"MeltedCheese" news and stories

The distinctive smell of barbecued provolone topped with chili and oregano will forever remind me of a barbecue I went to in Buenos Aires. Before being served a series of different meats in a typical Argentinian asado, grilled provolone is often eaten with a savory chimichurri sauce that's made with parsley, cilantro, garlic, salt, pepper, onion, and paprika with olive oil, lemon juice and vinegar.

In supermarkets thoughout Buenos Aires, you can find frozen provoleta that you can simply heat up in the oven or microwave. Sometimes you can even find it stuffed with ham, bacon, red peppers, and tomatoes. This incredibly rich and crispy treat makes me think of the salty Greek appetizer Saganaki - fried Greek cheese. I'm wondering if one can find these frozen provoletas in supermarkets in the United States. Although it's easy to make, the frozen ones I purchased in Argentina were absolutely delicious!

Below are a couple of Provoleta recipes:

1. Grilled Provoleta
2. Provoleta with Crushed Red Pepper

While both recipes seem identical, the first one also offers an excellent recipe for chimichurri sauce. When entertaining, I highly suggest you make this dish as an appetizer. It's sure to be a crowd pleaser.

Ah, there's nothing like a stinky cheese melted over potatoes! The first time I went skiing in the French Alps, my friends kept raving about one of their favorite Savoie dishes – Tartiflette. It is a pie-like dish combining the cheese Reblochon and potatoes. While in France, I discovered several variations of cheese and potato combinations. Each varies depending on the way in which it is cooked and its type of cheese.

In the Auvergne region, they eat a dish called Aligot, a combination of the cheese Aligot or Salers and potatoes. While Aligot is usually cooked in a broiler, Tartiflette is baked. Tartiflette is made with onions and bacon as well as potatoes. Aligot contains no meat and is mostly cheese, heavy cream, milk, and potatoes and garlic. These are two of my favorite dishes that combine a funky cheese and a creamy hearty potato.

From the Savoie region of France, Reblochon is a soft raw cow's milk cheese with a funky aroma. Its rich taste and creamy texture make Tartiflette the perfect warm hearty dish to eat on a cold winter night, especially after a long day of skiing. The succulent texture of this tart slowly melts on your palate leaving a succession of complex flavors to savor several minutes after each bite. Recommendations on how to prepare Aligot and Tartiflette can be found after the jump.