I hope you had a joyful Thanksgiving! There is no doubt that we are preparing for the last holiday of the year. In various countries in Europe, Christmas is celebrated on the 24th of December. One of my favoirite German Christmas memories is when I was a young girl and my family visited friends in Garmish-Partenkirchen. This is a beautiful city in the southern part of Bavaria. There were real candles on a fresh Christmas tree, and the dinner has remained one of my favorites over the years. It was shrimp cocktail and cheese fondue with crusty bread. The Swiss use Gruyere and Emmenthaler cheeses for their recipe. Over the years, I have made fondue from scratch but now I have found an easier way. I recommend ordering packets online of Swiss Knight L’Original Cheese or Fondu Original Cheese. You can also buy these small boxes in specialty stores like Whole Foods or wherever they are available. Both of these products taste authentic and the packets will save you a lot of work.
A small part of what I do with this blog as a hobby is catering, and that only happens a few times a year. I am excited to participate in my second annual cheese fondue with grapes with one of our local wine stores during one of their wine tastings. Deerfield Wines is more than a wine shop. They also raise money for charities throughout the year. Later this month, I will cater for the wine tasting as this event is a fundraiser for breast cancer, which is near and dear to my heart.
My Christmas holidays growing up were all about skiing with family and friends in northern Italy in the Dolomites. From those memories, it has turned out to be a tradition for Dave and me to serve our family a German dinner on the American Christmas holiday of December 25th. Some of my favorite recipes are from past blog entries that I’d like to share with you this month. They are Wiener Schnitzel, Spätzle, and Black Forest Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes. Feel free to click on those links if you would like to see the backstories and recipes right away! Wiener Schnitzel is a lightly breaded, tender veal cutlet with lemon. The recipe originated in Vienna. The Austrians pronounce Vienna as Wien. So this is a Viennese schnitzel and a national dish of Austria . Spätzle are amazing small egg dumplings that pair well with melted butter and parsley or brown gravy. Saving the best for last is what the German speaking countries call Schwarzwaelder kirschtorte. This cake or cupcake is surprisingly light with cherries in the chocolate sponge cake and it’s layered with more cherries and whipped cream. If you want to be authentic, the recipe includes kirschwasser which is a liqueur made from cherries.
