Raclette Cheese Dinner
A raclette cheese dinner is a wonderful way to interact with guests in a Swiss tradition where melted cheese is scraped over boiled potatoes, charcuterie, pickles, and vegetables.
Equipment
- Raclette Cheese Grill
Ingredients
- 36 small potatoes An assortment of 2-3 dozen small potatoes, firm-fleshed waxy potatoes. Red, Fingerling, La Ratte, or baby red/yellow potatoes
- 2 lbs deli meats Assorted ham slices, spicy deli meats.
- 2 lbs raw meat chicken, steak, bacon
- 2 lbs assorted cheese Choose cheese that melts well, with a variety of flavors. Raclette, Asiago, Brie, Havarti, Gouda, Gruyére, Cheddar, Comté, Taleggio, Emmental, Fontina
- 3 loaves bread Serve from my selection: Classic French Bread
- 4 cups dipping sauces 3-4 types or 1-2 if serving tapenade or rillettes. Choose from my sauces.
- 2 cups tapenade Try my recipes: Tangy Olive Tapenade and Easy Olive Tapenade
- 1 cup duck rilletes My recipe: Spicy Duck Meat Rillettes
- 24 oz pickles assortment of sweet and sour.
- 4 boxes crackers An assortment.
- 3 lbs vegetables Colorful raw, interestingly sliced veggie platter.
- 2 lbs fruit Your choice: grapes, orange slices, bananas, cherries, sliced apples, or pears (dipped in lemon water to prevent oxidation), and a few dried fruits such as figs and dates.
- Plan for a selection of drinks. Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.
Instructions
- Choose a few days ahead of your dinner date, what your raclette menu will include. Decide what recipes you want to make yourself. I have offered suggestions below. Many of them can be made 2-3 days before the evening and kept safely in the fridge.
- Shop for all the ingredients before your prep needs to begin.
- Make the sauces you have chosen and the tapenade or rillettes 1-3 days ahead.
- Cut up the raw meat the day before. Make sure all items that are made and prepared ahead of time are wrapped well to be stored in the fridge.
- Wash and slice all the veggies the day before or the day of the dinner.
- Fruit can be prepared a few hours before dinner begins.
- An hour before dinner time, tastefully display everything on the table before your guests arrive. To avoid passing food over the hot grill, divide all the ingredients into two serving dishes to serve the food on both sides of the table. Providing each side with the full selection of choices.
- Set a glass of water out for each guest, plus utensils, a large plate, a couple of small bowls for each guest for sauces, and place cards with guest names if desired.
- Most raclette grills will come with cooking utensils for each guest.
- When your guests arrive, explain how to eat raclette cheese dinner. Tell them your work is finished! Except to replenish food when necessary, but they will be cooking their own dinner. 😁
- Offer drinks to everyone! 🍹
Notes
- Not everyone will eat a sixth of all the ingredients, so the nutritional calculations are not completely accurate. The food assortment is for choice, not a must serving for each person.
- Serving all the food equally on each side of the table is to prevent guests from passing serving dishes over the grill and getting burnt.
Nutrition
Calories: 4050kcalCarbohydrates: 400gProtein: 161gFat: 206gSaturated Fat: 71gPolyunsaturated Fat: 26gMonounsaturated Fat: 47gTrans Fat: 2gCholesterol: 421mgSodium: 8282mgPotassium: 7674mgFiber: 45gSugar: 42gVitamin A: 13788IUVitamin C: 285mgCalcium: 1625mgIron: 25mg
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