Raclette, mmmm, mmmmm, good!

We had the most wonderful dinner with our neighbors last night. They invited us over after our Tango class to have some Raclette and to play a little bridge (which Josh and I are still learning). I just have to tell you about the Raclette. Raclette is both a specific type of cheese made in the Valais region of Switzerland and a meal made with this cheese.

Raclette (the meal) is a traditional dish in Switzerland, apparently the cow-herders of old used to take this particular type of cheese, Raclette, with them when they moved the herds. At night they would place the cheese on a stone near the fire until it melted then they would scrape it onto bread. Thus, making a delicious meal and giving rise to its name: in French the word racler means to scrape, since they would "scrape" the melted cheese off the stone the cheese became Raclette (or so my sources say - thanks wikipedia). Now adays things are a bit more advanced we did not have to build a roaring fire and place slabs of cheese on stones till they melted. These days there are electric raclette grills
making it quick and easy to enjoy this yummy melty cheese. Instead of scraping the cheese onto bread you scrape it onto boiled potatoes. Also, you can add all sorts of goodies to your cheese while it melts - mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, garlic, olives, you name it. The melted cheese goes in these little square dishes you place under the grill and the top of the grill is reserved for cooking up meat to go along with your cheese and potatoes. We had thin slices of pork, veal, and beef as well as some sausages wrapped in bacon. To tell you the truth the "sausages" tasted like regular old hot dogs to me, though they didn't really look like hot dogs! Along with all this deliciousness it is traditional to serve small pickled onions, gherkins and/or cornishons (a type of pickle) as well. It is a wonderfully simple and filling meal. We had fun trying out different variations of veggies and cheeses (we had different flavored raclette cheese - pepper, plain, garlic, paprika, etc.)

We had a fun evening drinking white wine - a must with Raclette. An old-wives tale claims you should not drink water while eating Raclette because it "interferes with the digestion of the cheese". So, white wine is the drink of choice when partaking in either Raclette or fondue. Hey, I'm not going to argue about the necessity to drink wine!
Bon appetite!

p.s has anyone else started to notice how often I write about food?