Ok, so I've been meaning to write about the fabulous cheese a Borough Market for quite some time, but of course life (aka school) has gotten in the way. So I'm finally getting to catch up here in the blogosphere.
So, in one area of the market, away from the severed pig heads and wild hares, there are all these cheese stands where you can try little samples of the different cheeses on offer at the market. Glorious cheeses from all over Europe...Switzerland, France...as well as local farmers. The only draw back is that the samples are TINY. I mean these are definitely not the big chunk samples like you get at Whole Foods or Costco in the States. So to satisfy a real cheese craving, I head over to the raclette stand. To answer any queries, "what in the world is raclette?" I've swiped the bit below from Wikipedia...I know, I know, I should be writing this all myself...so sue me, I just wrote a paper on Jung and I'm all worded out!
Raclette is also a dish indigenous to parts of Switzerland. The Raclette cheese round is heated, either in front of a fire or by a special machine, then scraped onto diners' plates; the term raclette derives from the French word racler, meaning "to scrape". Traditionally, it is accompanied by small firm potatoes (Bintje, Charlotte or Raclette varieties), gherkins, pickled onions, and dried meat, such as prosciutto and viande des Grisons. ...and if you want to know what that is look it up yourself!!
Raclette was mentioned in medieval writings as a particularly nutritious meal consumed by peasants in mountainous Switzerland. It was then known in the German-speaking part of Switzerland as Bratchäs, or "roasted cheese." Traditionally, the Swiss cow herders used to take the cheese with them when they were moving cows to or from the pastures up in the mountains. In the evenings around the campfire, they would place the cheese next to the fire and, when it had reached the perfect softness, scrape it on top of some bread.
...since a picture is worth a thousand words...
...eat your heart out!! Now don’t even get me started on the almond croissants, or my fat intake!!!
In keeping with the theme of November's post, I'm going to share my cranberry sauce creation. Upon discovering (on Christmas day!) that we didn't have the time to make my grandmother's cranberry sauce, I decided to whip up some of my own, using some of the leftover ingredients from the mince pies (see November's post). So here's a picture of what I concocted (above) and a picture of the ingredients (below)that I scribbled down afterward, upon my brother's request.
...and for those of you who "follow" my blog, here are a few pics of the mince pies I made with the recipe from November's post. If you're makin' this in the US of A...I couldn't find suet or mixed peel. So I substituted butter for the suet and added a bit more marmalade and extra dried fruits as a substitute for the mixed peel.
