My first taste of raclette was in the small town of Chamonix that lies in the shadow of Mont Blanc. Cameron and I were there for our honeymoon where we spent plenty of full days skiing. And by a full day of skiing, I mean ski a run or two and then head to one of the amazing little restaurants tucked into the mountain where we’d fill ourselves with hearty ham and vegetable soups and cassolet, fresh breads and cheeses, and of course un petit pichet de vin and then slowly roll our way down the hill back to our hotel. A nap usually followed, and by then, we’d have at least a tiny space in our bellies ready for dinner. Just enough, say, for a shared raclette for dinner. Yes. That’s right. We ate cheese for dinner. And it was fantastic.

Raclette is the perfect melting cheese. Traditionally, it is heated in big rounds by the fire and then scraped off in little avalanches onto your plate. Modern raclette is usually served, like fondue, with some sort of portal stove or grill to keep the raclette softened. Unlike some cheeses that break when heated yielding a greasy mess, raclette just gets more and more velvety. So velvety, you just want to take a fingerful and lick it off (but don’t! Hot!). Instead, do as they do in Savoy, and dip in boiled fingerlings followed by a bright, sour cornichon. Or you can get a little crazy and dip in some sausage or thinly sliced serrano ham. A little cheese, a little wine, a little charcuterie and potatoes makes for a stellar evening. And tighter fitting ski pants.

I haven’t had raclette since that trip, which was almost 7 years ago now, mostly for a silly reason. It never occurred to me how easy it would be to find raclette closer to home. Not until I got mail one day from the Wisconsin Cheese Board asking if I’d be interested in creating a mac & cheese recipe for an upcoming blogging event that they are having. I usually ignore PR requests like this, but hey, who can say no to mac & cheese*? The only requirement for the recipe is that it feature a cheese that is made in Wisconsin… ie, pretty much any cheese. There were over 30 cheeses to choose from, but it was the raclette that caught my eye.

Just think about this for a moment: al dente pasta in a creamy bechamel sauce, topped with paper thin slices of potato and plenty of silky and slightly caramelized raclette and a little gherkin relish sprinkled on for good measure. I promise you, it’s worth loosening your belt for.

For other Mac & Cheese recipes, checkout the 30 ways in 30 days site.

*For this recipe, I am receiving a small stipend, just like I do when I write for magazines. On this blog, I don’t do pay-for-post advertising.

Raclette Mac & Cheese

Makes 4 servings (300 calories per serving)

This recipe may sound a little fancy, but it’s actually quite easy to prepare and most of it can be done in advance, so it makes for a great addition to a dinner party. I cooked mine as individual servings in these Staub mini cocottes, but 1 cup ramekins work fine too, or you can make it in a single larger casserole dish. The mini’s give you more caramelization on the edges.

As an optional variation, try sticking a paper thin slice of Serrano ham under the potatoes. Yum.

3 new potatoes, sliced 1/8″ thick
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper
A pinch of nutmeg
6 ounces uncooked penne (or pasta of your choice), cooked al dente
4 slices Wisconsin Raclette Cheese, cut to 2″x2″x1/4″
1/2 cup cornichon, coarsely chopped

Directions:
Soak the sliced potatoes in salted water for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Drain the potato slices and plunge them into the boiling water for about 1 minute. Rinse the slices in cold water and lightly dry. Place the potato slices in a bowl and lightly coat with the olive oil. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. To make the béchamel, warm the milk and cream over low heat in a small pan. In another pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat and add the flour and stir until smooth and thick, just until it starts to take on a little color. Add the milk & cream gradually, about 1/4 at a time, stirring between each addition until smooth. The mixture should be velvety and slightly thick. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.

Place the cooked penne pasta in a mixing bowl and add 3/4 of the béchamel sauce; stir to coat.

Fill each cocotte or ramekin with 3/4 cup of the béchamel coated pasta, and press down with the back of the spoon. Top with a heaping spoonful of the remaining béchamel. Arrange the potato slices on the top of each cocotte, overlapping each slightly.

Bake for 10 minutes or until the potatoes lightly brown on the edges. Place a slice of Raclette on the top of each cocotte and return to the oven for another 10 minutes or until the Raclette is melty and lightly browned. Serve each cocotte, hot, with the cornichon relish on the side.

*300 calories per serving

The past few weeks, I’ve been battling the gravity of my couch. It’s amazing how quickly things can go from a million miles an hour to a full, dead stop. Most days, I don’t even see the lower level of my house until after dinner. But a little illness and a little mom/teen daughter drama, and suddenly, my couch became attached to my butt.

