...the perfect apres-snow meal: Tartiflette...

Big day in the life of Lauren: first day 'avec raquettes'. Or something like that... I went snowshoeing today! Straight up the Jura at Monts Jura in Crozet. It was beautiful, but quite the challenge. I wish I had a photo of how far we went! I had absolutely NO idea.

The photos show you the view from the top of our journey (they don't do justice!) If you look at the bottom photo close enough, you can see from the left: Lake Geneva with the Jet D'Eau, Mont Blanc and the French Alps, Le Saleve (dark mountain in front of the white ones), all the little villages between Geneva and Crozet... pretty incredible.

After burning all those calories (believe me it was a TON!) We came home and made Tartiflette. This is an amazing regional dish to the Savoie Region of Switzerland and France. For your enjoyment, I've included the recipe. You can substitute the cheeses if unable to find the one the recipe calls for, but if you have a Whole Foods nearby, you should be able to find Reblochon there.

Tartiflette

Potatoes to fill a small gratin pan

1 medium onion

200 grams (6 ounces) of smoke and salt cured pork in any combination: poitrine fumé or the best smoked bacon you can find, smoked bacon plus salt cured Savoie ham or Southern style country cured ham. Just get what’s the best cured pork available to you.

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons fat: butter or duck fat

Salt and pepper

1/3 cup crème fraiche epaisse or heavy whipping cream if you don't have creme fraiche

1/2 cup dry white Savoie type wine (this is how I discovered my love for Sauvignon Blanc!)

1/2 of a Reblochon de Savoie

Fresh parsley

- Peel the potatoes and cut them into slices.

- Roughly chop the onion.

- Heat the duck fat in a heavy skillet and add the onions, bacon and ham, and sauté gently for 3-5 minutes.

- Add the potatoes and continue to sauté for 5 more minutes.

- Add the wine, give the potatoes a stir, cover, season with salt and pepper as desired, and let simmer and steam in the wine for 10 minutes more.

- Grease the gratin pan with duck fat, crush the garlic clove, and rub the garlic clove all over the inner surface of the pan.

- Reserve the remaining garlic for another use (the vinaigrette for the accompanying salad, for example).

- Add the crème fraiche to the potato onion bacon mixure, and transfer it to the gratin pan.

- Slice the Reblochon in half with a sharp knife flat wise, and place the two pieces on top of the potatoes, rind side up.

- Place into the very hot oven and bake for 10 minutes at 250C or 550F

- Turn the heat down to 200C / 400F and bake 10 more minutes

- Turn off the oven, and leave the dish in the oven without opening it for another 10 minutes.

- Serve hot with a salad, crusty bread, and the the wine you cooked with.