the raclette that almost wasn't

{La Petite and her Tonton}

Now I realize that the holidays have passed what with the Epiphany having gone and occurred and all, but I’m not about to let you get away with not hearing about my New Year’s Eve (although it wasn’t too exciting, so no need to hold on to your hats or anything).

And surprise… we celebrated with cheese!

(of course we did)

Papa’s Wife was hosting a Raclette for the evening, but to make it extra special, she bought a proper Raclette machine (which I would love to call a doohickey, because it looked far more doohickey-like than machine-like, so doohickey it is), one where you actually scraped the melted bits off the cheese  instead of grilling slices (raclette does mean scape you know… sort of). And what with the large wheel of Saint-Nectaire The Husband and I brought back from Auvergne, we were good to go (or so we thought).

It should be noted that while Saint-Nectaire is good in it’s natural, semi-soft state, melted, it’s a whole other ball game of deliciousness all together. I urge you to get yourself some Saint-Nectaire, and melt it immediately. Go now. I’ll be here when you get back.

{doohickey}

Now back to that Raclette doohickey… it wasn’t really working properly (because doohickeys rarely do). It was taking a bit too long to melt and then when there was finally enough melted to scrape off, one person would only get a teensy bit on their plate while nine other people looked on hungrily. We were pretty much entering a full on, five alarm, cheese emergency.

But luckily, The Husband came to the rescue (you didn’t honestly think ol’ Food Whore would sit back and patiently wait for a tiny dollop of melted cheese did you?). He pulled out the ordinary Raclette grill, plopped it on the table next to the doohickey, plugged it in, and got it going, proper like.

The Raclette doohickey was a wonderful idea though, and Papa’s Wife gets a gold star for trying to make an ordinary Raclette evening more special, but what wasn’t a wonderful idea however, was the playing of the dvd that she had made of the history of Brother-in-Law and Child Bride’s relationship and the birth of La Petite, while we ate. It was very sweet that she made it, but very long, so very long. And did the rest of us really need to sit there and watch it? Did we? I don’t think so.
(FYI… the dvd began when the two first got together… it was Brother-in-Law’s 23rd birthday BBQ and Child Bride was 15½… I love how she mentioned the ½… like that made it OK).

But because The Husband and me were tuckered out from a  L O N G  week in Auvergne (and possibly that  L O N G  tribute to Brother-in-Law), we called it a night early and headed home to ring in the New Year with Fifty.

And I would love to tell you all about kisses and cuddles at midnight, and toasts with Champagne,

but I can’t, because I fell asleep.

bisou

20 responses to “the raclette that almost wasn't”

  1. Just bought some Saint-Nectaire from the cheese shop yesterday…think I'll be melting that on a little toast right about now…

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  2. I think I am addicted to cheese!! Help!!

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. last year we went to celebrate irish new year at a local pub. it really meant celebrating midnight at 7pm (midnight in dublin). i was home and in bed by 10:30 and it was wonderful. gotta love the irish. and this story is hilarious!! : ) happy Sunday.

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  5. ive had raclette a couple of times and never seen this amazing contraption. oh my gosh i want cheese right this instant and its 9 am.

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  6. Ok, hold on, let me take a sip of my coffee..ok..1. You had to watch a video of their relationship while you ate?! Wtf. No talking? Just watching their budding relationship? How awkward. And 2. 15½?! There aren't any laws against that in France? Perhaps the half really does makes all the difference. :PI was dying when I read this post…as always, bravo!

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  7. I've never made raclette with anything other than raclette cheese. I love Saint-Nectaire cheese so we will have to try that the next time we have a raclette which I am sure will be very soon.

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  8. As a pseudo auvergnat I will say that st. Nectaire is super delicious! It sounds like there is never a dull moment with your in-laws

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  9. MUST TRY SAINT NECTAIRE!!! W/ our regular raclette machine 🙂

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  10. Our local store had raclette “machines” just last week, altho I couldn't figure out from the box how to use it, so passed. I think it was the one that worked, tho!Sounds delicious. Will have to looks for Ste. Nectaire and at least try it unmelted.

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  11. I didn't know one could “raclette” St. Nectaire…it sounds worth a try. We always get the normal “fromage de raclette.”When I visited a friend in Switzerland, they had a huge raclette “doohickey” built into their barbecue outside! And that DID work…Happy New Year!

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  12. I've never had a raclette nor Saint-Nectaire cheese before. (Sigh). Adding that to the list of things I have to do RIGHT NOW.P.S. Love that she actually made a DVD of the relationship. An A for effort, maybe?

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  13. Ever been to the Cheese House in Aix-Les-Milles? Okay, maybe that isn't the real name, something like “Maison du Fromage”. Anyway, I went there a few years ago and we had a real raclette, except the doohickey worked well, and there were only four of us. And there wasn't actual footage of the birth was there?

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  14. PS. Cute frenchman holding a cute baby… nothing better IMO.

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  15. oh god. a lava flow of cheese. there is something so wrong about that…..and just so right ;-)p.s. the doohickey looks positively medieval!

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  16. Haha. We just plug our raclette in and we're good to go!

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  17. it's true that doohikeys often look much fancier than they are. sounds like a pretty good new year's eve though.

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  18. Oh, that is the cutest baby ever!!! I think the Mr. looks good holding a baby! Maybe Fifty needs a baby in the house to look after. xo

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  19. Dang, I was hoping you were going to say the raclette doohickey worked like a charm, and then ask you where she got it from. We've been looking for a doohickey since we first used a real one at a restaurant, and all we can find are the plug in ones. The more it looks like a torture device and can scare your dinner guests the better the cheese tastes, afterall.

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  20. awww….the picture is so sweet. gotta love that cheese .-))).

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