Cheesy Send-off New Year's Eve Fondue
We do fondue all of once a year, always on New Year's Eve. We talk a lot about doing fondue other times throughout the year, but it never seems to happen. Probably because fondue tends to be on the pricey side of things, and something about eating a huge pot of cheese when my cholesterol is flirting with being problematic just seems like a really bad call.
Still. Fondue is tasty times. And as a send-off to 2013, we found a really freakin' good fondue recipe, one so good, it'll probably be our tradition from now on to use it on New Year's Eve. Maybe use it on other days of the year, too. Who knows!
(Note: This is a large meal for two people, a satisfyingly small meal for four. I think I'll double it for four people next year, even though three of the four of us are trying to lose weight.)
Ingredients
1 tsp [2 tsp] diced garlic
1 cup [2 cups] white wine (I used Riesling because that's what I had on hand)
1 tbsp [2 tbsp] lemon juice
1/2 lb (8 oz) [1 lb/16 oz] Gruyere cheese, grated
1/2 lb (8 oz) [1 lb/16 oz]Swiss cheese, grated
1/2 tsp [1 tsp] nutmeg
1/2 tsp [1 tsp] paprika
1/4 tsp [1/2 tsp] black pepper? (I just grate it over the whole mess 'til it looks right, idk)
1 tbsp [2 tbsp] cornstarch
2 tbsp [4 tbsp] Kirschwasser (cherry brandy)
Stuff we dip into the fondue
- French or Italian bread, whatever's cheap at the grocery (we used probably 14" of a ridiculously long loaf for 4 people).
- Good sour granny smith apples, the kind you usually think of using in baking (2 apples suffice for 4 people).
- Broccoli, cut into large-ish florets and lightly steamed (5 minutes - do NOT let it get limp or it falls off the fork) - we used 1 large head of broccoli for 4 people.
Instructions
1. Prep everything. This means grating the cheese, chopping the broccoli (but not putting it into the steamer until you're 5 minutes out), cubing the bread, and chopping the apples. Also known as a total pain in the ass.
2. Rub the garlic around the surface of your fondue pot (or saucepan if you're classy like us and won't use the fondue pot unless there's company over).
3. Add wine and lemon juice, warm (if it boils, nothing awful happens, but the original recipe said not to let it come to a boil).
4. At this point, it's safe to start steaming the broccoli. You're about 5 minutes away from eating time.
5. Dump in the cheese, stirring with a wooden spoon until it's melted and made friends with the wine/lemon mixture.
6. Add the spices, stirring to incorporate.
7. In a small dish (I use a custard cup), combine the cornstarch and kirschwasser until smooth. Dump that into the cheese mixture and stir it around until everything's smooth.
8. EAT. Pro-tip, if you've followed the recipe instead of doubling it, and you've got folks around the table who eat faster than you do, the fondue fork makes a GREAT deterrent. Stab with impunity, my friends!
~mey
Still. Fondue is tasty times. And as a send-off to 2013, we found a really freakin' good fondue recipe, one so good, it'll probably be our tradition from now on to use it on New Year's Eve. Maybe use it on other days of the year, too. Who knows!
(Note: This is a large meal for two people, a satisfyingly small meal for four. I think I'll double it for four people next year, even though three of the four of us are trying to lose weight.)
Cheesy Send-off New Year's Eve Fondue
Ingredients
1 tsp [2 tsp] diced garlic
1 cup [2 cups] white wine (I used Riesling because that's what I had on hand)
1 tbsp [2 tbsp] lemon juice
1/2 lb (8 oz) [1 lb/16 oz] Gruyere cheese, grated
1/2 lb (8 oz) [1 lb/16 oz]Swiss cheese, grated
1/2 tsp [1 tsp] nutmeg
1/2 tsp [1 tsp] paprika
1/4 tsp [1/2 tsp] black pepper? (I just grate it over the whole mess 'til it looks right, idk)
1 tbsp [2 tbsp] cornstarch
2 tbsp [4 tbsp] Kirschwasser (cherry brandy)
Stuff we dip into the fondue
- French or Italian bread, whatever's cheap at the grocery (we used probably 14" of a ridiculously long loaf for 4 people).
- Good sour granny smith apples, the kind you usually think of using in baking (2 apples suffice for 4 people).
- Broccoli, cut into large-ish florets and lightly steamed (5 minutes - do NOT let it get limp or it falls off the fork) - we used 1 large head of broccoli for 4 people.
Instructions
1. Prep everything. This means grating the cheese, chopping the broccoli (but not putting it into the steamer until you're 5 minutes out), cubing the bread, and chopping the apples. Also known as a total pain in the ass.
2. Rub the garlic around the surface of your fondue pot (or saucepan if you're classy like us and won't use the fondue pot unless there's company over).
3. Add wine and lemon juice, warm (if it boils, nothing awful happens, but the original recipe said not to let it come to a boil).
4. At this point, it's safe to start steaming the broccoli. You're about 5 minutes away from eating time.
5. Dump in the cheese, stirring with a wooden spoon until it's melted and made friends with the wine/lemon mixture.
6. Add the spices, stirring to incorporate.
7. In a small dish (I use a custard cup), combine the cornstarch and kirschwasser until smooth. Dump that into the cheese mixture and stir it around until everything's smooth.
8. EAT. Pro-tip, if you've followed the recipe instead of doubling it, and you've got folks around the table who eat faster than you do, the fondue fork makes a GREAT deterrent. Stab with impunity, my friends!
~mey
Comments
Post a Comment