Wishing everyone happiness, good health, fruitful projects, exciting adventures… and most of all, sweetness in every way !

I hope it was a festive, delicious and joyous Christmas…

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Christmas in France. Family traditions. At my mother-in-law’s home in the French countryside. A fire going at all times.  Papillotes (wrapped chocolates from Lyon) in bowls around the house, eaten from morning to night, before, after and in between meals.  My brother-in-law on the piano and mother-in-law in the kitchen (with me as Sous Chef, but of course). Slippers in front of the fireplace. Clementines left for Le Père Noël (Santa Claus). Our nephews and niece running around – excited for Santa to come, and then excited about all that he left behind.

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When December rolls around and the holidays approach, what gets you the most excited? For some, it’s the hunt for the perfect Christmas tree and taking it home to decorate, not to mention placing wrapped gifts underneath.  For others, it’s thinking of their city filled with festive lights – always an elegant display here in Zürich.  Still others anticipate the winter markets, roasting chestnuts by the fire or cooking and baking family recipes.  For me… it’s Weihnachtsguetzli, Christmas cookies, of course! (recipes below)

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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 >>

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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It’s the day after Christmas, and we’re still finding pieces of wrapping paper in all corners of the house, red and green ribbon and tiny pieces of clementine peel that Papa Noël (Santa Claus) left behind when he visited us here in the French countryside.  It was a Christmas overflowing with traditions – the house full of family coming in from all over Europe, the children running around like mad totally excited about the presents to come, my mother-in-law busy at the stove (and me by her side as Sous Chef), cooking up her annual Christmas Day feast (un délice!), and small dishes of Papillotes, individual wrapped chocolates, to be found in every room of the house.  The Christmas tree decorated, lights hanging outside the house, the fine china dusted off for the family meal, and everyone’s slippers or shoes in front of the fireplace (no stockings here) ready to be filled with presents.  And again, that never-ending supply of Papillotes.  It’s great because for several days, it’s totally normal to grab a chocolate before breakfast, a few on the way to dinner, before going to bed… c’est Noël, it’s Christmas!

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Nothing like one last trip to the market before Christmas time.  No more wreaths to buy, as they’re hanging on all of the doors around town.  Only a bushel here or there of mistletoe – such a difference from a month ago when it first arrived at the market in heaps.  All the little “bonhommes de pain,” cute men made out of bread, have been bought and distributed to children, or gobbled up by their parents.  Chestnuts are all probably sitting by the fireplace, ready for roasting.  But there’s still a plethora of great produce to be had – tons of varieties of apples and root vegetables, plus bright orange clementines coming from Spain that are juicy and sweet as sugar.  There’s also a fabulous array of nuts in their shells (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds) and delicious dried fruit – dates on the vine from Tunisia, figs stuffed with anise, plump apricots and chewy apple rings.  Perfect for decorating the table and snacking all at once. Read the rest of this story >>

No Christmas market here in Switzerland would be complete without mulled wine (Glühwein in German, vin chaud in French), Raclette (Swiss cheese melted under a grill and scraped off onto a slice of bread), and crêpes.  That’s especially the case at Zürich’s Hauptbahnhof, the city’s main train station, where you’ll find the largest indoor Christmas market in all of Europe.  Both traditional and festive aromas waft up and down the spacious rows – cheese, sausage, gingerbread, anise, sugar, more cheese, and oh that Glühwein.  You are never more than a few stands away from a huge vat of hot, spiced red wine.  Nor are you ever out of view of the Christmas tree near the entrance to the station.

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What’s at the market now, you ask?  Mistletoe, mistletoe, and more mistletoe!

Approaching the Bürkliplatz Markt here in Zürich, you can see from afar that there’s something new and different at the market.  Big green bushels have taken over all of the stands.  With Christmas only two weeks away, the market has been real busy in the mornings, not many people leaving without a mistletoe branch in hand. Read the rest of this story >>