You're so close - it's raclette. Long ago in the Swiss Alps, the story goes, cow herders would carry potatoes and gherkin pickles up the mountainsides to eat with their cheese and milk. They'd bake the potatoes in the campfire and melt the cheese on a rock near the fire. As it melted, they'd scrape the cheese onto the potatoes and pickles and eat until the cows, well, until they were satisfied. In fact, the word raclette comes from the French word "to scrape."

Nowadays, raclette grills are an excuse to have one more fun cooking gadget. They come with little trays that hold the cheese under a heating element while it melts, and a grill on top for cooking the potatoes, sausages, and other savories that you wish to slather with cheese.

There is an actual Raclette cheese, although any good melting Swiss-type, like Fontina or Morbier, will do fine. Yodeling after the meal is optional.