RCP: The other grilled cheese

[Jenise]

No, not the sandwich.

Take a big block of provolone about 2 or 3 inches tall and 5 or so inches wide and leave it out in the air or even the refrigerator on a rack for a few hours to form a slick outer skin. Then rub it with olive oil into which minced fresh garlic, parsley and red pepper flakes have been generously added. Then throw on a hot grill for like 35 to 40 seconds a side. It will start to melt but hopefully you'll get some grill marks on there. Once it's marked, put it into a shallow baking dish and shut the lid on the grill for a couple minutes so that the cheese can smoke and start to melt. Serve with chunks of grilled ciabata.

Or so says Napa Valley resident and chef Michael Chiarello. Never done it myself, but it looked GREAT, and I'll be interested in trying it myself next time we do some outdoor entertaining.

[Robin Garr]

it looked GREAT

I could eat that.

Actually, it sounds very much like an Argentine dish, provoleta. My fave Argentine eatery here, Palermo Viejo, makes a great one.

that IS a recipe for provelta...I lived in Argentina for awhile and that wa a standard starter at steakhouses and weekend "asados"....and it is ridiculously good. I always had trouble getting it like the restaurant dd - but that forming of the skin is probably the key

[Robin Garr]

that IS a recipe for provelta...I lived in Argentina for awhile and that wa a standard starter at steakhouses and weekend "asados"....and it is ridiculously good. I always had trouble getting it like the restaurant did - but that forming of the skin is probably the key

I guess I understated my point, John.

I think I'll ask Francisco at Palermo Viejo if he'll give away his recipe. It would be interesting to see if there are any variations.

[Jenise]

that IS a recipe for provelta...I lived in Argentina for awhile and that wa a standard starter at steakhouses and weekend "asados"....and it is ridiculously good. I always had trouble getting it like the restaurant dd - but that forming of the skin is probably the key

Thinking about the other foods Michael prepared in the same meal--a mixed grill of lamb, sausage and chicken all swabbed in a salsa verde--OF COURSE. I didn't make the association, but that's exactly what he was doing. I'm surprised that he didn't introduce it that way as compared to passing it off as "Napa Style".

Oh, yes. I've had this and it is wonderful.

I was expecting raclette.

Anyone tried that??

F

A few hundred times, most notably at "The Barfing Cow" in Limony (France).

A few hundred times, most notably at "The Barfing Cow" in Limony (France).

Is that really the name of the place? Bet it sounds better in French.


Anyone know what type of provolone one would use for this? I'm guessing a younger, Italian one rather than aged or domestic but......?

La Vache qui Vomiter?

No, that's not the name, but anyone who has eaten there will instantly recognize what I'm talking about. It's on RN86 (the main drag, such as it is) and has a huge fiberglass cow in front. The little pourers for the salad dressings are ceramic cows with a hole at the mouth. Tilt them, et voila! The dressing comes pouring out of the cow's mouth.

Disconcerting, to say the least.

La Vache qui Vomiter?

No, htat's not the name, but anyone who has eaten there will instantly recognize what I'm talking about. It's on RN86 (the main drag, such as it is) and has a huge fiberglass cow in front. The little pourers for the salad dressings are ceramic cows with a hole at the mouth. Tilt them, et voila! The dressing comes pouring out of the cow's mouth.

Disconcerting, to say the least.

So all they need now is to get the things to emit a blurp of methane every now and then....

[Jenise]

Mike, no idea about age, and I'm relatively inexperienced with provolone. But it makes sense that a little age would firm it up, but too much age would make it less meltable, so something in the six months to one year time frame would probably be ideal. But who carries different ages of provolone? Maybe in New York one would have options, but you and I are probably stuck with whatever we find.

I was expecting raclette.

Anyone tried that??

F

Yep, when I was in Davos, Switzerland.
The place I kinda stayed / worked at put it on once a week for their guests.
The provelta sounds like something you can do without special equipment.

[Jenise]

I was expecting raclette.

Anyone tried that??

F

Yep, when I was in Davos, Switzerland.
The place I kinda stayed / worked at put it on once a week for their guests.
The provelta sounds like something you can do without special equipment.

Yeah. Raclette makes a great indoor, winter meal, where this kind of grilled cheese is the epitome of summer: the first course of meal where a lot of guests are hanging out around the grill where an entire meal is going to eventually be prepared.

La Vache qui Vomiter?

The little pourers for the salad dressings are ceramic cows with a hole at the mouth. Tilt them, et voila! The dressing comes pouring out of the cow's mouth.

Yup - the ubiquitous cow creamers perverted to dressing use. La vache qui vomi indeed.