Alexander Höss-Knakal - Fairytale Cooking: Delicious Dishes Inspired by The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Aladdin, and Other Classic Characters

Contents

Preface

Fairytales. You might be drawn into their magic by lovingly designed tomes, carefully printed on old paper that rustles promisingly as you turn the pages. Their words easily whisk us away into strange, enchanted, yet familiar worlds contained between something as simple as two book covers.

These timeless stories, some of which date back hundreds of years, continue to be popular across generations, from the very young to the old. Perhaps this is because they evoke a sense of longing in us for the bliss of being snuggled up on a parents or grandparents lap, just listening. Or perhaps we seek the reassurance that familiar words, heard over and over again, can offer. Or perhaps it is because the values fairytales teach us the importance of family and friendship, patience, persistence, courage, and tolerance are just as timeless as the stories themselves. Even more, they are as relevant and much needed in our modern societies as they have ever been. The heroes and heroines we meet in fairytales give us courage just think of Gerda, in The Snow Queen , who travels the world searching for her best friend, Kai. Or the Little Mermaid, who does not hesitate to take enormous risks, seeking to fulfill her dream without knowing whether she will succeed.

This timeless nature is precisely what fairytales and cooking have in common the wisdom of fairytales and the soul of good cooking can last for centuries. Stories and recipes are passed on from one generation to the next; from parents to children and from children to grandchildren. Just like treasured stories, favorite dishes and recipes never go out of fashion either: as soon as the familiar aroma of a traditional Sunday roast wafts through the home, it evokes an irresistible feeling of delight.

But fairytales and recipes are also both capable of transporting us into foreign worlds. Where else but in the kitchen can we travel to different countries and cultures in the course of just a single meal? We invite you to enjoy an exotic candlelight feast straight out of the Arabian Nights. Let Little Red Riding Hood take you on a culinary stroll through the wood, or allow yourself to be whisked away to an enchanted castle by a menu of fine dining.

Take an even closer look and youll discover another similarity. Both cooking and stories can marry contrasting elements to create surprisingly harmonious pairings. Or would anybody doubt that pancakes with bacon and maple syrup are the ultimate flavor explosion? Just ask Beauty and the Beast... theyd certainly agree that opposites can be a marriage made in heaven.

Finally, fairytales and cooking have yet another thing in common. When we become engrossed in a good story, our mind gets carried away by the words and we forget about time. The same thing can happen when we cook. If youre attentive to it, youll soon notice that chopping vegetables, kneading dough, and stirring steaming pots all have a very soothing, entrancing quality. Were able to experience aromas, flavors, and textures with all of our senses, and we can share them with our guests to tell them the most delightful culinary stories.

If this inspires you to rediscover your favorite childhood fairytales, we invite you to start by making yourself comfortable on your sofa with this book. Then transport the recipes into your kitchen to create your own culinary wonderland.

We hope youll enjoy this book.

Julia Bauer, Alexander Hss-Knakal, and Melina Kutelas

nce upon a time, there was a sweet little girl who was adored by everyone who looked at her. But most of all she was dearest to the heart of her grandmother, and there was nothing the grandmother wouldnt have given to the child. Once she gave the girl a red velvet cape, and because it suited her so well and she never wanted to take it off, she was always called Little Red Riding Hood. One day the girls mother said to her, Come, Little Red Riding Hood, here is a piece of cake and a bottle of wine, take them to your grandmother. She is ill and weak and will be happy to have them. Set out before it gets hot, and once you are on your way be careful and do not run off the path, or you might fall and break the bottle, and then your grandmother will not have anything. And when you go into her home do not forget to say good morning and do not peep into every corner before you say it.

Grandmother, I have cake and wine for you. Open the door, said the Wolf, disguising his voice.

I will do everything right, promised Little Red Riding Hood. The grandmother lived out in the wood, half an hours walk from the village. When Little Red Riding Hood entered the wood, she ran across the Wolf. Little Red Riding Hood did not know how wicked a creature he was and therefore was not afraid of him. Good morning, Little Red Riding Hood, said the Wolf. Thank you, Wolf, answered the girl. Where are you off to so early in the day, Little Red Riding Hood? To see my grandmother. And what have you got in your apron? Wine and cake we baked yesterday so that my poor, weak grandmother would have something nice. Good food will help her get well again. And where does your grandmother live, Little Red Riding Hood? Just another quarter of an hours walk further into the wood. Her house stands under the three large oak trees. Down there near the nut hedges. You surely must know it, said Little Red Riding Hood. The Wolf thought to himself, What a tender young thing, shell make a nice mouthful. Shell taste even better than the old woman. But Ill have to be crafty about this to catch them both . So he walked with Little Red Riding Hood for a short while and then said, Little Red Riding Hood, look at the pretty flowers growing all around us. Why dont you have a look? And I believe you do not even hear how sweetly the little birds are singing! You just walk along as if you were going to school, yet it is so beautiful here in the wood.