The good news is that the last of the antibiotics are now gone, and mother and daughter drama passes. But, the gravity of the couch and getting back to my normal activity level, that has taken a bit more effort.

I got kind of used to watching three episodes of Bones everyday, curled up with my laptop, polishing up my manuscript (due Sunday!), catching up on everyone’s blogs, and trying to keep up with Twitter (impossible, even when couch bound). A few recent jobs have helped me gain breakaway speed, including a great trip to Vancouver to shoot at 5 different bars (more on that when the article hits the shelves).

This week, I made it back into the kitchen and started to feel that old rhythm kicking in again. First, a few remaining doughnut tests (Red Velvet Cake, Brandy Eggnog, and playing around with Chia flour for a gluten free variation). And then, yesterday, roasted parsnips.

The first time I remember having a parsnip was at some fancy-schmancy restaurant that served probably the best monkfish I’ve ever had. (This was long ago, in the days before fish-lists or much awareness of what was happening in our waters.) Tucked underneath the fish was this beautifully creamed, what I thought was, potato. In fact it was creamed parsnip, and I nearly spit it across the table. I was not in anyway prepared for that earthy sweetness, and thought it was the most horrible thing I had ever had. Perhaps it was just the misplaced expectation or perhaps it wasn’t well prepared (I seem to recall, it was kind of grainy). But I swore off parsnips then and there.

What a huge mistake. Somewhere along the way, a parsnip sneaked its way onto my plate at a friend’s house and it was a revelation. This wasn’t some mealy, sickly sweet babyfood. It was caramel and banana and potato wrapped into one; crisp on the outside, melty on the inside goodness. Now, I can never seem to get enough of them. Yesterday, I roasted up 6 or 7 good sized roots sprinkled with a little vanilla bean salt and a splatter of olive oil, and gobbled them all down for lunch. Today, I’m tempted to do the same.

(PS: Thanks to Stephanie over at Wasabimon for the spotlight! )

Vanilla Roasted Parsnips

I roasted my parsnips whole, which gives a greater ratio of soft to crisp. If you prefer your parsnips caramelized on all sides, you can half or quarter them before roasting.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Line a baking sheet with foil, and place whole, peeled parsnips on top. Splash with a good olive oil, and sprinkle with vanilla salt and a bit of cracked pepper. Cover with more foil, and roast for about 20 minutes. Turn the parsnips over (they should be golden on the bottom by this point). Recover and roast another 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven, and cut off the tops and tails. Slice in half (or quarters if they are particularly large) lengthwise. Drizzle on a bit more olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.

I’m becoming a big fan of shiso since Amy planted it in my garden this summer. It’s minty, grassy flavor is just the thing on a hot spell like the one we are having this week (seriously, 103F in Seattle? I did not move here for weeks like this!) So, I was happy to help out with Design Sponge’s In The Kitchen with this recipe for Ginger Shiso Syrup.

What I really love about this syrup (or really, any herbal simple syrup) is how many different things you can do with it. Add a little to something fizzy, citrusy and if you are so inclined, boozy, and you have the perfect drink too cool you down on a day like today (Ginger shiso mojitos anyone?). Or, stir some into a fruit puree, freeze and you have a remarkable sorbet. Or, if you kitchen isn’t hot enough to bake without the use of an oven, try it drizzle over some fruit on a pound cake. Ooo, mama.

For these recipe, head on over to Design Sponge. And for even more summery herby recipes, check out Summer Fest!

I live in a world where I don’t think much about the prices of food. Much of the food that we have around the house is left-over from some photo shoot I’ve done and in that world, all I’m worried about is whether it is the right product and whether it looks great. Another large percentage comes to me weekly in the form of a CSA delivery and it’s hard to know exactly how much the zucchinis were versus the apples. The rest are other things that I tend to think of as necessities and I buy them based on things like sustainability rather than price. It takes a pretty shocking price tag on something for me to really take notice (over $20 for Mac and Cheese at Stumbling Goat?!? Hello!)

I’m lucky to live in this world of so much wonderful food. Not everyone is, and I that’s why I decided to participate in the Hunger Challenge this week. Between thinking about what food I will make, reading the comments here and watching the discussion on other participating blogs, I don’t think I’ve ever spent so much time thinking about the cost of food.

It has reminded me of when I was growing up and my family did think a lot about how much money we had to go around for the month. And it’s funny to me how much has changed in the way we think about splurges then and now. It’s entirely possible that this is just me, but when I was a kid, craving the latest in junk food as most kids do, I always believed that we couldn’t afford it. The junk food and fast food was the expensive stuff. Now, I’m wondering if it was just a ruse… a very good one… played on me by my mother. As a child, it’s easier to accept “we can’t afford it” than it is “no, that’s bad for you.” So, we never had pop or chips or frozen pizza around the house (we did, however, have Kraft dinner… the one junk food staple that seems has always been cheap. We’d mix it with tuna and mushroom soup or eat it on its own, usually with ketchup). A big dinner out for me was going to Pizza Hut. That was a huge splurge, only warranted by straight A’s on my report card.

