Raclette Report
HI Everyone:
Writing this at a little past midnight, so technically it is Sunday now. What a fun evening! Had some of my absolute favourite people in town over for raclette as mentioned in a previous email. WHAT a feast, which is a typical error made at each raclette feast and one that I MUST share for any of you who are intrigued enough to try it yourself.
Actually maybe I should do a comparative analysis of the pros and cons to help you make an educated decision about the times and places in which to attempt to raclette…
Pro- the host does not need to spend the whole entire day slaving in the kitchen even if there are 10 people invited…. On the contrary I must confess I spent only about 2 hours, off and on in the kitchen, most of said time spent doing leftover dishes from the week which I did not want my guests to see… DON’t tell!!! The way it works, or at least how we do it up here, is that everyone chips in a little bit- for example, one couple brought sliced mushrooms, zucchini, peppers and a bit of chicken, another couple brought an amazing dessert (oreo cake, YUM!!!) and some marinaded chicken, and another couple brought cut up caribou, chopped onions, a few shrimp, and a couple sauces, and, I am sure you get the picture. They bring them chopped up so literally upon arrival the host needs to only toss them in a bowl and lay them on the table for cooking…
Con- Inevitably there is WAY too much food on site, with even the best planning, it is the hosts tendency to worry that “there will not be enough”, and likewise, guests tend to bring more than ever necessary, since they don’t want to look like cheapskates, even though such quantities are not needed to fill the group.
Pro- it is undaunting and quite easy to feed a HUGE crowd, without feeling the stress that one would normally feel if one were preparing a standard meal such as curry or lasagne…
Con- you tend to eat more food than you might need to consume in the course of an entire week… I mean, you throw a bunch of veggies, meat and things on the grill, and just keep picking at it over a VERY extended period of time. Not to mention, the side dishes, which I am realizing now, might not be so necessary at all. Sides are ready at the start, for example, scalloped potatoes which I prepared, and broccoli au gratin, are awfully filling and since you need not wait for them to cook, you tend to pig out on them at the start and then guiltily indulge in the rest of the tasty goodies over the following hour.
Pro- It tastes so good… You get a chance to try so many awesome treats at one sitting, often you eat things you haven’t had in a while, seasoned to your own liking… YUM!
Con- well, this is a complaint for the guys, they say it takes too long to wait for everything to cook. They like the instant gratification of a prepared meal sitting in front of them when they get to the table. No work, just eat and then unbutton the pants and snooze on the couch. Pro- It’s a very fun social activity. Tonight, we had all the girls around one table and the boys around the other one, while things are being cooked, you have lots of time to talk and bond, and just catch up with one another. The people I invited were many “older” teachers (not that they are elderly, but just ones who have been here much longer than me! I have to mention that so they don’t get mad if they are reading this!) and also a new teacher and boyfriend. So it was fun to help them all get to know each other...
Con- The bloated regret of after dinner… Now, I must admit, I didn’t think that I ate that much, I spent the majority of the evening serving and making sure everyone had what they needed, but man am I ever feeling full now!!! Not to mention, I have to avoid coffee after dinner and delicious chocolate cake, since I am so wired right now I can’t stand it!!!!
I am trying to drink down a neocitren to sooth my sore throat and also to conk me out, but heck, my fingers are typing a mile a minute and I can’t seem to make them stop… 12:46… I really should go… (to the tune of that song from the Sound of Music…) Good night, farewell, auf wiedersehn, Good bye, I wish you all sweet dreams and no more pie…
PS this was typed on my computer Saturday evening but the internet was down so I wrote it in MS Word and pasted it today.
Writing this at a little past midnight, so technically it is Sunday now. What a fun evening! Had some of my absolute favourite people in town over for raclette as mentioned in a previous email. WHAT a feast, which is a typical error made at each raclette feast and one that I MUST share for any of you who are intrigued enough to try it yourself.
Actually maybe I should do a comparative analysis of the pros and cons to help you make an educated decision about the times and places in which to attempt to raclette…
Pro- the host does not need to spend the whole entire day slaving in the kitchen even if there are 10 people invited…. On the contrary I must confess I spent only about 2 hours, off and on in the kitchen, most of said time spent doing leftover dishes from the week which I did not want my guests to see… DON’t tell!!! The way it works, or at least how we do it up here, is that everyone chips in a little bit- for example, one couple brought sliced mushrooms, zucchini, peppers and a bit of chicken, another couple brought an amazing dessert (oreo cake, YUM!!!) and some marinaded chicken, and another couple brought cut up caribou, chopped onions, a few shrimp, and a couple sauces, and, I am sure you get the picture. They bring them chopped up so literally upon arrival the host needs to only toss them in a bowl and lay them on the table for cooking…
Con- Inevitably there is WAY too much food on site, with even the best planning, it is the hosts tendency to worry that “there will not be enough”, and likewise, guests tend to bring more than ever necessary, since they don’t want to look like cheapskates, even though such quantities are not needed to fill the group.
Pro- it is undaunting and quite easy to feed a HUGE crowd, without feeling the stress that one would normally feel if one were preparing a standard meal such as curry or lasagne…
Con- you tend to eat more food than you might need to consume in the course of an entire week… I mean, you throw a bunch of veggies, meat and things on the grill, and just keep picking at it over a VERY extended period of time. Not to mention, the side dishes, which I am realizing now, might not be so necessary at all. Sides are ready at the start, for example, scalloped potatoes which I prepared, and broccoli au gratin, are awfully filling and since you need not wait for them to cook, you tend to pig out on them at the start and then guiltily indulge in the rest of the tasty goodies over the following hour.
Pro- It tastes so good… You get a chance to try so many awesome treats at one sitting, often you eat things you haven’t had in a while, seasoned to your own liking… YUM!
Con- well, this is a complaint for the guys, they say it takes too long to wait for everything to cook. They like the instant gratification of a prepared meal sitting in front of them when they get to the table. No work, just eat and then unbutton the pants and snooze on the couch. Pro- It’s a very fun social activity. Tonight, we had all the girls around one table and the boys around the other one, while things are being cooked, you have lots of time to talk and bond, and just catch up with one another. The people I invited were many “older” teachers (not that they are elderly, but just ones who have been here much longer than me! I have to mention that so they don’t get mad if they are reading this!) and also a new teacher and boyfriend. So it was fun to help them all get to know each other...
Con- The bloated regret of after dinner… Now, I must admit, I didn’t think that I ate that much, I spent the majority of the evening serving and making sure everyone had what they needed, but man am I ever feeling full now!!! Not to mention, I have to avoid coffee after dinner and delicious chocolate cake, since I am so wired right now I can’t stand it!!!!
I am trying to drink down a neocitren to sooth my sore throat and also to conk me out, but heck, my fingers are typing a mile a minute and I can’t seem to make them stop… 12:46… I really should go… (to the tune of that song from the Sound of Music…) Good night, farewell, auf wiedersehn, Good bye, I wish you all sweet dreams and no more pie…
PS this was typed on my computer Saturday evening but the internet was down so I wrote it in MS Word and pasted it today.
posted by Gillian at
4:44:00 PM
2 Comments:
It makes me hungry just reading about it-- what a great idea for a get together--- this is the first I have ever heard of raclette--must look at wal-mart for the appliance---- and what are the raclette rules for all the leftover foods---:)
yeah, its very fun...
as per the rules of leftovers... depends on the host, personally I try to make people bring their leftovers home with them since rarely do I have room for leftovers in my fridge...
Other hosts are sometimes told by guests, to keep the leftovers,but really depends on the host and guest...
G.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home