Walking to the Montreux market on Lake GenevaIt's probably no surprise that I absolutely love the Christmas season. I love the music, the decorations, the food and the spirit of the season. It's been so nice to be away from the commercialism in the US during this time of year as well, although I have to admit, our grocery store has a ridiculous amount of Christmas crap that almost reminds me of home.
But the best part about living here during the Christmas season is of course the Christmas markets. These markets are all over Europe and many towns across Switzerland have a marche de Noel. I've learned quickly that they vary in size and quality, but it's definitely worth it to do a combination so you get a taste of it all. Last year we visited Basel, Colmar and Mulhouse, which I felt was the perfect balance of small and large. This year we went to Bulle, near Gruyere, which was quaint, but too small for the 1-hour drive to get there. Luckily that wasn't our only stop and we headed to Montreux. We had heard mixed reviews about this one but it was pretty good. We did have to park our car in a lot and take a shuttle to the market, but that turned out to be okay. There were various sections and all the typical food like fondue, sausages, big German pretzels, vin chaud (mulled wine) and plenty of sweets.
Bulle marketVisiting these markets is not Dave's favorite thing to do as they're basically a bunch of crowded stands with 'crap' as we call them. Sure, they're local artisans, but at the end of the day, it's all knick-knacks and very rarely do I find anything worth buying, but I still really enjoy the whole experience of being outside in the cold with my mulled wine and seeing the decorations. But over here it's Dave and I so we're both pretty good about compromising. The biggest draw to get Dave to come with me to the markets is the good snacks they have and that will usually tide him over for an hour or so. I keep telling him that if he'd have some mulled wine, he might enjoy the whole thing a lot more.
Montreux marcheTo top off an already-great Sunday in my book (but perhaps not Dave's), I wanted to make a fun dinner to watch football and thought back to an old Food Network recipe I made several years ago for the Superbowl. I checked out the recipe, but decided to adapt most of it so here is my version of a Layered Mexican Pizza:
homemade corn tortillas
1 can refried beans
1 can black beans
1 lb ground beef
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1c mixed white and yellow cheese
2 jalapenos, sliced
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
Add a little oil to a skillet over medium high heat, then add the ground beef, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook until lightly browned, then drain over paper towels. Leave a little of the grease in the pan and add the chopped onion, cook until soften, then add the ground beef back to the pan. Add the taco seasoning and 1/4c water, turn the heat down to low, stir and simmer until the sauce is coating the meat. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a saucepan over medium-low heat, add the 2 cans of beans and cook until just slightly bubbling. In the meantime, prepare an assembly line with the other toppings.
On a cookie sheet, put 4 corn tortillas down. Top each with a scoop of the beans, then top with the meat mixture, some cheese and jalapenos. Top each with another tortilla and repeat the process, ending with another tortilla on top.
Sprinkle with cheese, green onions and tomatoes an put in the oven for 10 minutes, or until heated through and the cheese is melted. Top with cilantro and serve immediately. Easiest to eat with a knife and fork, great with hot sauce.
Results: I really like this dinner as it had all the ingredients of our average Mexican dinner, but it a different form. Note to self: Making all these homemade tortillas takes quite a bit of time (to press out and cook each one on the skillet), so this dinner that could take 15 minutes turns into an hour. In the future (back in the US), I'll use the store-bought tortillas.
homemade corn tortillas
1 can refried beans
1 can black beans
1 lb ground beef
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1c mixed white and yellow cheese
2 jalapenos, sliced
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
Add a little oil to a skillet over medium high heat, then add the ground beef, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook until lightly browned, then drain over paper towels. Leave a little of the grease in the pan and add the chopped onion, cook until soften, then add the ground beef back to the pan. Add the taco seasoning and 1/4c water, turn the heat down to low, stir and simmer until the sauce is coating the meat. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a saucepan over medium-low heat, add the 2 cans of beans and cook until just slightly bubbling. In the meantime, prepare an assembly line with the other toppings.
On a cookie sheet, put 4 corn tortillas down. Top each with a scoop of the beans, then top with the meat mixture, some cheese and jalapenos. Top each with another tortilla and repeat the process, ending with another tortilla on top.
Sprinkle with cheese, green onions and tomatoes an put in the oven for 10 minutes, or until heated through and the cheese is melted. Top with cilantro and serve immediately. Easiest to eat with a knife and fork, great with hot sauce.
Results: I really like this dinner as it had all the ingredients of our average Mexican dinner, but it a different form. Note to self: Making all these homemade tortillas takes quite a bit of time (to press out and cook each one on the skillet), so this dinner that could take 15 minutes turns into an hour. In the future (back in the US), I'll use the store-bought tortillas.
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