Have you ever done a Raclette?

[sneezles]

Recently some good friends introduced us to a Raclette, a table top grill with little pans underneath where you melt the cheese. It's Swiss by nature/design and much more entertaining than fondue and not near the job of cleaning up of fondue!
Anyway, this last time I was in charge of marinating the shrimp. Looking for something tasty but not too complicated. Found a CL recipe from June of '98 for marinated mushrooms. EEEWWWW doggies this marinade is great with shrimp! Haven't tried it with mushrooms yet!

Marinated Mushrooms

1/4 cup tequila(big selling point for me)
1/4 cup lemon juice (being from Texas I used lime juice)
1/2 tsp cracked pepper (I admit that I used at least 1 tbs)
1/4 tsp salt (used Kosher salt-same amount)
1/4 tsp dried oregano (used Mexican oregano-same amount)
2 garlic cloves, halved (admit to using 5)
1 bay leaf
1 rosemary sprig (didn't have one used 1 tsp dried)
1 (8-ounce) package crimini mushrooms (used 1 # 16-20 count peeled/deveined shrimp)

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and stir well. Cover and marinate in refrigerator 8 hours. (For the shrimp I combined all in a large zip-loc bag and marinated for maybe 1 hour...could have been 2). Discard garlic, bay leaf and rosemary before serving (again, for the shrimp I just put it all in a bowl and we skewered as needed to "grill")

Our friends from Louisiana have raved for days afterwards that these were the best shrimp they have ever had! I only hope the mushrooms are that good!
;)

[Robyncz]

Sneezles---
Raclette in Texas????? Cool!!!!!

When I lived in Germany about a decade ago, Raclette was all the rage. It was such a great and social way to do a dinner party. DH and I searched high and low for a Raclette grill (?) to bring back to the US with us, but we never found one with a conversion switch. We've since seen one at William Sonoma, but we'd sort of lost our enthusiasm. Maybe we should rethink it???

In Germany we always had a huge assortment of vegetables and boiled potatoes on the table--that's in addition to an awe-inspiring array of cheese and wine. I can't recall if we did meat. Probably not because most of my university friends were the activist-intellectual type (read: vegetarian).

Anyway, your post brought up a lot of good memories (and the marinade sounds yummy, too!).

[sneezles]

Robyn,
My friends' daughter's MIL is from Switzerland and they do Raclette every Christmas Eve. Well, I found one on the web for $100 (8 people/places) from a website in Idaho! We do loads of veggies and potatoes as well but there are some serious meat eaters in the crowd! My youngest DS thinks it's the coolest way to eat!

And by the by, Robyn!
Did you find a babysitter for April 20th? You know that is when our cute cowboy singer will be back at Baca's (read botcha's) again! Of course you can always bring the baby(just ask Emma, she had a great time!) and I have 2 little B & Bs in town!

[valchemist]

Sneezles -

that mushroom recipe looks great.

I have done a raclette only once in my life, about 3 1/2 years ago. An old boyfriend of mine introduced me to it -- soooo good!

This former boyfriend is French Canadian. I had never even heard of a Raclette before. It never has caught on in the US, I guess.

Anyway, I too was prompted to hunt for a raclette after trying it, but I decided they are too pricey for the amount of use I would get from it.

here is a picture in case someone is interested:

http://fantes.com/images/98598raclette.jpg

and here is a link to some buying info:

http://fantes.com/raclette.htm#modern

val

[Grace]

My husband's family in Germany does Raclette. We were there two years ago, and were invited to his cousin's for Raclette. It was a ball. And I agree, MUCH better than fondue!!! I have actually seen several raclette grills, and am buying one for my MIL this year for either Mother's Day or Christmas. So we'll be doing Raclette here now too! And you can get Raclette cheese all over the place now too.

Thanks sneezles for the mushroom recipe. I'm going to print it out and keep it for my MIL's first Raclette party!

[vbak]

We love raclett for entertaining. My daughter and family live in Europe and were introduced to it over there one Christmas Eve. It is so much fun. It is an evening's entertainment that allows you to cook and eat slowly. We did this for New Year's Eve this year. We made steak, shrimp and chicken. Also, potatoes with baon bits and cheese, mushrooms, zucchini , peppers, and onions. I sauteed the onions first because they take too long to cook and the odor lingers far too long. I also cook the potatoes and bacon, too. Vicky

[susangibbs]

My sister lives in Switzerland and she and her friends seem to exsist on a diet consisting solely of fondue and raclette. When I get home from a visit I can't even look at cheese. Lucky for my sister, she has the metabolism of a hyperactive five-year-old.

[SusanL]

Dinner tonight will be using our new "toy"! We are having veggies and marinated chicken! I am so excited, thank you Sneezles for this fun entertaining idea!! Will let you know how it goes:)
Val thanks for the Fante's tip, that is where I ordered it from and it came very quickly!!

[Sami]

Thanks Sneezles. I am having house guests the beginning of August and the BF does not eat meat so I was thinking of making a shrimp dish. The marinade sounds yummy.

Sami

[valchemist]

Originally posted by SusanL
Val thanks for the Fante's tip, that is where I ordered it from and it came very quickly!!

you're welcome, susan.

I'd love to hear how it comes out!

[Terrytx]

I guess I must live a sheltered life. This is a new one on me. The kids have always loved to do fondue...and you say this is even more fun? Hum.....birthday coming up....hum.....do I need a new gadget?

[sneezles]

Terrytx,
Because it doesn't take tons of cheese to make it I think it might be better for you (just MHO). Plus the fact that whatever your cooking gets done at the table so the "cook" spends less time at the stove and there's not a lot of heat hotting up the place!

[emily]

inner monologue: emily, you do NOT need another gadget! ;)

interesting... i'm intriguied. where does the heat come from? is it electric? and reclette cheese? there's a certain type of cheese? some won't work?

:)

emily

[Terrytx]

I'm with emily...someone explain this more fully...please. Or maybe I don't want to know-it might just be too cool!

[sneezles]

Yes, there are electric ones (like the one pictured above, which is what we use) and some that run on sterno (denatured alcohol). The top is a grill even puts grill marks on the food. The trays in the bottom is where the cheese goes and it melts from the radiant heat from above. Raclette cheese is a Swiss cheese but any number of cheeses can be used. Gruyere, Ementhaler, Fontina, are what I can think of off the top of my head.

[SusanL]

We had marinated chicken, beef cubes, eggplant, mushrooms, steamed onions and broccoli, and a cheese that didn't melt properly. I am not sure what kind it was but it didn't melt. I am trying it again tonight with one of the cheeses that Sneezles recommended. Not sure what we are having but we both thought it was fun!! Ordered it from Fante's on Monday, got it on Wednesday, but they are located in PA also!! And, yes Terry and Emily you both NEED one ;)

[Terrytx]

Thanks Susan, just what I needed to hear. I showed the DH and his eyes sparkled (he doesn't know what to get me for my birthday). We'll see if he takes the hint.

[vbak]

Terry and Emily, you absolutely need a Raclette!:) Vicky

[shscharles]

I used to live in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and a good friend with the Dutch Embassy introduced me to Raclette. If you're in the market for decadence, make potato pancakes (latkes) and pour the melted cheese over...divine. Martine always served the raclette with small dill pickles, boiled new potatoes (potatoes and cheese, does it get any better?) and fresh vegetables. Gotta go, I'm hungry just talking about this!