Monday, February 08, 2010

Why Winter Is OK

You can cry about all the rain. (And I do.) You can sit in front of the blazing fireplace and pray for July. (And I do.) You can yearn for lettuce and tomatoes and summer squash. (And... yes.)
But, jeepers, woman, it's folly not to love the seasonal fare. (And I DO!)
These potatoes came out of the ground in our yard the other day. We had left them in the dirt, as an experiment in "cold storage" without digging. Well, some of the taters decided to grow eyes and send up leaves. That's fine. We'll leave them there. They'll be next spring's carbs. And some of the taters just sat there, nicely, waiting to be harvested. We pulled up a handful, peeled them and boiled them. Such pleasure: your homegrown nutrifications.
I am overly fond of this method for making raclette. Grate the cheese (we used Gruyère) and strew it over the cooked potatoes. Run the plates under the broiler to melt the cheese. The potatoes hold a lot of heat and keep the cheese soft. Dreamy.
Accompany with the usual cornichons, cocktail onions and rolls of Spanish jamón serrano (which... next time? Nah.).

16 comments:

Cyndi said...

Ummmm one of my favorite meals - raclette - I get the cheese at Trader Joe's - and with potatoes, bananas (yes, bananas), mushrooms, and bacon. We used to have a raclette machine - a little oven with individual pans for each person to build his own meal and broil it himself. Thanks for the memories.

Zoomie said...

@Cyndi, you can still get them - just Google "raclette grills" and you'll find at least two or three sources.

Cookiecrumb, this is how we make it, too, but we like a variety of salumi with it, just a slice of each. Yay, winter!

peter said...

I have so many carrots imprisoned in the frozen ground due to tardiness in late November. It pains me to buy carrots knowing they're there, but come March we'll be happy. There are parsnips in there too, and who knows what other tasty randomness.

I wish my dinner had melted cheese on it.

cookiecrumb said...

Cyndi: Bananas! Whoa, I laugh. But I am intrigued. You don't need a raclette machine; just a hot source. In Switzerland they melt the cheese in front of the hearth. Eee!

Zoomie: I like how you make it. But I'm not so sure I want the meat. Winter!

Peter: Will your carrots survive? Cheese to you.

Ms Brown Mouse said...

You should try air-dried beef next time, it's almost gamey, only not.
Home grown spuds, yummo, what breed?

Chilebrown said...

I hope you consulted the 'Spare the Air' Nazi's for permision before you built a blazing fire.

El said...

I love this. And: it's pretty!

Greg said...

Now there's a photo I can love. Cheese,taters and world class ham.Yes indeed.

Anonymous said...

Cheese makes everything tastier.

SallyBR said...

Raclette: the tastiest way to gain 5 pounds in a single sitting...

:-)

love the stuff, haven't had any since I moved out of France (I even have a raclette thingie, if you can believe it!....)

michael, claudia and sierra said...

i never eat potatoes. weird. like ever. at least at home. i guess i should say that i never buy or cook with them. i know! unamerican.

but if you made that for me? it'd be gone in 2 minutes flat.

cookiecrumb said...

Mouse: You mean like bresaola? That stuff is good. Our little potatoes were supposed to be baked-tater size, but none got any bigger than a walnut. Don't know the name, but nice dirt flavor.

Chilebrown: I know! Can you believe we were actually barred from having a fire on Christmas day? I probably have the kind of neighbors who would rat me out, too.

El: Shocking depth of color for a little plate of potatoes. Winter sunlight is very kind to my camera.

Greg: You don't love the photo! It's the food you're craving. Nice midwinter midday meal.'

Mimi: The day we ate it, I told Cranky I wanted cheese for lunch. I said I'd just lie on the floor and he could hold the cheese grater over my mouth. The dear, he's the one who thought of raclette.

Sally: Forget the thingie, just get the oven hot. I promise you you won't gain five pounds.

ceFret: I guess I can understand that. Potatoes might seem really dull. Homegrown ones are a tad more spectacular, and I wish I could make this dish for you.

RoxieWithMoxie said...

Wow, what a beautiful picture. My 3 year old is demanding I make that now.

cookiecrumb said...

Roxie: A three-year-old demanding raclette. That's classy.

Ms Brown Mouse said...

Ours didn't get very big either last year. More bags of poo required I'm guessing!

cookiecrumb said...

Mouse: Yes! I'm about to go poo shopping myself.