A slice of cake is not my favourite naughty nibble but offer me a freshly baked, warm Madeleine with my cuppa and you won’t hear me say no. Perhaps it’s because they were first baked in the region of Lorraine! Really, they are a small cake but there is something about the light, warm centre …
Continue Reading →Vin Chaud
Vin Chaud…Glühwein… Glögi…which ever name you use, this is the perfect winter’s day warming drink with the added benefit of it being alcoholic. Here in Châtel and across the French Alps it is a popular drink on the slopes and while the recipe is really quite simple, most of the restaurants will buy and serve …
Continue Reading →Cooking with Quail
You might have arrived here after seeing the quail recipe in our cookbook (Quail with Pearl Barley, Chorizo, Mushroom & Peas, page 99) and need some help with the deboning. A video link is below but first some info on this delicious poultry. Quail is very nutritious – of course it is a protein but …
Continue Reading →The Alpine Kitchen Cookbook
Here it is! Our first cookbook showcasing 90 recipes that we have served at Chalet Cannelle in the last 4 years. It was a bit of a mammoth project – we did start it in the summer of 2016 but it didn’t really take a proper hold of our lives until April this year. We …
Continue Reading →Rhubarb & Lime Crumble & Custard
It’s cold here, really cold. I haven’t seen the outdoor thermometer go over -2 in over a week. The mornings are absolutely beautiful; the frost freezes all the bare branches of the trees turning them white so the whole valley looks like a winter wonderland. There is fresh snow on the ground from yesterday and …
Continue Reading →Autumn Leaves and our cookbook
Autumn in the mountain is absolutely stunning. Most of the year you think that near enough all the trees you see on the mountains are pines and evergreens but it is only at this time of year that you realise how many aren’t. We were lucky this year to have blue skies most days, cold …
Continue Reading →Rhubarb Gin
Follow my blog with Bloglovin I love a good G&T. I know it isn’t everyone’s tipple of choice but it is the only spirit I drink. Years ago, I got excited if I spotted a bottle of Hendricks on the bar man’s shelf and even more so if they offered lime instead of lemon but …
Continue Reading →Fresh Basil Pesto
Basil for me is the smell of summer. I absolutely adore this wonderful aromatic herb and love to grow a number of plants so I can always cut it fresh to use, it makes a remarkable difference to both the taste and smell than using pre cut stems. Basil is mostly associated with Italian cooking …
Continue Reading →Andy’s Favourite Cookbooks
Here are my favourite cookbooks…we often get asked what are our favourite or most used cookbooks. My list rarely changes even though we buy quite a number of books every year. 4 out of 6 of my choices are from Australian chef’s which may seem bizarre but I find the Australian food scene to be …
Continue Reading →Peas & Asparagus
Spring comes late to us in the mountains of the Portes du Soleil, it isn’t unusual for us to get snow as late as the end of May. Luckily, other parts of France experience spring much earlier allowing us to enjoy the delicious new spring vegetables before we have even sown our veggie seeds and …
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