A warming recipe for a cold soggy Friday

It really does seem to be autumn now - even though the leaves are resolutely staying on the trees there is a definite nip in the air that says winter is on the way. This is JUST what I have been waiting for - to share with you a few recipes over the coming months from my gorgeous new book Winter Cabin Cooking

I so hope you will all click the link above and head to Amazon and thinkabout buying my little book to add warmth and nourishment to help you through the winter months. Not just abook for skiers but for everyone who loves a recipe to make them feel cosy in the darking days of Autumn and winter.

There is no better place to start my series of Winter Cabin comfort food than with a classic dish that takes no time to put together so ideal for a Friday night!

If you like mac n cheese you will LOVE my Käsespätzle - An Austrian version of macaroni cheese which translate as little cheese sparrows.  You can buy special spätzle makers, I have a beautiful vintage one that my husbands Austrian granny gave me, but you can use anything with holes such as a colander or box grater to make these tasty little morsels.  Although this is perfectly delicous as a simple supper, I served these as a side with lemony roast chicken and it made for a gorgeous Sunday lunch! You can try adding little pancetta or bacon bits into your onion as you fry for extra flavour. . The addition of crispy fried onions really sets this dish apart form the simple macaroni version! I'd love to know what you think! 

Käsespätzle

Serves 4 as a main or 6 as a side

400g plain flour

good pinch of salt

good grating of nutmeg

5 free range eggs

125ml water

2tbsp of vegetable oil

100g unsalted butter

3 large onions, finely sliced

200g grated Alpine melty cheeses such as a mix of gruyere and emental

Sift the flour into a bowl with the salt and nutmeg. Make a well in the centre and add the eggs. Gradually stir, incorporating the flour, adding the water gradually. You should have a soft dough, almost like a thick batter. Keep beating until bubbles start to appear in the dough. Set aside to rest for about 30 minutes.

Melt 75g of the butter and the oil in a large pan and add the onions. Cook over a low heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring regularly until they are an even golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Take dollops of the dough and push through a spatzle maker, colander or large holes of grater or potato ricer into the water. You should end up with little wiggles of pasta in the water. They will all end up different shapes but that is how they should be.

Once they rise to the surface they are cooked, scoop out with a slotted spoon into a warm dish and continue cooking the rest of the dough. Once you have cooked all the spaetzle, empty the pan and return the cooked spatlze to it and  toss them with the rest of the butter and the cheese over a low heat until the cheese is melted. Season with plenty of black pepper and tip back into the serving dish. Serve scattered with the golden fried onions.

Winter Cabin Cooking is OUT!!

I am so so excited to be able to share with you my gorgeous new book Winter Cabin Cooking which came out last week as demonstrated here by the lovely Thea.

Mountains are a place of magic. From the smallest Cairngorm to the highest Rocky or Himalaya, there is something that draws you in, and up. I love the way you feel so small in the mountains, their untameable peaks watching over you from above. Breathing in that clear, crisp mountain air, just thinking about it makes me ravenously hungry.

The pace of mountain life is something that we should all embrace from time to time. We move so fast through our lives, always rushing, never enough time to cook, to eat, to enjoy, but in the mountains, life slows down. You can’t get anywhere fast in the mountains, so you may as well relax and let it wash over you. These are places of long lazy schnapps filled lunches and relaxed laid back dinners with friends and family as the snow falls quietly around and time ceases to matter.

I’ve been lucky enough to grow up spending many happy holidays in the mountains and confess to being completely besotted with the way of life there, but more than anything I love the food. It is real food, honest food that I want to get stuck into with both hands. In many ways unchanged for many years. The emphasis on local produce is wonderful to see, with each region of the mountains having its specialities of which it is inordinately proud.

Winter is a particularly amazing time in any mountain range, and it is the food of the winter mountain that this book celebrates and explores. Hearty food for cold days, full of flavour and warmth.

Skiing has always been part of my life, I grew up learning to ski from a very young age. Not for my family the big resorts of the Alps (although in later years I have visited and skied in many of them and grown to love them in their own way), instead my parents chose to spend our holidays in a small and beautiful village, nestled in the Swiss Alps in the shadow of Mont Dolent and the Grand St Bernard pass. When I am there, I can imagine the monks in centuries past, on their fur lined skis, climbing the passes to their lofty monasteries, offering welcome sanctuary and simple repaste to travellers and pilgrims coming in from the snow.

As the snow gently falls and covers the trees and cabins, a hush falls over the mountains. I could stand for hours just watching and listening to the snow fall, the way it makes everything so soft and quite that your ears somehow ring with the absence of sound. Even better is watching the snow falling from inside a cosy cabin, with its fire crackling and a steaming bowl of hot chocolate to warm you

The mountains of central Europe are famous for their wide variety of traditional dishes beloved by skiiers and non skiiers alike. The food has developed gradually over the centuries, influenced by the many countries that make up its whole.

There are the Western Alps of Slovenia and Austria (the Tyrol) with their rich stews, noodles and dumplings. Further to the East you have Switzerland, France, Germany and Liechtenstien, famous for their Savoie cheeses, rustic breads, schitzles and sausages and in the South lies Italy and Monaco, full of warming, ragus, polenta and gnocchi.

Where the boarders of these countries meet in the mountains the most wonderful fusion of flavours and traditions mingle together to create some truly spectacular and memorable dishes that the region as a whole has become famous for.

Even if you don’t enjoy throwing yourself down a frozen mountain on little wooden planks you cannot fail to fall in love with the simplicity and deliciousness of the food of the mountains. The romanticism of the traditional skiing chalet, of coming in from the cold air with rosy cheeks to be greeted by the amazing warmth and aroma of a hearty supper. This is food for warming the soul, for snuggling up against the cold chill outside. For firesides and crackling logs, blankets and slippers.

If you love the mountains, wherever you are from, then this book will inspire and delight you and encourage you to bring these wonderful dishes into your own kitchen.

September 2015

Kicking off with the most awesome wedding ever, September was a fabulous month!

This was the wedding of my dearest friends Cat and Alex, she of the Cornish hen! The happiest and most wonderful of days. I was lucky enough to be a bridesmaid AND be the wedding cake maker. A four tiered naked chocolate extravaganza topped with dinosaurs! Thank god the cake didn't go for a Burton this time and stayed firmly in place on its board! Despite many small (and not so small hands) trying to steal bites of cake and icing as I worked the finished cake was pretty awesome! 

Closely following, hot on its heels, came the hen of the lady who's wedding will also be a top runner for best wedding ever. The lovely Laura, photographer extraordinare. We brunched and yoga-ed and lavished ourselves in outlandish floral creations before hitting the karaoke hard! Such a wonderful day and now so excited for the wedding where I am, again, The Cake lady! 

Worky wise we shot the beautiful Pizarro book, five days of the most wonderful, simple pared back shots full of light and life and incredible ingredients. I am so proud of this one! Like all my babies! 

August 2015

August sort of slipped quietly by, as ever the beautiful summer weather seemed to abandon us right at the height of the season and the rain came pouring down as we rummaged for warmer jumpers only for it to immediately afterwards turn to glorious sunshine and sweltering heat.

proof reading excitement

Final proofs of my book went off to print! A hugely exciting moment! 

Days spent in Bermondsey working with Pizarro on his new book, punctuated by lovely lunches at Jose and Pizarro, always meaning much less work done after lunchtime than before!

At home (still in Kent as the building works continue in a steady if snails paced way) I spent days working on recipes for another lovely man, Eric Lanlard, cake boy himself. I've been testing his recipes ahead of starting to shoot his new book this October!