Cheese Ramkin

"This is a recipe from my ninety three year old grandmother from Switzerland. She is still making these cheesy bite sized puff pastry appetizers that can be served at room temperature or hot out of the oven. Once you have had one, good luck stopping."


Ingredients

Original recipe makes 24 appetizers
 1 (17.25 ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed
 1 egg
 1 cup milk
 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
 1 pinch ground nutmeg
 2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Roll out the puff pastry sheets to 1/4 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 3 inch squares. Press the squares into the cups of two 12 cup muffin tins to make pastry cups.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, flour, pepper and nutmeg. Stir in cheese until evenly blended. Distribute the mixture evenly amongst the pastry cups.
4. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until the pastry is golden brown and the filling has puffed up. Cool in the pans until you can touch them before removing. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Alpine Macaroni

"This is a traditional Swiss dish served on the slopes of the Alps. I like to top it with chunky apple sauce and crunchy onions to serve."

Ingredients 

Original recipe makes 6 servings
 3 potatoes, scrubbed
 1 (12 ounce) package uncooked elbow macaroni
 2 tablespoons butter
 2 large onions, peeled and sliced
 1 clove garlic, minced
 1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
 3/4 cup heavy cream

 salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place the potatoes in a large pot and fill with enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil and cook until tender enough to pierce with a fork. Drain and cool slightly, then remove the peels, and slice into 1/4 inch thick slices.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x9 inch baking dish.
3. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook until barely tender, about 6 minutes. Drain and set aside.
4. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook and stir until onion starts to turn translucent. Stir in the garlic, and cook for a few more minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
5. Layer the macaroni, onions and potatoes into the prepared baking dish. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the shredded Gruyere cheese over the top, and drizzle cream evenly over the entire dish.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until the top is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Al's Baked Swiss Steak

"This is a variation on another recipe, which is great as is, but I couldn't make Swiss steak without green peppers or garlic. I also season the meat instead of the flour; it gets a more intense taste that way."


Ingredients

Original recipe makes 4 servings
 1 pound boneless beef round steak
 1/2 teaspoon salt
 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt (such as LAWRY'S®)
 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, or as needed
 1/4 cup vegetable oil
 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
 1 medium onion, chopped
 1 green bell pepper, chopped
 1/4 cup beef broth
 1/2 cup chopped carrots
 1/4 cup chopped celery
 2 cloves garlic, minced
 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

 1/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a shallow baking dish.
2. Cut steak into four portions and pound to 1/4-inch thickness; season with salt, pepper, and seasoned salt. Coat meat evenly with about 1 tablespoon flour.
3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook beef in hot oil until browned completely, 3 to 5 minutes per side; transfer to prepared baking dish reserving drippings in the skillet.
4. To the drippings, add tomatoes, onion, green bell pepper, beef broth, carrots, celery, garlic, 1 tablespoon flour, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring the tomato mixture to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Pour the mixture over the meat in the baking dish. Cover dish with aluminum foil.
5. Bake until beef is completely tender, about 90 minutes. Sprinkle cheese over beef and return to oven uncovered until cheese is melted, 3 to 5 minutes.

Bircher Muesli (Swiss Oatmeal)

"This is a great breakfast that you can grab fast in the morning. It goes great with a hot cup of coffee. It also keeps very well so you can make some on Sunday night and enjoy it all week!"

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 4 servings
 2 cups rolled oats
 1 green apple, chopped
 1 cup 2% milk
 1 cup nonfat plain yogurt
 1 banana, chopped
 1/4 cup raisins
 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
 1 tablespoon slivered almonds
 1 tablespoon brown sugar
 1 tablespoon honey
 1 tablespoon orange juice

Directions

1. Mix oats, apple, milk, yogurt, banana, raisins, walnuts, almonds, brown sugar, honey, and orange juice together in a bowl. Chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour to set.

Gruyere Potato Gratin

"This is a traditional Swiss recipe from my Grossmutter."

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 1 - 9x13 inch pan
 2 tablespoons softened butter
 2 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
 2 large onions, chopped
 salt and pepper to taste
 1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
 3/4 cup white wine
 1/3 cup water
 3/4 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish with the softened butter.
2. Toss the potato slices and chopped onions with salt and pepper, and spread 1/3 of the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle half of the Gruyere cheese over the potatoes, then add another layer of potatoes. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese followed by the remaining potatoes. Mix together the water and wine, and pour into dish. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.
3. Bake in preheated oven until the potatoes are tender, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Once tender, remove the foil, and pour the cream evenly over the potatoes. Bake uncovered for an additional 15 minutes to brown the top and thicken the cream.

Cheese Rosti

Recipe by Bob
"This delicious layered potato and cheese recipe comes from Basel, Switzerland. Enjoy!"

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 6 servings
 6 large potatoes
 6 tablespoons butter
 8 ounces Swiss cheese, grated
 salt to taste
 ground black pepper to taste
 2 tablespoons hot water

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, and let cool. Once cool, peel and grate potatoes.
2. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in large nonstick skillet, add a layer of potatoes and a layer of cheese, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat layers. Dot each layer with remaining butter. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons hot water over the top layer, cover and saute at low to medium heat until bottom layer browns. Turn with spatula and brown again.

Wine Fondue

"A lovely wine fondue for cooking chicken, rabbit or veal. Dip bite-size pieces of raw meat into the boiling fondue until cooked."

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 4 servings
 1 (750 milliliter) bottle white wine
 1 (2 inch) piece cinnamon stick
 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
 10 black peppercorns, crushed
 4 whole cloves
 1 teaspoon sugar
 1 teaspoon salt
 1 teaspoon celery salt
 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

Directions

1. Pour wine into a saucepan, and season with cinnamon stick, coriander, pepper, cloves, sugar, salt, celery salt, and garlic salt. Let sit for 1 hour, then bring to a boil. Filter through a fine sieve or colander lined with cheesecloth, and transfer to the fondue pan. Bring to a boil before using.