Winter Food Discovery

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My past trips to Europe have been pleasant and memorable. Most of my visits were during the summer season, hence I tried mostly their summer delicacies.

This time around, I am here in France and Switzerland for a winter adventure. Let me share to you some interesting stuff I have tried so far...

My mother-in-law prepared some "winter" salad like: betterave (red-looking jelly-like salad which was yummy); endives (whitish yellowish salad that grows only in winter).

During my stay with hubby's aunt, she made some gratin de carde (which is another vegetable that grows only in winter).

Now let's move to the highlights of my gastronomic experience.

RACLETTE -- My yummy first raclette experience! It's a Swiss/French type of cooking which uses a special cooker to warm the cheese, which after it's melted, you put on top of potatoes. We ate it with some dried meat, small pickled onions and cornichon (green small things which I have never eaten in Asia). It was fun to cook while eating, something like a little shabu-shabu experience but European style with lots and lots of cheese. A highly recommended gastronomic experience if you do spend winter in Europe. It was memorable for me and I do hope to have more of this in the winters to come. I took a photo of our dinner at chez Claudette !!! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raclette

FONDUE -- We had some serious cheese indulgence during our visit in Geneva. We had a good time at the restaurant Edelweiss, which had a nice chalet ambience and traditional Swiss live music. Hubby's aunt, who used to work in Geneva informed us that this restaurant is always full, and one needs to make reservations to ensure a seat. We started with some dried meat with Girolle cheese. Then followed by the hot cheese fondue, which was very nice for winter. We dipped the crusty bread into the melted cheese while sipping some Swiss White Wine (which were not white in color). A must try when in Geneva. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fondue