But we did eat well at home. Food was mostly made from scratch and we used fresh herbs (usually grown in big pots on the patio) and olive oil. When our house allowed it, we raised rabbits for their meat, and Rabbit Cacciatore was one of my favorite dishes. My father and step-mother even pulled together all of their recipes for the kids as we went off to college… they called it the HOG cookbook… for “Hard times, Old times, Good times.” It’s a collection of recipes that are good but frugal. My dad (who is a bit of a geek like me), recently pulled the whole thing together into a website which you can check out if you are so inclined.

Maybe food costs just really are different now than when I was growing up. Today, it seems that people tend to think it’s a splurge to buy spices or fresh produce or good cooking oil. And it is hard to argue with that. Making food from scratch takes time and investment. It’s a choice that someone has to intentionally take because it’s harder than just grabbing the frozen dinner or the can of soup. To get the bigger payoff, you have to go without some thing in the short term. There are ways around some of the big upfront costs of stocking a pantry… Madison Market has an incredible bulk food section where you can buy small quantities of things like olive oil, flour and spices at reasonable prices and it is always possible to find deals on produce, especially when it is produced locally and in abundance.

But, to take advantage of that, first you have to know about it, second you have to take the time to get to the store fairly regularly and third you have to have the time to plan and cook. None of the recipes I’ve made this week are particularly challenging, costly or even time consuming in and of themselves. But it would be much harder to eat the way that I have this week if I were working full time or had a whole family of kids around to feed. I might be able to stick to the budget for the week or a month or even longer and feel like I’m eating well. But, I have more time, more equipment, more resources that support me than most people out there, even those not on a limited budget.

Now, I’ve rambled on quite a while here about a few of the questions and thoughts that have been going through my head this week… and I think that stirring up those thoughts, and asking ourselves what we can do to help, is really the point of this challenge. Please keep up the great comments! They’ve given me a lot to think about!

Now, onto the food accounting…

Tuesday, I was semi-planning to make a risotto to have along with a nice little tilapia fillet that I found at Metropolitan Market. But, I got hungry in the afternoon, and made a big bowl of popcorn (my favorite junk food) which filled me up a bit longer than I thought it would. So dinner started late, and I decided to make it a bit simpler. I pan fried the tilapia with just a bit of salt, pepper in a tiny bit of organic olive oil (picked up in the bulk section at Madison Market… $1.56 for more than enough for the week which will replace oil I used earlier to hopefully be more in the spirit of the challenge) along with a quick medley of red pepper, onion and zucchini on a bowl of rice ($3.67 for the meal). It was simple, quick and delicious.

Yesterday, I was light on food day during the day… I had a photoshoot to do on location in the middle of the day, which lead me to skimp some on breakfast (espresso, toast) and lunch (an apple). The photoshoot was for Edible Seattle (always a great time), but I had to say no to the homemade chicken karaage that was being made! Sad! (but… the recipe will be a great budget recipe when it comes out in a few months… keep your eyes out for it!). For dinner, I made a recipe from a cookbook I recently picked up, “Beaneaters and Bread Soup” (Lori de Mori; Jason Lowe). This is a fantastic cookbook. It’s packed with beautiful stories about Italian artisan’s, and even more beautiful photos. I just want to live in this book.

I knew there would be a great, frugal recipe in there that would be perfect for this week. There are many, but I decided on a white bean with tomato sauce recipe… the original recipe includes Italian sausage, but I used a couple of slices of bacon instead (I love that you can buy bacon by the piece… I never make it through a whole package).

Again, the recipe is super simple. I used a can of Northern White beans because I hadn’t planned far enough in advance to use dried ones. Toss in a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary, cover, and bake for about 20 minutes. While that is heating, toss the bacon (chopped in narrow strips) into a hot pan and cook for about 3 minutes. Add a bit (1/4 cup for the 2 slices of bacon I used) of canned tomatoes (ideally San Marzano’s… my normal San Marzano’s run about $6.99 for a 32 oz can… but I found some for only $2.99 which were still very good) and a splash of olive oil. Season to taste with salt, black pepper and chile flakes if desired. Once the beans are hot, gently stir in the tomato sauce.

