Raclette Macaroni & Cheese

[elfs]

This evening I made our macaroni & cheese, but rather than use Wisconsin cheddar (or our favorite alternative, local cheesemaster Kurt Beecher's Flagship cheese), I decided to try using raclette, a cheese of Swiss origin that has a reputating for being ideal when melted.

It has a very similar flavor to cheddar, although its nose is much stronger and it has a pronounced bitter aftertaste. It was exquisite, and Kouryou-chan ate all of hers, although she said that it was much drier that Flagship (well, it did come halfway 'round the Earth, whereas Flagship I get from the cheesemaker's shop, where you can watch the curds being made). I think I may have put too many breadcrumbs on top, and that may have contributed to the sense of dryness.

Still, a worthy experiment. Next time I'm going to play with the complimentary cheese, which this time was run-of-the-mill 12-month Parmesan (not the stuff in the green cylinder).

Or I may go all out and make it with marscapone.

Comments

[hydrolagus.livejournal.com]

I would not have thought of using raclette in mac & cheese, but I might have to try it. To be honest, I'm a little scared of raclette.
If you haven't tried a mix of blue and cheddar for mac & cheese, I recommend giving that a go.

[elgatocurioso.livejournal.com]

Hahaha... that brings back memories. Many years ago my dad ordered a Raclette from Switzerland to be delivered via the USPS. The local post office called us up the day it arrived and told him to get down there and pick it up NOW or they were going to throw it away, because it was stinking up the building like a dead muskrat in a box.

[elfs.livejournal.com]

We've done that. Kouryou-chan didn't like it, but she doesn't like bleu cheeses at all. A bit like my experiments with mashed potatoes and fresh horseradish, I think those are highly advanced topics.