Jonell Galloway
Les 5 Portes
French cuisine.
Les 5 Portes, rue de Zürich 8, 1201 Geneva, tel. +41 022 731 84 38. Open Tues. through Fri. 09H00 to 02H00, Sat. 17H00 to 02H00, Sunday 11H00 to 20H00.L’Alhambar
American-style Sunday brunch, with mimosas, Bloody Marys. Nice price.
L’Alhambar, rue de la Rôtisserie 10, 1204 Geneva, entrance through Parc Pélisserie. Tel. +41 022 312 13 13.Calm
Saturday and Sunday brunch from 10H00 to 18H00, including scrambled eggs, pancakes, sandwiches, muesli, bread, croissants, brioches, etc. Garden terrace in summer.
Calm, rue Ancienne 36, 1227 Geneva, +41 022 301 22 20.Le Cheval Blanc
All-you-can-eat buffet for CHF 22. Buffet includes bread and jam, pastries, birchermuesli, various kinds of eggs, as well as quiches, original mixed salads, cheese and sausage. Also a selection of desserts. Reservation advisable.
Le Cheval Blanc, Place de l’Octroi 15, 1227 Carouge, tel. +41 022 343 61 61 from 11H00 to 15H00 on Sundays.
Jonell Galloway
Make your own Valentine’s chocolate, Ticino style
Here is a great double-chocolate walnut biscotti recipe by Patricia Turo, born into an Italian family in the US, but now living in the Klosters ski resort in Switzerland. This recipe is therefore more in the spirit of Ticino, the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland.
Be careful about the quality of chocolate you use: Avoid buying the American chocolate chips in a bag. You’d be better off buying a bar of dark chocolate from your favorite local (Swiss) chocolate maker and crumbling it up into bits. The same goes for the cocoa powder. Make sure it is good quality, preferably from a good chocolate maker.
To convert the measurements, refer to How to convert measurements for American recipes.
Jonell Galloway
This week’s foodie overview
I spend a lot of time reading, researching and tweeting about food and restaurants these days, so I thought I’d jot down my tweets from the last few days. These are from both The Rambling Epicure and Swiss Foodies and should give you an overview of what’s going on in the foodie world this week.
These tweets are often focused on Switzerland, but also include a lot of links to Swiss, French, German, British, American, Canadian and other research on food.
This week was the countdown to Valentine’s Day, so I listed oodles of Valentine’s dinners, weekend packages at hotels and chocolate shops. You can find the Valentine’s venues I tweeted last week in the 20 Valentine venues, posted earlier this week.
Sometimes I couldn’t resist writing about the snow and skiing conditions, because that determines how a lot of us in Switzerland plan our weekends, and therefore what restaurants we go to or what recipes we cook up. And of course occasionally, watches and Alinghi . . .
Remember, these are just tweets
Remember these are just tweets, so they are short and sweet. They are not particularly orderly; I just tweeted the information as I found it.
I suggest you skim over the headings, and if you’re interested, just click on any of the links that interest you in order to read the detailed article.
Who knows, this might even tempt you to start tweeting yourself!
This week’s tweet list
Valentine’s
20 Valentine venues: restaurants, chocolate and hotel packages for the “big day”!
Valentine’s events in La Gruyère.
Valentine’s package at Bernard Ravet, CHF500, hotel, champagne, 9-course dinner, breakfast for two, Relais & Châteaux.
Restaurants in French-speaking Switzerland w/ Valentine’s specials; just click on your canton! NOT TESTED BY THE RAMBLING EPICURE.
GenevaLunch: Lake Geneva Valentine’s cruise.
Ramada Geneva offering Valentine’s Day brunch as well as candelit dinner.
Hôtel des Armures in Geneva: special Valentine’s package, rooms, champagne, breakfast and chocolate.
Valentine’s package at Hotel Royal Geneva. Le Duo, chic delish restaurant & brasserie, chef trained by Bernard Loiseau.
Jamie Oliver’s Valentine’s Day menu, along with recipes and tips for a romantic feast.
GenevaLunch: Valentine’s for the “older” crowd.
Jonell Galloway
British Cheese Centre of Switzerland: online shopping
The British Cheese Centre of Switzerland offers many of their products online, including Christmas tasting packages.
Delivery all over Switzerland
They have a regular stall at the Zürich HB market on Wednesday, but deliver all over Switzerland, via priority post. Even if you’re in the most remote corner of Switzerland, it’s still not too late to get your Stilton for Christmas!
In addition to British farmhouse cheese, the “centre” stocks ale, McVicars English-style back bacon and sausages made in Switzerland, a selection of homemade pies, and a large range of quality chutneys and crackers. Other British products include tea, cakes and biscuits and for Christmas, Christmas puddings and mince pies. They eventually hope to stock homemade chocolates.
Those who live in the Zurich area will be interested to know that they hold regular tastings, and special events or receptions can also be organized.
They will be offering samples of their wares at the Rapperswil Christmas Market from 11 to 13 December on Lake Zurich, as well as the Rappi Bier Factory on 12th December, the Luzern International Christmas Market from 17 to 20 December, and the Moevenpick Wein Keller Zug. Free Port & Stilton tasting on 19 December.
