Meredith Erickson - Alpine Cooking: Recipes and Stories from Europes Grand Mountaintops

Text copyright 2019 by Meredith Erickson.

Photographs copyright 2019 by Christina Holmes.

Maps copyright 2019 by Samuel Bucheli.

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

www.tenspeed.com

Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Erickson, Meredith, 1980- author. | Holmes, Christina, photographer.

Title: Alpine cooking : recipes and stories from Europes grand mountaintops / Meredith Erickson ; photographs by Christina Holmes.

Description: California : Ten Speed Press, [2019] | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019016564 | ISBN 9781607748748 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781607748755 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: CookingAlps Region. | Cooking, European. | LCGFT: Cookbooks.

Classification: LCC TX723.5.A37 E75 2019 | DDC 641.59494/7dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019016564

ISBN9781607748748

Ebook ISBN9781607748755

Photographs by Meredith Erickson

Photograph courtesy of Gstaad Palace

Photographs by Renato Ferola

Photograph courtesy of the Tourism Board of Alpe dHuez

Snapshot art by Claudio Divizia/Shutterstock.com

Travel Hack art by Yuriy Boyko/Shutterstock.com

Food and prop styling by Christina Holmes and Meredith Erickson

Recipe development and testing by Kendra McKnight

Alpine research assistance by Kristian Kahn

v5.4

prh

CONTENTS

SAN LUIS, AVELENGO

MERANO

SOFIE HTTE, ORTISEI

FICHTENHOF, CAURIA

RIFUGIO COL ALT, CORVARA

HOTEL & SPA ROSA ALPINA, SAN CASSIANO

CIASA SALARES, SAN CASSIANO

EL BRITE DE LARIETO, CORTINA DAMPEZZO

SESTO

LAITE, SAPPADA

LIVIGNO

HOTEL MONTEROSA, ALAGNA VALSESIA

CHALET IL CAPRICORNO, SAUZE DOULX

TORINO

DEL CAMBIO, TORINO

HOTEL LA TORRE, SAUZE DOULX

AUBERGE DE LA MAISON, ENTRVES

CHATEAU BRANLANT, COURMAYEUR

LOU RESSIGNON, COGNE

BELLEVUE HOTEL & SPA, COGNE

LES NEIGES DANTAN, CERVINIA

MUNICH, GERMANY, VIA TYROL

DLLERER, GOLLING

HOTEL SACHER, SALZBURG

BRENWIRT TAVERN, SALZBURG

VALERIEHAUS, SPORTGASTEIN

KTSCHACH-MAUTHEN, CARINTHIA

SIGWARTS TIROLER WEINSTUBEN, BRIXLEGG

ALPBACH

CAF HACKER, RATTENBERG

RESTERHHE BERGGASTHAUS & LODGE, KITZBHEL ALPS

KITZBHEL

MAYRHOFEN

GROSSGLOCKNER

WEISSES RSSL, INNSBRUCK

JAGDSCHLOSS, KHTAI

ICE Q, SLDEN

GAMPE THAYA, SLDEN

ALMHOF SCHNEIDER, LECH

ALTER GOLDENER BERG, LECH

KLSTERLE INN, ZUG

NEUCHTEL

LES DIABLERETS

ZRICH VIA BELLEVUE HOTEL, GSTAAD

GSTAAD PALACE, GSTAAD

FURKA PASS VIA CHESERY, GSTAAD

CHESERY, GSTAAD

HOTEL ALPENLAND, LAUENEN

GSSLI-BECK, HABKERN

SALZANO, INTERLAKEN

ZUM SEE, ZERMATT

CHTEAU DE VILLA, SIERRE

ST. MORITZ TOBOGGANING CLUB, CRESTA RUN

DA VITTORIO, ST. MORITZ

GASTHAUS EBENALP, TOGGENBURG

BERGGASTHAUS AESCHER-WILDKIRCHLI, APPENZELLER

WILDHAUS, ST. GALLEN

BERGGASTHAUS FORELLE AM SEEALPSEE

HOTEL WYNEGG, KLOSTERS

ANDERMATT

LES CORNETTES, LA CHAPELLE DABONDANCE

LES CORNETTES DE BISE, ABONDANCE

KAMOURASKA, ANNECY

LE CLOS DES SENS, ANNECY-LE-VIEUX

GRENOBLE

THNES

AVORIAZ

LES CURIES DE CHARAMILLON, CHAMONIX

MONT-BLANC MASSIF

CHAMONIX

COURCHEVEL

VAL DISRE

LA BOUITTE, HAMEAU DE ST MARCEL, SAINT-MARTIN-DE-BELLEVILLE

CHALET FORESTIER DE ROCHEBRUNE, MEGVE

FLUMET

CHARTREUSE MOUNTAINS, VIA JEAN SULPICE, TALLOIRES

ALPE DHUEZ

INTRODUCTION

I was told by a station agent that the ski from Plan Maison station in Cervinia, Italy, to the Riffelalp hamlet above Zermatt, Switzerland, would take about two hours, if that. But what I should have paid attention to was the sign posted outside the lift ticket booth. Weather conditions can change rapidly, it said. Please be particularly careful in event of wind, rain, fog, hail, or snowfall.

And so, for the following hours as I made my way across the Italian border at an elevation of nearly 3,900 meters (13,000 feet), the winds increased, the sky turned black, and I couldnt see my ski poles in front of me. I felt I was in the Upside Down, with little ability to orient myself. As I inched along, I encountered few people, which eventually turned into no people. The last person I saw was the Klein Matterhorn lift operator, who told me he was shutting down the lifts due to wind and even if I wanted to go back, I couldnt.

I told myself to keep calm as I started the descent. What would normally take twenty minutes for an average skier like me took a lot longer, but I cant tell you the specifics because I was scared, but also angry. Angry at the weather, angry because of the lifts, but mostly angry at myself for doing thisall for the purpose of eating Zrcher Geschnetzeltes (see ).

Alpine Cooking will take you from the Olympic glory of Italys Cortina dAmpezzo, through the towering Dolomites to the northern Italian province of Alto Adige/South Tyrol, past tzi the Icemans place of discovery in Tyrol, Austria, down the slopes of Zermatt, Switzerland, and over to Mont-Blanc, ending in the twenty-one hairpin turns of the Alpe dHuez in France. This book took six years to research, write, and travelmore if you count the incubating stages when I was trying to wrap my head around how to capture the enormity of these Alpine mountains and the food served within, alongside, and atop them. After completing a handful of Alpine trips myself, I wanted to share the experiences with my family and friends, who were inspired by the storiesoften about foodI brought back home to Montreal. I yearned to buy books, or even a book, that combined the narrative of my past Alpine experiences with actual how-to tips and on-the-ground knowledge. I wanted a book about everything Alpine: from the best rifugios (mountain huts) to kitsch mountain films (its a genre!), Swiss folk art, mountain literature, hotels and the families who run them, history, and ghost stories. And, oh yes, recipes too. And maps. Lots of maps. Except that book didnt exist.