Sittertobel is a creek valley in the north east of Switzerland. It's also common to translate the name of the dish to "pancake bake".
Rita grew up in a farming family in Switzerland. Most of the farmers produced their own potatoes and dairy products (such as cream butter, cheese, and milk). Alplermagronen is one of the dishes Rita's mom used to make - using their own produce to cook for everyone.
In Switzerland, pasta was considered a luxury item back then. Despite this, it was a very valuable food item for the farmers in the Alps because dried pasta can be kept in the pantry for a long time. To make the expensive pasta last longer, they added potatoes and also cheese and fried onions and garlic, which people started to call Alplermagronen (Alpine farmers' macaroni). The dish was only invented in the 1930s, so not that long ago.