Tel. +41 081 733 3006Jonell Galloway
The age-old Geneva and Savoyard specialty called rzulé in the local dialect, better known today as rissole aux poires, was nearly extinct not so very long ago. The dish consists basically of pears braised until they caramelize, which are then used to fill a pastry. The result resembles a fried apple turnover or chausson, even though it is baked.
Very Easy Kitchen's beautiful photo of pear rissoles.
The nearly extinct Marlioz pear saved by Geneva woman
You don’t just use any old pear to make rissoles. You use a variety specific to the region: the Marlioz pear, which was saved by none other than Eliane Pottu, says La Tribune de Genéve. Jérôme Estèbe wrote a delightful feature, in French, on the fortunate revival of this dish. Traditionally, every family in canton Geneva and the Savoy had a couple of Marlioz pear trees in the garden, but this tradition has slowly dwindled away.
Jonell Galloway
If you didn’t have time to make your Christmas puddings last winter, there is still a solution: order luxury puddings online. Yes, you still have time!
Figgys Puddings makes high-quality Christmas puddings using only the best ingredients. They come in lovely ceramic bowls.
They ship overseas, but do not list the date for last order. In any case, it would be wise to order as soon as possible.
Figgys Christmas puddings use only top quality natural ingredients.
Harrods offers luxury Christmas puddings and brandy butter, with a delivery time of 5 to 7 days to Switzerland.
Fortnum and Mason in Picadilly in London also offers a wide variety of Christmas puddings and cakes, including chocolate-flavored ones, as well as mince pies. The puddings come in lovely ceramic bowls you’ll want to keep.
Rum and cognac butters are also available. For Switzerland, orders must be in by midday, Monday December 14.
Jonell Galloway
Le 3 Rive Gauche, Grand Rue 3, 1204 Geneva
This reliable bistro is a real gem in the midst of the vieille ville, which is in dire need of more good but affordable restaurants.
It is beautifully decorated, the servers are pleasant, fast and efficient, and the food is reliably good. They offer a daily lunch special for CHF 20 or a 2-course daily menu for CHF 32.
After our conference on the history of Geneva today at the Société de Lecture, we hopped down the street and had a plat du jour, which consisted of a thick, perfectly cooked slab of salmon trout, steamed potatoes cooked to perfection, and steamed spinach.
They also have great baguette, which is another thing that is hard to find in local restaurants. Definitely an address to save in your telephone memory.
Opening hours: Monday through Friday, 12:00 to 14:00 and from 18:30 to 22:30. Tel. +41 022 810 29 29. Site. (Please note that the hours listed on the site are not correct.)
L’Office, rue Richer 3, 75009 Paris
Refined, modern, light cuisine for around 30 euros a head for a 3-course meal. Red bell pepper velouté with foie gras, duo of sea bass and scallops with a frothy, light cream sauce, and a to-die-for chocolate moelleux. Can purchase foie gras, onion jam, and other homemade goodies to take home with you. Short but sweet wine list.
Opening hours: closed Sundays and Mondays. Open for lunch on Thursday and Friday from mid-day – 2.30pm. Open for dinner from Tuesday – Saturday from 8 – 10.30pm. Tel. +33 01 47 70 67 31. Metro Cadet (line 7) or Bonne Nouvelle (lines 8 & 9).
Read more…
Jonell Galloway
The American International Women’s Club will be sponsoring a Thanksgiving Day lunch at the Royal Savoy Hotel in Lausanne from 11:30 A.M. to 14:00 P.M. on Thursday, 26 November 2009.
The luncheon starts with a cocktail and wine party, offered by the club. The menu includes pumpkin soup with cheese straws, turkey stuffed with chestnuts, cranberry sauce, sweet potato gratin, French green beans, and apple tart with pecans and ice cream.
The price is CHF 60 for members, and CHF 70 for non-members.
You must register IMMEDIATELY, by e-mailing: registration@aiwc-lausanne.org.
Students from the International School of Lausanne will perform during this annual event, and the Community Services Committee will be holding a supply drive for the benefit of the Terres des Hommes federation to support children in need.
Royal Savoy Hotel, 40 Avenue d’Ouchy, Lausanne.Map.
Jonell Galloway
The P’tit Bonheur in Chambésy will be serving Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, 26 November 2009.
The menu includes pumpkin soup with pumpkin seed oil, apple and walnut salad with cranberry vinaigrette, roast turkey and giblet sauce with fig stuffing, mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream and vanilla ice cream for CHF 55, not including drinks.
The Thanksgiving meal will be served from 12:00 to 14:30 and from 19:00 to 21:30 on Thursday only.
Reservations are recommended.
4 Chemin des Cornillons, 1292 Chambésy Tel./Fax: +41.22.758.0848 http://www.auptitbonheur.ch/fr/ind E-Mail : info@auptitbonheur.ch MapJonell Galloway
Even though stuffed turkey, cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes are pretty standard fare, most families have their own version of the feast, including grandma’s recipes as well as traditional ones.
Photo courtesy of Steve Lupton/Corbis.
I’ve gathered some ideas that allow you to plan your own personalized Thanksgiving, right here in the Lake Geneva region, without having to have someone send you the ingredients from back home.
Thanksgiving planner
Epicurious has devised quite a clever Thanksgiving menu planner that should help everyone have a successful, stress-free Thanksgiving. You fill in a form, answering questions about what why type of dinner you want, and they propose a customized menu.
A gourmet Thanksgiving
I filled it in, with no holes barred, and this was what they suggested: