Swiss Lunch & Apline Macaroni

So today's recipe is courtesy of a week in Switzerland, for a true swiss experience take a few slices of hand swiss chesse, some dense dark bread i.e rye or multigrain, add some butter - voila! Swiss lunch for two. Wow, now don't you feel better for knowing that recipes.

Food on our Swiss trip was really lovely, as we were right up high in the Alps at Saas Fee the food was more 'fuel' based than nouvelle cuisine. Everything was pretty much cheese based, which was perfect as I could happily eat by body weight in cheese! But nevertheless we got to try the famous alpine macaroni, macaroni cheese with stewed apple on top. Pretty much a heart attack on a plate but the most incredible comfort food! (See my 1970's style photo from Dom restaurant in Saas Fee - pretty shiny and bright!)

My favourite version of this recipe is based on Valentine Warners from his glorious book What to Eat Now.




Alpine Macroni by Valentine Warner

Serves 4

250g Gruyere cheese, grated
25g Butter
1 good tbsp plain flour
200ml Riesling white wine
1 tsp mustard
150ml single cream
sea salt
150g rashers of smoked streaky bacon
300g dried macaroni pasta
2 cloves garlic

Apple Sauce:
3 Braeburn or cox apples, peeled, cored and diced
125ml water
1 tsp caster sugar
splash of white wine vinegar

Method:
Melt the butter in a non-stick pan, add the flour and mix the two with a whisk. After it has foamed for 15 seconds add the wine a bit at a time until emulsified. After all the wine has gone in add the cheese and whisk until melted, then add mustard and cream. Season with the salt and put aside.

Take the diced apple and put in a pan with the water, sugar and vinegar and simmer partially covered until the apples are soft. Mash to make an apple sauce consistency and leave aside.

Cut the bacon into 1cm strips and fry them in a tiny bit of oil until nearly crisp.

Cook the macaroni is hot salted water until cooked (not al dente) whilst this cooks, slowly heat up the cheese sauce and apple sauce. Drain the macaroni, add to the cheese, throw in the bacon and garlic and mix well. Put into a big serving dish or plate up to be topped with the apple sauce.

Glorious indulgence!

London: Tourist at Home

The benefit of being an English tourist in England is that you can put your head down and power round the tube like you live there (London, not the tube that is) and grumble at other tourists without feeling hypocritical. The other strange thing is that we were a rare breed, amongst the French, Indian, African, Polish, Russian and many other nationalities - not lest the several million Australians that populate London we felt like tourists in our own capital city. Surrounded by the chatter of every language but English we felt like we could be anywhere in the world, and felt sorry for those tourists seeking an 'English' experience because in London, you're not going to get it.

Aside from these strange elements we had a cracking weekend, and in oder to bring you the best review of London we felt inclined to dine at the best restaurants and drink in the most luxurious bars. Such a hardship.


First up was a little pre-theatre experience right next to the Lyceum Theatre (for the superb Lion King) called Indigo, part of the One Aldwych Hotel. With two courses priced at £16.75 and the most efficient service this well oiled machine is perfect pre-theatre. We had beautifully cooked sea bream of steamed vegetables followed by the most beautiful desert of basil creme brulee, sounds strange tastes like heaven.


Saturday we headed over to Scott's of Mayfair (part of the Le Caprice and Ivy family) for a late lunch/early dinner event. Apart from a little haphazard service - due to the switch over of staff from lunch to dinner, we had en excellent meal. Starting with a dozen Maldon Rocks oysters we went on to try the days special of Turbot in Bernaise sauce (between two), Fillet of Gurnard and John Dory with a clam and saffron broth and Atlantic halibut with smoked salmon cabbage and chive butter sauce - all of which were excellent, especially the turbot which was to die for.
We polished off our extravagant lunch with a honeycomb ice cream with hot chocolate sauce which set very pleasingly on top to create a chocolate shell - desert heaven. Finally we were presented with a plate of macaroons with a happy birthday message for me on - very sweet of them! The macaroons made me jealous, I must try harder with mine. Damn it.


Our third meal was Sunday lunch at the world famous Ivy restaurant in Covent Garden. Celebrity spotting aside the meal was beautiful, and the service to the highest standard, with an air of old fashioned fine dining. My started of Gorgonzola dressed spinach salad with pine nuts shocked my taste-buds in the best possible way - I have never had such an exciting salad experience, well who has? Then onto the main course, I indulged myself with a skate wing, amid biological explanations from Moo about how they're not really skate, regardless it was beautifully cooked, topped with tiny shrimp and caper butter. The finish the weekend of excess we had to go for the signature desert of Baked Alaska. The waiter appeared with the unbaked Alaska then processed to light the jug of brandy infused berries and pour over the meringue, while it cooked he sliced the pieces and topped with the flaming sauce to ensure hot meringue with ice cream inside. The fruit was so boozy my mouth was numb, which was calmed by the sweet Italian meringue and cold ice cream. Imaginative, spectacular and so so tasty.

First Class Food

Taking the morning First Class Virgin from Liverpool to London was not only comfortable and a lovely way to start my trip but the food was shockingly good!
My memories as a student of heated processed cheese sandwich passing as a hot meal on my way back up Glasgow were just that - distant memories. Faced with a choice of full english, scrambled egg with smoked salmon, or fruit I opted for the riskiest option - the scrambled egg.

I'd like to point out, I am not a snob in general but when it comes to scrambled egg I am very much a snob. No Egbert, scrambled egg in the microwave is not real scrambled egg. So watery, rubbery eggs cooked in the microwave with some shriveled morsels of salmon was what I was expecting, but to my surprise out came a plate of freshly cooked, creamy soft, pan made eggs, with fresh beautifully smoked salmon. Shock. Where did this come from! It was amazing, and I hate to say it but the Virgin train chef makes better scrambled egg than me, and he's on a moving train. Followed by freshly warmed croissants and a pot of breakfast tea it was the perfect breakfast whilst whizzing through the sunning English countryside.

Train: 09:45 from Liverpool Lime St, to London Euston sitting in First Class with advanced tickets costing from £21 one way 2hrs 20mins.

Blythe in Bangkok

Whilst wandering through the worlds biggest market in Bangkok I happened upon a shop selling fashion postcards of Blythe dolls, weird and wonderful I bough several for my friend back home who scarily resembled the blonde one.

See more here...

Illustrating the best

Illustrator extraordinaire Jesse LeDoux's website is a gold mine of creative illustration. He verges on sweet but remains quirky and cool, which is rather impossible for the rest of us mere mortals.

Find him at ledouxville.com