Divine Guinness Beef Stew

For 8 servings (or more)

- 1.2kg of beef for stew (cut into cubes)
- olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 medium onions
- 100gr of flour
- 4dl of beef bouillon
- 1 big can of Guinness Extra Stout
- 3 large carrots
- 2-3 bay leaves
- pepper
- 1 pack of dried & pitted prunes
- 1 bunch of parsley (for the garnish)

Definitely one of my all-time favorite dishes… It’s simply divine… Based on my experience it’s rather a dish for colder days, but since it’s so great you can do it all year around. I just love it!


First of all I can only recommend buying some really nice & tender beef. Definitely worth it! Either you can ask the butcher to cut it in 2.5cm-3cm cubes straight away, or you do it yourself. Really important to take tender beef, since this stew will only cook for about 1.5h-2h.


Peel the carrots and cut them into about 1.5cm-2cm pieces. Then cut the onions and press the garlic and in case you are cutting the beef yourself, please get this done now as well. Get a big pan (for example a Le Creuset) ready, heat the oil and fry the onions for about 3-4min. Then add the garlic and continue to fry for about 30sec. Then remove the onions & the garlic from the pot. It is very important to cook the meat in small batches. So don't "throw" the whole load of meat into the pot. Put the first batch of beef cubes into the pot until it's nicely brown. Then take it out and do the next batch. When you are done with all the meat, but the whole lot back in to the pot and sprinkle it with the flour. Reduce the heat to simmer. Stir in the flour so that all the meat is coated. Then add the beef bouillon, stir, and add the Guinness, and stir again. When all stirred up and nicely simmering, add the onions, garlic, carrots and the bay leaves (don't forget to take the bay leaves out before serving). When all ingredients are in the pot, gently stir again. The beer/broth should now cover all ingredients. If this isn't the case, you may need to add some more beef bouillon. Let the stew simmer gently and uncovered for about 1h. There should only be little bubbles with the occasional waft of steam coming from the stew. Only stir it from time to time.


While the stew is cooking, chop up the dried & pitted prunes. After the 1h is over, add the prunes to the stew, stir, and continue cooking for about 30min-45min. The prunes will simply melt inside the stew and add an incredible flavor to it and a nice and glossy finish. The perfect things to serve with this divine dish are mashed potatoes and pees. But of course you can choose whatever you like.


Bon appétit!


Wine recommendation: Either you can enjoy a nice beer with this dish or a big and aromatic red wine like an Amarone


Music recommendation: Sting

Penne with green asparagus & smoked ham

For 2 servings

300-400gr of Penne
6 slices of smoked country ham (also works with Parma ham, but prefer that one)
lemon pepper, salt, pepper
bit of olive oil
2dl white wine
2dl of cream
500gr green asparagus
some grated Parmesan (if you like)







I basically "created" this dish, when I cooked myself some green asparagus the night before and had about half of a kilo left (already cooked). So, either you might be in the same situation, or you just cook the green asparagus on the same day you do this dish. Also tried it with white asparagus, but a) doesn't really look that appealing with the penne, and somehow the taste didn't make me scream hurray. But hey, give it a try in case you want to try it for yourselves. Tastes as different all over this world, and that's what cooking is all about.


So, as said, in case you don't have the asparagus already cooked, then cut about 2cm off the bottom of the asparagus and cook them for about 10-15min in boiling water. Please make sure that the asparagus are still al dente since you have to cook them on afterwards. Start cooking the water for the penne so they're ready when your sauce will be ready to be served.


When done, cut the asparagus in about 2-3cm pieces (slightly cut diagonally since it looks nicer). Take the slices of smoked country ham and cut or tear it in about 2cm slices. Then add some olive oil in your pan, add your cooked & cut asparagus in the pan. Not too hot. You basically just have to steam them up to get all the nice tastes of the ingredients together. Cook it for about 4min then add the ham and cook on for about 4min. Add some of the lemon pepper, salt and normal pepper. Mixed it all up but make sure you don't "break" the asparagus. When all heated up, add the white wine, and let it simmer for about another 4min. Just before your Penne are ready, add some cream to your asparagus and mix it all up. Make sure you taste it. If too salty add some more cream. I also like to add some crushed chili - but that's up to you.


