Every year we celebrate Christmas with my husband’s family in the French countryside, in the Eure-et-Loir.  We make a stop in Paris on our way south, check out the sweet scene in the capital and spend some time with friends. We arrive just in time at my belle-mère’s to help decorate the tree and put out little dishes of chocolates and wrapped Papillotes in every room of the house.  Those are the Révillon chocolates below right (that were featured in Régal’s December/January issue), a specialty from Lyon, where both of my parents-in-law are from. Read the rest of this story >>

Every year my husband and I celebrate Christmas with his family. Luckily for me, they happen to live an hour outside of Paris. Before arriving at my mother-in-law’s home (where a fire will always be roaring, extraordinary aromas wafting from the kitchen, kids running around, a large dog barking, and fun exchanges humming about the upcoming arrival of Papa Noël – aka Santa Claus), we make a quick stop in the City of Lights to see friends. Or more accurately for me, a quick stop in the City of Sweets to keep my sweet tooth at bay… and see friends.
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Despite the snow flurries this week in Zürich, all I can think about are palm trees.  Well, palmiers actually.  I had first made these swirled “elephant ear” pastries for Chanukah, the Jewish holiday that began last Friday evening, December 11th and comes to a close this Friday evening, December 18th.  As a nod to the holiday, I broke out my blue sugar crystals and made them blue.  Realizing just how easy and fun they were to make, I then decided it was time to play.

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Candles were lit on the menorah and prayers were sung. Potato latkes were dipped in apple sauce and then devoured. Dreidels were spun and M&M’s won. Gold foil wrappers were peeled off  thin milk chocolate gelt (coins), the chocolate inevitably getting stuck under fingernails. Wrapping paper was torn, presents revealed. Friday night December 11th was the first night of Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, and we did each one of those things.  Best of all is that we get to do it 8 nights in a row!  You can get a fun, brief overview of  the holiday and those traditions here, where I realized that Chanukah is in fact very Swiss-friendly – Latke, meet Rösti! And hello milk chocolate, there’s plenty of that here too! Read the rest of this story >>

The excitement of the winter markets doesn’t necessarily have to end at 11am when the Market Police show up, making sure that no more goodies are exchanged (it’s true, read about it here!).  All throughout Switzerland and in other European countries, this is prime time for Christmas markets – markets that go on all day long and well into the evening too.  Just think how magical, once it gets dark – colorful lights twinkling on and off, trees sparkling with ornaments and decorations… and you taking it all in, with cold hands cupped around warm mugs of Glühwein or hot cocoa.

Zürich’s main train station holds Europe’s largest indoor Christmas market for the 16th year.  Swarovski steals the show once again with its 15m (50 foot) tree and 6,000 crystals.   The tree is stunning and a real mouth-opener from afar; it almost appears to be covered in snow – with all the crystals and spotlights around.  But be sure to get up close (you might have to elbow your way in a bit) and see all the small crystal figurines.  Green mini Christmas trees and all sorts of animals, Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs, and my personal favorite, a new addition this year: mini cows in different colors, with bells around their necks (below right). (See last year’s post for more pictures of the tree and market.)

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All throughout the year, people tell me how their favorite season for cooking and going to the markets is the winter – for the festive ambience and the wide array of vegetables in season.  I can’t argue with that.  While I do love the explosion of colorful berries during the summer time, the first sign of corn in the fall and white asparagus in the spring, there is just something about the winter markets in Switzerland that is truly special.

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Back by popular demand, the third chocolate roundup is here! And today on December 1st, what I consider the official start of the holiday season. We even had our first snowfall here in Zürich yesterday. Christmas trees and mistletoe are on people’s minds, roasted chestnuts and marzipan, panettone… and chocolate of course! Perhaps the majority of that chocolate will be shaped like Santa Claus, but for me… it’s all about bars.

So here’s what I have been tasting lately. Let me know what you think of these bars if you are already familiar. And if not, be sure to let me know what’s in your chocolate drawer!
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Last year my parents happened to be visiting us in Zürich from New York during Thanksgiving.  ”How perfect,” we all said.  We would recreate the holiday meal chez nous and uphold our family traditions – play the same music we play every year while we cook (Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and very loud), decorate the table together, put my mother in charge of her famous noodle pudding, and bake a turkey with all the trimmings.  Not taking any risks, my mom packed her suitcase in New York with Pennsylvania Dutch extra wide egg noodles (the only ones she has ever used in her highly-prized recipe), Thanksgiving themed napkins and table decorations, real American brown sugar, even her favorite canned pineapple to assure authenticity.  Sounds like the plans were laid to go on without a hitch…

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Wherever I am traveling, you can be sure there will be a visit to a local market.  I love to see the array of colorful products, how they are put on display, how the locals interact with the market vendors and more.  Back to Zurich from my recent travels, I went right to the market here to see what had changed.  And there it was, the newest addition, telling me that the holiday season is truly not far away.  Mistletoe is back, and Christmas decorations are soon to follow.  A perfect way to follow the seasons and the holidays, taste your way around the market (and the world), discovering products you may not find at home, wherever your home may be…

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You have just gotten a small dose of Berlin’s history and culture here, reading about the Berlin Wall and the little green Ampelmann, as well as the sheer magnitude of museums you can visit.  But you’ve got to eat too!  Aside from the obligatory currywurst you’ll grab at the city’s omnipresent stands, there are tons of restaurants serving up traditional German cuisine, regional specialties, or spots where chefs are bringing in a bit of creativity – and perhaps lightening things up a bit in the process too.

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