RACLETTE AMERICAN STYLE

Steps:

• TO DO AHEAD, steps 1 - 5 (about 30 - 45 minutes prep time: Cut rind off Raclette cheese and slice about 1/4" thick and in a size to fit your raclette trays. Slice the cheddar cheese the same way. Arrange on a platter, cover and refrigerate.
• Slice the Portobello mushrooms 1/4" thick, (or buy already sliced). Slice the peppers in long strips. Put mushrooms and peppers into a Ziploc bag. Mix or preferably emulsify together Good Seasons Italian dressing package with balsamic and olive oil. Pour into the Ziploc, close and gently shake to coat everything. Marinate for no more than half a day. Arrange on a platter, (We put it on an oval one, red pepper strips in the middle and mushrooms on each end - pretty!), cover and refrigerate.
• Brown the sausages on all sides in a skillet. When nice and browned, boil them until just done, still a little pink in the middle. When they are cool enough to handle, slice them about 1/4" thick and on a slight diagonal. Arrange on a platter with the ham slices, (step 4).
• Separate the proscuitto and ham slices. Cut them in half and arrange them on a platter - we took each slice and made a sort of rosette out of it so they were easier to pick up and put the sausages in the middle with the hams on either side.
• Put shaved beef in a Ziploc bag. Pour in your marinade of your choice, close the bag and shake to mix well. (We emulsified together some olive oil, bourbon, a garlic clove, about a T. of Grey Poupon mustard, a splash of balsamic and black pepper.) Marinate for an hour to several hours. Drain the marinade off the steak; try to separate the slices, make "rosettes" and arrange on a platter BY ITSELF since it's a raw meat; cover and refrigerate.
• AN HOUR BEFORE EATING, step 6: Take everything out of the refrigerator (at least an hour before eating) so they're room temperature.
• ABOUT 20 MINUTES BEFORE EATING, steps 7 - 9: Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the potatoes till just done - fork tender but not falling apart. Drain and place in a covered dish.
• Put your greens in a salad bowl. No more than 20 minutes before eating, toss with your favorite vinaigrette (we made our own with wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, pinch of sugar and dried dill), orange sections and walnuts.
• Turn on your Raclette grill. I taped the grill's electric cord to the table so it wouldn't be accidentally jerked off if someone tripped over the extension cord. Of course, I tripped over the cord - thank GOD it was taped down!
• DINNER'S READY!!: Put everything on the table and enjoy! We used sandwich plates instead of dinner-size plates and everyone had their own salad bowl, which we dished up and took to each person at the table. We also used fondue forks for stabbing and grabbing. DELICIOUS!!! And a lot of fun!
• For those of you who've not done this yet: Each person takes the cheese they want and what they want to grill on the top of the raclette maker and then"cooks" his own meal. The Raclette (or cheddar) cheese is melted in small pans underneath the grill top. When the cheese is melted it is poured over the potatoes. The meats and veggies are grilled on the top of the appliance. DELICIOUS!!