Raclette

Weihnachtsmarkt in Kaiserlautern

I wish you could smell this...

When I was visiting my Dad in Germany, there were a couple things that I fell in love with. During the Winter season it is all about the Christmas Holiday! Every town has their own Wiehnachtsmarkt with handmade local crafts, unique artworks and that celebratory feel in the air! I, who usually hate the cold, could not get enough of being outside in the square's experiencing a totally different take on Christmas traditions! Being of German background on my mom's side, some of it was not unfamiliar but instead wrapped around me like a warm well loved blanket. The traditions, hand craved Christmas ornaments and manger scenes were nothing compared to the food!! They had huge grills that hung from the ceiling of the huts and permeated the whole atmosphere with their tantalizing scents. And you can't forget the warm Gluhwein that keeps you from freezing to death! I collected soo many mugs that Christmas, because each town has their mug that you use to refill your Gluhwein (and trust me you want that filled at all times to keep your hands warm).

Gluhwein! 

Raclette at dinnertime

One of my all time favorite memories is the Raclette! This a tradition for the household versus town. You set this out in the morning and throughout the day all you have to do is rotate the ingredients to match the meal. In the morning, pancake mix, eggs, bacon. Then lunchtime you switch to cheeses, meats, lighter fare. And lastly diner add in some marinated meats, potatoes etc. Everyone gets their own pan to create small bite sized creations and no one has to be stuck in the kitchen all day cooking. I told my Dad that I loved this tradition and guess what came for Christmas from Germany this year....our very own 8 person Raclette!!

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Robbie and I were so excited to try ours out, that we didn't wait for an official Holiday.
Instead the Saturday before Christmas (12.23) we set it up in the living room while we watched Christmas movies and wrapped presents! It was perfect because after all the Holiday running around, shopping etc, it was a nice calm day. The preparation is easy and will speak for itself in the pictures. We rotated from lunch (because let's be honest we slept through breakfast time) to diner and changed up the sauces to match.

Raclette's can also be found on Amazon - in case you want to try it out and start your own tradition. We are going to add this to our families traditions; take it out for the day we plan to wrap the presents and watch Christmas movies. It is our spin on this German classic . And the best part was we were able to use up some smaller portion items we had in the fridge, helping us clean it out for the New Year.
 P.S - Clean up is also a breeze! Everything is non-stick, so just clean with warm soapy water. The top removes (because you can use either the grill side - like we did - or a the flat griddle), and the bottom is easy clean up with a wet paper towel. No piles of dirty dishes!