Ronnie's Raclette Party
Ronnie and Jeff took our regular dinner party
gathering and morphed it into something novel and different last night. They hosted a raclette party at our home last night. Ronnie first experienced a raclette party with a family in the Savoie region in France and it was one of his most memorable meals there. We soon understood why...The attendees gathered around our patio table on the back deck. A raclette grill was placed in the center of the table. The boys put together several heaping plates and bowls of meats, cheeses
including Gouda and Jarlsberg, and vegetables as well as some wonderful shrimp marinated in mango-pepper sauce. Among the other assorted accoutrements were goat cheese with crusty bread, sweet and spicy mustards and cornichons(of which I am now a BIG fan). Skewers were provided to create kabobs. The raclette grill is a fascinating contraption: you cook
your meats and veggies on the top while underneath are several small pans where each person at the table can put cheeses that melt from the heat of the grill above. We had large bowls of cooked potatoes that we melted our 
cheese over and added grilled veggies to. We also grilled pineapple and in the end created all sorts of flavorful food combinations. Linda brought a lovely 2004 Abbaye De Saint-Ferme Les Vignes du Soir Bordeaux. For dessert, Keith made one of my favorites...the chocolate-chip carrot cake. Despite the threat of approaching storms, we tasted and grilled and sampled for several hours.One characteristic you can always count
on at one of these dinner 
parties is the always interesting and typically eccentric conversation that always accompanies the party. Indeed, last night was no exception and the topics ranged from Ronnie's tale about his grandmother(Alexis Colby and the Ballad of Ellis Nash) and Jane's always mind-bending trips down Memory Lane(walking backwards, skipping school to see Ethel Merman perform, being popular at West Point). It's patently inevitable that we all end up collapsed in tearful laughter.Ronnie and Jeff will be traveling to Paris in a few weeks. Bon Voyage, boys, and thanks for sharing a bit of France with us before you left..
Ronnie is DA BOMB. I have never met him. I have corresponded with him via Facebook. I have even now spoken with him over the phone. He is DA BOMB. He is also evil and must be destroyed. HOWEVER, I will delay his destruction (the destruction I will orchestrate at the hands of superheros because that would only be fitting)if he makes me dinner and one of those YOWZA drinks. I CAN be bought. LOL. Safe travels Ronnie and Jeff and thanks for another great post Greg.
ReplyDeleteIt will go down as one of the most memorable dinners. I can't believe we stayed outside until we all became blobs of darkness on the deck. Jeff has been making yummy things with the left over veg. Krity, I can not be detroyed by your superhero army. I will only rise like a flaming pheonix from it's ashes (emphasis on flaming) and strike you down with my gayness and potent cocktails. Bring it you sexy bitch.
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