Raclette
Photo credit: Dreamstime
Back in my early 30′s a good friend and I pulled together a ski house. We found a terrific house up in Lake Tahoe that was only 15 minutes from the slopes. It had everything two single gals could want in a ski-house: lots of room for entertaining, a fireplace and a hot tub. We were pretty much set for the winter– all we needed were members to our secret ski club. We did what anyone would do 15 years ago: we placed an ad on Craigslist and had a mixer. We were really lucky as we met a few ski bums (well, they were Silicon Valley professionals by day and ski bums by the weekend), but they had friends who had friends, and suddenly our house was full. It was a fantastic mix as everyone was from another country. We had a couple from Quebec, a guy from Sri Lanka, India, and a few people from France. Needless to say, I think we spent more time cooking and eating than skiing that winter. It was fantastic fun.
One particular meal that I remember fondly was the introduction to raclette. It was blizzard-like conditions and we had actually thought of not going up. After some emails back and forth, it was finally decided that we all would meet at the house with bottles of wine, and the couple from Quebec would bring their raclette grill. Instead of skiing, we would sit around the house eating, drinking, playing games and learning about raclette.
Raclette is a common cheese that is found in Switzerland. Traditionally the cheese is melted near an open fire, and the melted cheese is scraped off and served with dried meats, potatoes, and little pickles. Today there are special tabletop gills that have small pans for melting the cheese in. Normally you place the grill in the center of the table and put platters of steamed potatoes, dried meats, and bread around the grill. Everyone gets to grill their own cheese.bOnce the cheese is melted, you can either pour the melted cheese over your choice of meat or potatoes or you can dip the items into the melted cheese, like fondue. This is a smashing dinner party activity– people love it!
Photo credit: Dreamstime
Before investing in a raclette grill, check with your local cheese shop to see if they may rent them. Our local shop rents, which is nice because we do not need have room for another appliance. If you have room for another fun kitchen appliance, then buy a Swiss one. They are built stronger and they produce enough heat to meat the cheese and grill the vegetables. I like this particular one, which is the perfect size for a party of eight. You really do not want more then eight people or it becomes cumbersome at the table.
The following tips are meant to make your raclette party run seamlessly:
- Do not overcook the cheese. It should melt slowly. You have all night, why rush it?
- Meats, seafood and vegetables should be stored in the refrigerator until 30 minutes before serving. Then plate them on separate platters. I really like using bresaola or thinly sliced prosciutto.
- Anticipate 8 ounces of cheese and potatoes per guest. Cheese and potatoes are so good together that they will go first!
- Do not forget the bread. Serve a couple varieties to keep it interesting. Maybe a baguette and an olive bread. Just a suggestion.
- Seasonings such as black pepper, salt and paprika are great to serve alongside raclette.
- Use different pans for each type of meat, seafood or poultry.
- Keep dessert simple: fruit and a mild cheese or maybe a sorbet or gelato.
Photo credit: Dreamstime
Denise believes anything can be made at home as long as you have a little patience, and time. All of her recipes are made using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her recipes have been featured on Eat Boutique, the Mushroom Channel, Saveur.com, Foodies of the World, PBS and Fine Cooking.
She, also creates the recipes on the popular food blog Chez Us. Saveur has featured Chez Us as one of 50 Food Blogs You Should Be Reading as well as one of the Sites They Love. Be sure to read more about what they are cooking up over at Chez Us.
