For those who remember Fondue made a huge splash in the US in the '60's of course I was not around for that memorable time period but I can fully understand why this beloved dish of France became so popular.
Now it is not hard to find a fondue pot or even a good fondue recipe. The real trick is to find authentic cheese that will not break the bank. But we have figured out that this is just a horrible struggle we must deal with everyday... or at least every time a French recipe must be duplicated.
Fondue is one of those hearty meals served in the Alps to fill you up after a day of cold exercise. In honor of this tradition I spent the day snowboarding and filled my belly up the brim with this cheesy concoction upon my arrival home.
Ingredients for 2:
1 IB cheese: Comte and emmental and regular Swiss (I did this to make cheese buying as cheep as possible but not sacrifice any of the flavor from the French varieties. Because each person requires about 1/2 IB of cheese I used 1/4 IB of Comte and Emmental and 1/2 IB of cheep American Swiss cheese)
1/2 tsp cornstarch
4oz kirsch
Garlic
1/3 bottle of dry white wine
Dipping Ingredients:
1 baguette (you want this to be slightly stale so if bought fresh leave out over night
1 cup of chopped up cauliflower
1 cup brussel sprouts (lightly cooked)
1 bunch of asparagus (lightly cooked)
Anything else you think would be good dipped in cheese... the options are pretty much endless. Just remember that you want to choose things that are less likely to fall off your spear and get lost in the cheesy abyss.
Start by chopping and washing the veggies. I like to keep my cauliflower raw so once they dry they are ready to be put on a plate.
Cook the brussel sprouts and asparagus in lightly salted water until they are just beginning to become tender. Remember to add the brussel sprouts first because they will talk longer.
While the veggies are simmering you can start to prep your cheese.
You will want to grate all of it so it might be a good time to pull out the food processor.
I forgot that I had a food processor so I called in some reinforcement.
Mix the Kirsch and the corn starch together, then set aside so the corn starch has time to dissolve.
Add all the cheese to a sauce pan along with the wine. Start with less wine and add a little more only if needed. If too much wine is added from the get-go it is harder to reach the right consistency.
Have the heat on low for now and mix often so that no cheese burns on the bottom of the pan.
While the cheese starts to melt go ahead and cut up the bread. I made slices and then chopped them into quarters. This made good sized chunks for dipping.
remember! do not forget about the fondue on the stove!
It should slowly start to melt. Now that your full concentration is on the cheese and wine add the chopped up garlic and turn up the heat. Be sure to stir constantly.
here you can tell I added too much wine in the heat of the moment. If this does happens you can just take some of the liquid out and keep on stirring.
Move to a whisk in the final moments to be sure the cheese and wine are happily married. Then when the mixture is all combined add the kirsch and cornstarch mixture and stir well until the Fondue begins to thicken. yum!
Light the sterno, or what ever form of heating your fondue pot takes and then move the fondue into the fondue pot.
Dip and enjoy away!
there are many different ways to make fondue, this is just the classic version from the Alps, if you are interested in crazy new age fondue look for a book of fondue recipes at the book store or just start going crazy!
No comments:
Post a Comment