Then put the penne in the frying pan with the sauce and mix it all up, so that all the penne are covered in this delicious sauce. Et voilà, ready to serve! Bon appétit!


Wine recommendation: Some nice, fruity and dry white wine with a nice taste of citrus fruits. One of my favorites is the Roero Arneis from the Piemont region. But any nice & light white wine will do with this dish.


Music recommendation: Coldplay, Muse, Jamiroquai

Grand-ma's Radish Leaf Soup

For 4-8 servings

3 bunches of radishes (with leaves - since the most important part)

some butter

salt, pepper, nutmeg

1-2dl of cream

4 large potatoes (for soups)

1l of vegetable bouillon

2-3 pairs of Wiener sausages

I am not a big soup lover, but this soup has definitely changed my opinion about soups. My dear Grand-ma Daisy always used to cook it for us. This soup was basically invented for nice & cold winter days.

Cut the leaves from radishes and wash well. You leave the radishes aside for other use. Melt butter in heavy large soup pan over medium heat. Add onion and roast until tender (about 5 minutes). Add radish leaves and roast until soft (about 2 minutes). Add potatoes and about ¾ of the bouillon. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender (about 20 minutes).

Puree soup with a hand blender. Or just fill it by batches into a blender. Return to saucepan. Mix in a bit of the cream. Stir over medium heat until hot. Season soup with salt and pepper. You can also add some chopped wiener sausages into the soup – really nice! :-)

Bon appétit!

Wine recommendation: Some nice, heavy red wine with a taste of dark berries. My all-time favorite red wine for meat is the "Primitivo 60' anni" or the Shiraz from Peter Lehmann.

Music recommendation: Marco di Marco (at Carnegie Hall), Nat King Cole, Dean Martin

Thank you

First of all I would like to thank you for even opening my blog. It proves to me yet again that there are many women and men out there who love the wonderful world of cooking. For whatever you need this very special cooking book, whether it's to impress someone, to impress guests, to impress yourself or just to prove to yourself that you can cook fantastic dishes without standing for 6 hours in the kitchen, you will be surprised.

For me cooking has always been my way of Yoga. Whether I got home from work at 9pm I always cooked myself a nice dinner. It has always been a wonderful way to turn off from work, and also to enjoy a nice dinner at the end of a busy day. Also I simply love to have friends over for dinner, and to sit down with them and enjoy a nice dinner with a nice bottle of wine.

This love for food & cooking comes from my mother who's probably one of the best cooks I know. Is there any better food than a homemade dish by Mum? I don't think so. Also living in a world of dishes where the only instructions are "3min at 600 and add some water", I think homemade dishes become - unfortunately - very rare. Think about it; how many people do you know who really love to cook and also do it on a regular basis? There you go.

Well I hope that I can change this a little with the following recipes, which I consider perfect if you don't have the entire day to go shopping, prepare, chop, decorate etc., but you still want to cook & savior a delicious dish. Also I added wine and music recommendations which I thought match perfectly with those recipes. Give it a try, you might agree. The only main ingredients for a nice dinner are basically love, passion and a bit of courage. Trust me, cooking is not Quantum Physics. If you don't follow a recipe one-to-one, the world will be turning tomorrow. Be courageous and just adapt the recipes with things you like, and leave away things you don't like. And, if it really turns out bad, well then you just start again. It's that easy.

I thank my Mum for all the things she taught me in the kitchen, the recipes she shared with me and the luxury of having a mother who actually cooked for us day by day, instead of having us grow up with microwave food. Thank you to my grandmother Daisy, who showed me the wonderful world of soups, berries and the specialties of the French part of Switzerland. Also thanks to my best friend, who supported me (well almost forced me...) in starting to write about cooking and sharing my love for it with all of you. But in return she will be forced to cook all of my recipes. So we are even. And another thank you goes out to all my friends who had to try some of my "special" dishes which sometimes turned out a bit different than expected... but as previously said, the world is still turning and they are still my friends.