Raclette at the Swiss Chalet

While in Tahoe last week I noticed a restaurant on Tahoe Blvd I wanted to check out online. I wanted to see if they had "raclette" on their menu... and what did their website tell me?

That they had raclette...



I talked my very loving (and gracious) family members to go out for yet another meal (even though a few of us were still full from lunch). We each just ordered an appetizer...

I first had raclette in a small village in Switzerland called "Gruyeres"... yes, like the cheese. Raclette is a certain brand of cheese that melts very well and browns up nicely under the broiler. It has a very gentle "browned" taste to it... a taste like I'd never tasted before. Click here for more on raclette.



In Tahoe, it was served a little differently... since it was an appetizer it was served in a nice tidy portion. (Part of me was disappointed - but the other side of me told me I shouldn't have much more than this anyway... ahem!)

On the menu it read "Raclette - served over potatoes, with cornichons". I had to ask what "cornichons" stood for (since that didn't come with the raclette serving I had in Gruyere). The waiter explained that they were pickled vegetables. The small pickled onion and gherkin were a nice addition to this plate...

Once melted, raclette cheese is very different from fondue. Fondue is more creamy... more like a sauce or a dip. Raclette is more true to the melted cheese form... and perfect over potatoes!!! Or on bread... or even by itself.


If you have never had raclette... I encourage you to search out a place nearby so you can try it. It'll change your view of cheese! I promise...




enjoy your time in the kitchen...

Gramma's rockin' the bierocks!

My Gramma ROCKS!!!

Here's why: she makes Bierocks !!! (Actually, to be honest, she rocks for way too many reasons to count... but today this is why I'm bragging on her...)

Let me tell you something about bierocks... they're delicious! That's all there is to it. She explains that she got the recipe from a friend. And I say "THANK YOU TO GOOD FRIENDS!"

She started by making a buttermilk dough - which she says is easy. (I'll have to take her word on that... because I've never made them before. One of these days I'm going to learn it for myself.)

Then the kneading begins...

















I love these hands... to me they represent the Proverbs 31 woman. Nothing could state it any better than that.





She explains that she knows it is done kneading when the dough feels like silk. Next step... letting the dough rise until it doubles in size.







For the filling? Ground beef, onions and cabbage...



By now the dough should be ready. So she got her aggressions out by punching down the dough... then she rolled it out, cut it into small squares, transferred a large spoonful of filling into the middle of the squares and closed up those pouches.















She transfers them to a slightly oiled cookie sheet and into the hot oven...





If only you could taste these (and smell this kitchen)!!! For the record, our family knows full well exactly how blessed we are to have this woman in our lives.



Proverbs 31:28a "Her children (and grandchildren) arise and call her blessed..."


I love you, Gramma! Thank you for teaching me ... thank you for loving me!

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EDITORS' NOTE: Gramma just sent me her bierocks recipe... here it is!(updated 6/14/10)

BIEROCKS
Recipe courtesy my Gramma Helen Haraldsen

NOTE: This recipe is a 2-step process: 1) Make the biscuit dough and 2) Make the filling. So the

5 Way Buttermilk Rolls

Ingredients
1 quart buttermilk
12 cups of flour (approximately)
4 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup shortening, softened (or butter)
3 packets of yeast
Flour
1 tablespoon salt
Canola oil

Instructions
Warm buttermilk in microwave (or in a double broiler on stove). Then add: sugar, baking soda, shortening and finally yeast.

Stir in flour (1 cup at a time) to make a soft sponge. (This will be very sticky at this point.) Add salt and more flour to make a soft dough that you can turn out on a counter to kneed. Continue to add flour (1 cup at a time) until dough is not sticky and kneed until it feels velvety in your hands. Put into a greased bowl (in a warm spot), cover with a damp cloth and let rise, punch down and let rise again. Keep in a warm place.

Filling for bierocks

Ingredients
3 pounds ground beef
1 ½ pounds onions, chopped
1 ½ pounds cabbage, shredded
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
In the meantime, cook ground beef and chopped onions until slightly browned and juices cooked down. Add salt & pepper or seasoned salt to taste. In a separate kettle cook shredded cabbage until soft. Add the cabbage to the meat mixture and stir all together.

This is where the two steps merge...

After the bread has risen the second time, punch down slightly, divide into 4 sections and roll out with a rolling pin as you would for cinnamon rolls. Cut the dough into sections about 5" square. Turn the meat mixture into a colander so any juices will drain away, Put 2 or 3 tblsp. of meat onto each square; bring up corners to center and press together. Pour some oil onto a cookie sheet; dip the bottom of the beirock into the oil and then turn over with the pressed edges underneath. You should be able to get 10 or 12 of these rolls on each cookie sheet. Let them rise. Bake about 30 min. in a 400 deg. over and enjoy.




enjoy your time in the kitchen...

Friday night in Clovis

Last friday I had the opportunity to check out another farmer's market: Old Town Clovis Farmers' Market

Our first stop (oh wait, after the tri-tip sandwiches - which I didn't get a picture of because my hands were drippy) was the corn! Oh - did we search out the corn...





And wow - this is some special corn! It's fire-roasted in the husks, then stripped and cleaned. Next, the corn starts to receive layer after layer of tasty-goodness: starting with butter, followed by mayonnaise, followed by parmesan cheese and lastly followed by cayenne pepper!

Exchange it for a few dollars and you're off to enjoy the rest of the farmers' market...

Let me introduce you to my friend Heather - she likes the corn! (And that's an understatement!)



Take a walk with us... see what we saw!























If you haven't had the chance yet... find a farmers' market near you! They are full of people-watching opportunities, great fresh produce and some really great times!


But don't take my word for it... check it out for yourself...



enjoy your time in the kitchen...

Monkey muffins with the kids...

Last weekend, I visited an old friend. I take that back, she's not old - she's the same age as me (ahem!)... but we have been friends for over 20 years!

I had some help making one of my favorite breakfast treats: My favorite sous chef. Hadley just loves "ciMM-a-mon-non"!!!

And once they finished baking... we ate them! Look at the wide-eyes and the licking of the fingers...

But first, Declan... I think he had at least 3 of these! Oh ...

And Camden? He wanted so badly to eat the whole thing...



But for the life of me... this is all I could get out of Hayden. (She reminds me a little of me... I really don't like it when the camera is pointing in my direction!)




But Hadley on the other hand... she loves the camera! Just as much as she loves "ciMM-a-mon-non".



Again, Hadley, THANK YOU for being my sous chef... I hope you have many years of fun in the kitchen, I hope you learn a lot, and I hope you don't get sick from eating all of those monkey muffins!





Now, it's my turn...

And for the recipe? Monkey Muffins, thank you (once again) Pioneer Woman!!!


enjoy your time in the kitchen...