My cousin Heidi sent me this photo this week. If you had seen me 10 minutes earlier it would have been a different story!!
This was Christmas Eve and I had worked all day. When I got off at 5pm the party at my in-laws was in full swing. I had offered to do cheese fondue, which is a new tradition in my family. Well, Dave had gone shopping and bought all of the ingredients for the fondue as well as a pre-made fondue package. I figured I might as well throw it all in. After all, the pre-made was fondue, and the ingredients added up to fondue. What could go wrong?
Oh, my. I’m not sure what started it all, but five minutes into cooking my new little fondue pot was filled with a substance that closely resembled salt water taffy. It honestly was a huge ball of cheesy goo. A nightmare. I frantically called my sister Chelsea, who was at her own fondue party with her in-laws. When she had no advice she passed the phone to her mother-in-law, Liz. Luckily, Liz is a wise woman and she recommended that I add something to break up the oils in the cheeses. Silly me, I had been ADDING oil to try to break up the ball. A little water, wine and cornstarch later, it was beautiful. Well, not the best fondue ever, but it was a huge hit and I learned something new: don’t mix scratch and box, and if you do, don’t add oil.
At Heidi’s request I share the “from scratch” recipe. Enjoy!
I N G R E D I E N T S
3 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, halved
1 cup medium-dry white wine (white cooking wine)
2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
For Dipping:
1 loaf Cinnamon, Date, and Walnut Toasting Bread, or crusty walnut or plain bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 Granny Smith Apples
2 Bartlet Pears
1 Head of broccoli, cut into pieces
and whatever else you want!
I N S T R U C T I O N S
Soak the apples and pear slices in 2 Tbs lemon juice (this keeps them white and fresh on the table)
Rub the inside surface of a fondue pot with the cut garlic halves. Light the heating element and adjust the flame to medium. Combine the wine and the remaining 2 teaspoons lemon juice in the fondue pot and bring to a simmer. In a bowl, toss together the Gruyere and cornstarch until well mixed. Gradually add the Gruyere mixture to the fondue pot, stirring constantly. Stir in the kirsch and heat without boiling until very thick, about 5 minutes.
Stir the nutmeg into the fondue and serve immediately.
