More Swiss Beer

As the title promises .. more Swiss beer. Or maybe not? Studying the fine print, one notices that both of these beers are made by Heineken Switzerland (OK, I guess that still makes them Swiss) located in Chur. Calanda appears to be a reasonably big brand, I've noticed several places which have it on tap. It's a decent lager, no more no less.
The Swiss Beer Collection looks horrible, and since it's also amongst the cheapest around here (almost 3 times less than Calanda) I had my fears, but it's another surprisingly good purchase. No, it's not an outstanding beer, but it is not half-bad either...

Venison & black chanterelle whiskey cream sauce

Some years ago Mrs. Throat-Erator wanted to give me a special experience and took me out to dinner in Copenhagen at a nice place. It was quite the success, as I had the chance to try venison for the first time in my life. More specifically it was a steak of red deer, and it blew me away. So there was no hesitating when I recently found venison at a local supermarket. It was even a relatively good price... it must be hunting season or something around here. I figured it would probably go well with a black chanterelle whiskey cream sauce...

Ingredients:
- water
- 20 g (ca. 1 oz) dried black chanterelles
- potatoes
- oil
- salt & pepper
- venison
- 1 medium red onion, chopped finely
- 0.5 dL (1/4 cup) whiskey
- 1 dL (2/5 cup) cream
- the leaves of 2 twigs of fresh rosemary

Since I could only find dried black chanterelles the first thing to do was to put these in a bowl and pour ca. 1 L (1 qt) of hot water over them and let them stand for at least 20 minutes. When they were drained, the water was saved for later.

The potatoes were washed and boiled in lightly salted water.

The venison was cut like small steaks, which were seasoned with salt and pepper. In a pan with a little oil they were cooked to the desired degree (medium for us). After removing the venison from the pan the onion was added, and after a few minutes the drained black chanterelles. A few minutes later the whiskey and cream was added, and brought to a boil. After a few minutes 2 dL (4/5 cup) of the black chanterelle water was added followed by the rosemary leaves. After simmering briefly it was served.

The result was fantastic. I still really like venison.

With dinner we had a bottle of pinot noir from the canton of Vaud. I'm pretty sure this is wine made closest to here I've had so far. The colour was surprisingly pale, but it went well with the meat.

South American Beer

Curiously I found a bunch of South American beers in my local store Asian Spices here in Geneva. Not only curious because it goes to show that the store is selling exotic goods in a broader sense than merely what could be considered Asian, but most curious because I never saw any of these beers during the years I lived in Southern California.


Paceña from Cerveceria Boliviana Nacional S.A.) (5.2% ABV) and Cerveza-Aguila from Barranquilla, Colombia (4.7% ABV) are both comparatively pale, decent if not spectacular lagers. Cusqueña from Lima, Peru (4.8% ABV) is a little darker, a quite lovely golden, and a little more suited for my personal taste in beer.

Lapin au Vin

This week rabbit was on sale at the supermarket so we decided to have our hand at cooking it. Having no experience with this particular meat I sought inspiration in Tyler Florence's Eat This Book, although my approach was somewhat cruder.

Ingredients:
- ca. 650 g (1.5 lb) rabbit (4 pieces)
- 1/2 bottle of red wine
- flour
- salt
- pepper
- oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp honey
- Italian herb blend
- 0.5 L (2 cups) chicken broth

Side:
- 6 potatoes
- 1/2 celery root
- 2 beet roots
- 2 small onions

Salad:
- romaine lettuce
- capers
- sun dried tomatoes

The rabbit pieces were wetted in the red wine, then coated with a mixture of flour, salt, and pepper. The rabbit pieces were then browned in batches in oil in a large pot (turning them over with tongs). While browning the rabbit, crushed garlic, honey and Italian herb blend was added to the wine. After browning all the rabbit pieces (and all removed from the pot) the wine was added to the pot, brought to a boil while making sure to stir up any flour left in the pot from the browning of the rabbit. To this was added the chicken broth, and the rabbit pieces were put back. The pot was covered and allowed to simmer for about one and half hours.

While the rabbit was simmered, a mixture of crudely cut potatoes, beet roots, celery root, and onions (drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper) was baked in the oven at 225 C (450 F) - beet and celery roots require longer time than potatoes to become tender.

This left plenty of time for a quick salad: romaine lettuce, capers, and sun dried tomatoes were mixed in a bowl.

The rabbit was very tender; the meat was practically falling off of the bones. The texture and taste was somewhat reminiscent of chicken, although more 'game'. Overall it became a fall/winter style dish which fitted well with the pouring rain outside. With dinner we drank the other half of the bottle of wine.