So we had some leftover fingerling potatoes from the other night. And we had some sliced ham (jambon). There was plenty of sliced cheese, too. Add one 14 year-old girl named Ella and you know what you’ve got?
A raclette party, that’s what!
Okay, so maybe this was not the real thing. For that we’d need to go back to France and get an authentic raclette appliance (device). If you are interested, you can learn more about that from Day 238 of the sabbatical.
But let it be known that Ella loves raclette, even when it’s made with leftovers and the cheese is melted in the oven. On several occasions she has reminded us that we are to buy an authentic raclette device (appliance) and that we are to serve / eat raclette for dinner on Christmas Eve.
Today’s photo is of the remaining serving of faux raclette from tonight, what Ella has insisted is her lunch for tomorrow.
Andy Smallman 
yeah, we gotta get one of those too. http://www.amazon.com/Toastess-TPG-315-6-Person-Nonstick-Raclette/dp/B000FQHA1G
where are the gherkins?
So true, so true… I vow to correct that oversight the next time.
actually in France they are cornichons apparently. Led me to this wikipedia discussion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Raclette#Disputed , as I didn’t know for sure whether Raclette is French or Swiss, or both. They eat it a lot in Switzerland, but only with potato and gherkin. The raclette pan is square or rectangular in shape, and everybody has one. makes a mess, much like making fondue. no, worse!
I don’t know about the controversy, but cornichons are most regularly part of eating raclette in France, at least in my experience.