On the side, I made some steamed asparagus with a bechamel sauce on toast. This sauce is absolutely luxurious without being at all pricey. It’s simply milk, butter and flour (with a bit of seasoning). Warm the milk (about a 1/2 cup) and set aside. In another pan, make a roux of butter and flour (equal portions of each… a little less than 1 tablespoon for the amount of milk I used). Cook on low for a few minutes stirring constantly. You don’t want it to brown like you would a roux for a gumbo. Then, add in the warmed milk and stir until smooth (you can stir in more milk, a little at a time, if you want it to be thinner). It should be like velvet. Add salt and pepper to taste (a little nutmeg is a nice addition too).

This amount was far more sauce than I needed for my 6 pieces of asparagus ($1.99 per pound right now!). In fact, I really made far too much food for this dinner entirely… and Cam got to eat the left over 1/2 of beans when he got home from his trip late last night. Not bad for $2.80.
Adding everything up, plus this morning’s breakfast of Oatmeal ala Philip (except with nutmeg in place of the cinnamon and a half pear instead of the raisins), I’m currently at $20.53 for the week, just a few cents below my budget. Tonight’s dinner is posole, which looks like it might push my budget some, but I’m making it for 2 of us and I’m expecting there will still be left-overs that I can polish of for Friday’s lunch.

Coincidentally, as I was leaving Madison Market yesterday getting bulk stuff to replace the stuff I had been using from my pantry, I picked up a copy of Real Change. The story on the front cover? “A bigger slice of the pie: Activiest Joel Bert on food snobbery, class bias and the persistence of hunger in America” If you get a chance, help someone out by picking up one of these papers, and take a read of that article which I found particularly relevant this week… and has given me even more to think about.

Last night, I blew through my daily budget. Luckily, it was only by $0.12 and I think I charged myself too much for the bread (we’ll see if I actually go through all of the dough I made by the end of the week or not). I’m pretty sure it was because of the parsnips from last weekend’s farmer’s market. But, it was well worth it. Here’s what I had for dinner:

Roasted chicken with a herby-salt rub ($1.09 for free range drumsticks), parsnips ($0.75) and creamy polenta ($0.71) with a smidgen of Parmigiano-Reggiano. It wouldn’t be a lie to say that I licked the plate clean, and although it would have nice if there were something green on there, I think it was quite a lovely dinner for $2.55. It is also crazy easy to make… rinse and dry the chicken well, then dust with the herbed salt. I have a little tin of it that I keep by the stove whenever I need a little sprinkle, and it only comes to $0.07 per teaspoon (I used less than that on these two drumsticks). The parsnips just get thrown into the pan you use for the chicken along with a tiny drizzle of oil (I used grapeseed this time, but usually would use olive oil). Start roasting the parsnips at 400F about 15 minutes before you add the chicken to the dish. Then, add the chicken (sitting on top of the parsnips is fine) and roast until the juices run clear, about 30 minutes depending on the size of your chicken pieces. This is basically the same technique I use for roasting a whole chicken which I would have done this time too except I’m eating on my own this week. The benefit of the whole chicken (beyond being a bit cheaper) is that I also can just turn the carcass into stock.

For lunch today, I decided on an egg salad sandwich… a simple one with a vinaigrette instead of a mayo based dressing. In fact, it’s pretty much the same dressing that I had on yesterday’s salad… a bit of shallot, grapeseed oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. But this time I also added about 1/16th teaspoon of dried mustard and a few chili threads. Chili threads, if you haven’t seen them before, are amazing. They look quite a bit like saffron and pack a tiny little punch. A whole bag of them is only around $1, and that contains some crazy number of threads (somewhere around 2000 I’m guessing). I used about 5 in my egg salad.

The other thing you’ll probably notice here is the punch. I LOVE this punch and it’s one of the cheapest and simplest things you can make. It’s simply steeped dried hibiscus. You can set out a pitcher with the hibiscus petals in water and let it steep like you would sun tea (or, you can put the kettle on and start it off with hot water). If you like it sweetened, you can add a bit of sugar and lime like Matt does, but also I like it just as it is. It reminds me a bit of cranberry juice and is a lovely way to take a break from water.

My dinner plans tonight are still up in the air… but I did manage to find a lovely piece of Tilapia for a little less than $2 and I’m thinking about that with a simple risotto.

For those curious, here’s my running total so far:

Monday $7.12 Total
Macchiato $0.19
Bread (for the day) $0.72
Salad $2.19
Dressing $0.73
Apple $0.75
Polenta $0.71
Parsnips $0.75
Roast Chicken $1.08

Tuesday $2.44 Total
Macchiato $0.19
Bread (for the day) $0.72
Egg salad $1.23
Hibiscus Punch $0.30