La tartiflette — a potato, cheese, and onion casserole with lardons

A tartiflette is what is called un gratin in France. It's made with potatoes, onions, lardons (bacon) and Reblochon (or Reblochon-style) cheeses from the French Alps and is cooked in the oven. I picked up this cheese at the supermarket. It's a soft, washed-rind cheese that is very creamy when it melts. The rind is also good to eat.

I just read on Wikipedia that Reblochon is not currently available in the U.S. but substitutes are available there just as they are in France. One substitute is Raclette cheese. Another is a cheese called Délice du Jura, and a third is the cheese called Morbier — a gratin made with it is sometimes called une morbiflette. That's the one I'm going to try the next time I make a potato and cheese gratin.

. Here's a link to the Wikipedia article about la tartiflette, in English. The idea is to cut the cheese into half-rounds or quarter-rounds. Cut each half- or quarter-round into slices so that each one has a rind side and a rindless side and put them, rind-sides up, on top of a couple of layers of pre-cooked, seasoned potatoes, onions, and lardons (more about that tomorrow) and bake it all in an oven-proof dish for 30 or 40 minutes so that the cheese melts and the rind on top turns golden brown and almost crispy.

Here's how my tartiflette came out yesterday. It was good comfort food on a chilly, gray winter day. By the way, the outdoor temperature this morning is 6.4ºC (43.5ºF) compared to low temperatures of between 27 and 33ºF for the past week or 10 days. It's supposed to rain all day...