing off the rich and luxurious cheese!
Manuela Darling Gannser’s Cheese Fondue – recipe courtesy Winter in the Alps
1 clove garlic
10 fl oz dry white wine
7 oz coarsely grated Gruyere cheese
7 oz coarsely grated Emmental cheese
7 oz vacherin cheese (such as Vacherin a fondue or Vacherin Mont d’or (if you can’t find Vacherin, increase Gruyere and Emmental to 10 1/2 oz)
2 fl oz kirsch
2 tbsp cornflour
freshly grated nutmeg
freshly ground black pepper
loaf of ciabatta bread, cut into bite sized pieces
1 organic egg (optional)
Rub the fondue pot with the garlic. Add the wine and put the pot over low heat on the stove. Heat the wine until close to boiling.
Gradually add the cheese, stirring constantly. When they have melted, add the Kirsch – if you are using the cornflour, stir it into the Kirsch beforehand). The fondue should have a creamy consistency. Add a little nutmeg and a grinding of pepper.
Put the fondue pot in the middle of the table over the flame to keep the liquid lightly bubbling. With a for, each person should spear a piece of bread and dip it into the fondue. At the end of the meal, leave a little bit of cheese in the bottom of the pot and break the egg into it. Scramble the egg and cheese together and serve it as a final taste. This last step is optional but well worth trying. Serves 4
If you are not going to be home on Christmas Eve, serve this on another, preferably frosty night. Choose a really good northern Italian white wine to drink along side. Whatever you do, make it memorable as I do, chiefly with Christin.