Not sure how many of you are familiar with Raclette. It's a Swiss thing, right next to Fondue.
While you prepare a Foundue with a mixture of Swiss cheeses and other ingredients in a pot and then bring it to a very gentle boil so the gathered assembly can dunk their pieces of bread at the end of a Fondue fork to scoop up the delicious melted cheese, with Raclette cheese is melted right onto a hot plate.
In Switzerland, the traditional restaurants actually have full half-wheels of cheese near a fire so they can get the cheese to melt and flow right onto customers' plates. At home, many Swiss have Raclette machines, sort of small ovens you place on the table, and each person prepares their own Raclette melt. You can get those here, too. Of course, you can also simply stick the plate with cheese in the microwave.
Anyway, the secret with Raclette is that it must be actual, real Raclette cheese. And that's hard to come by. Trader Joe's usually has packages of it in the Winter season, October through January or so. Shipments are usually gone within hours or minutes.
So I was really surprised when a few days ago, in April, my local Trader Joe's got a new shipment of Raclette cheese. Bought a whole load of them.
Yum.
While you prepare a Foundue with a mixture of Swiss cheeses and other ingredients in a pot and then bring it to a very gentle boil so the gathered assembly can dunk their pieces of bread at the end of a Fondue fork to scoop up the delicious melted cheese, with Raclette cheese is melted right onto a hot plate.
In Switzerland, the traditional restaurants actually have full half-wheels of cheese near a fire so they can get the cheese to melt and flow right onto customers' plates. At home, many Swiss have Raclette machines, sort of small ovens you place on the table, and each person prepares their own Raclette melt. You can get those here, too. Of course, you can also simply stick the plate with cheese in the microwave.
Anyway, the secret with Raclette is that it must be actual, real Raclette cheese. And that's hard to come by. Trader Joe's usually has packages of it in the Winter season, October through January or so. Shipments are usually gone within hours or minutes.
So I was really surprised when a few days ago, in April, my local Trader Joe's got a new shipment of Raclette cheese. Bought a whole load of them.
Yum.
