Many of the restaurants that cater to tourists in Switzerland have similar menus, consisting of raclette, cheese fondue, rösti (the Swiss equivalent of hash browns), schnitzel, pizza, pasta, and burgers. We were fortunate to find places that broke the mold on our travels. Here’s what we found, town by town. Mürren. Our hotel served burritos …
Tag: food
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2024/07/15/gastronomic-surprises-in-switzerland/
Jan 04
Artificial Intelligence in the Kitchen
Artificial Intelligence (AI) seems to be everywhere these days. Students use it to craft term papers with varying degrees of success. Hospitals are trying to get in on the action to diagnose patients and write progress notes. We wondered how AI would do in the kitchen. Julian’s been messing around with Chat GPT and Microsoft …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2024/01/04/artificial-intelligence-in-the-kitchen/
Apr 28
Back to the Bastides
We’re back in France, this time in the Dordogne Valley to revisit the bastides. We were first here in 2015. These are hilltop fortress towns that were fought over for centuries. Now tourists fight over limited parking spaces in these towns. Our home base, as it was seven years ago, is Domme. This is a …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2022/04/28/back-to-the-bastides/
Apr 24
More on Pintxos
Pintxos are small portions of food, called tapas in other parts of Spain. You can have hot or cold pintxos. Some are on skewers, others on French bread. They’re often inexpensive, because the bar makes most of its profit on alcoholic beverages. Here’s a spread of pintxos we got at one of the oldest bars …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2022/04/24/more-on-pintxos/
Apr 23
Never Been to Spain…
Until now. A more appropriate question might be, what took us so long? We’re in San Sebastian, the heart of Basque country. The Basques may be the oldest civilization in Europe, with a distinct language that bears no resemblance to other tongues in Europe or elsewhere. San Sebastian and Bilbao were industrialized cities in an …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2022/04/23/never-been-to-spain/
Apr 17
Easter in Paris
Easter is a big deal in Paris. It’s a religious holiday, and the kids are out of school tomorrow. Today’s a big deal for me as well, as it was 40 years ago today when I was nearly killed in an auto accident. Most years the day goes by without my remembering, but this year …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2022/04/17/easter-in-paris/
Mar 28
The Paris and Pintxos Tour
The countdown has begun! T minus 12 days until we leave for a twice-Covid-canceled trip to Europe. The original itinerary (France and Italy) has been changed to France and Spain. The plans for this trip have been in the works almost since we canceled last year. Julian managed to get us almost-reasonable plane fares and …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2022/03/28/the-paris-and-pintxos-tour/
Mar 24
Chimicchiette
Julian made chimichurri along with steak the other night. For the non-cognoscenti, chimichurri is an Argentine parsley pesto sauce that’s heavy on the garlic. It should only be consumed among consenting adults. I took some for lunch years ago and nearly caused evacuation of the office suite. We had some leftover sauce, so Julian suggested …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2022/03/24/chimicchiette/
Feb 05
Wok Around
Watching a skilled Asian chef stir-fry in a wok is culinary porn at its best. The flames from the gas burner curl up and embrace the sides of the wok while the chef furiously tosses the food with one hand and the wok with the other. In short order, your kung pao chicken is poured …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2022/02/05/wok-around/
Jan 13
Taste Thresholds
Aging is supposed to increase the taste threshold for sweet and salt. In other words, it takes more sugar or salt to satisfy you. In my case, it’s the opposite: My threshold for sweet has decreased with time. Stuff that I’d gladly eat when I was younger is way too sweet for me now. I …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2022/01/13/taste-thresholds/
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