Warm wishes for a happy and blessed 2024!
For the last several years we have been enjoying quite at home New Years Eves, to make it special we started a tradition of having swiss cheese fondue.
It is a fun change for the kids. You can serve with it anything that goes well with cheese. The usual side dipping dishes include; french bread, ham, broccoli and apples. This year we included mushrooms and steak. I have known people to have grapes and pickles as dipping sides as well.
To make Fondue is simple you only need a few ingredients.
A combination of Swiss Cheese, Gruyere cheese and Emmentaler Cheese (2 lbs of cheese will make fondue for 4 adults)
Flour about 1/8 -1/4 C. (The amount of flour you use will determine how thick the cheese gets)
Minced Garlic 1 TBSP
1 bottle white wine, I typically use a Chardonnay.
Kirschwasser (Cherry Brandy) 1 oz.
Start by grating and mixing the cheeses, then toss with the flour and set aside until ready for melting.
To a warm fondue pot add the garlic and stir with a wooden spoon. The wooden spoon is important especially with modern electric fondue pots. They are coated to keep everything from sticking to the pot for easy cleaning, a metal spoon can scratch this away.
After the garlic has cooked for a minute or so add the wine. Most modern electric fondue pots will have a fill line on the inside, fill the pot with wine to that level. If you don’t have a line, you should use most of a bottle of wine.
Let the wine and garlic come to a boil. Then start adding the cheese one fist full at a time while stirring with a wooden spoon.
The foudue will improve in color and thickness as all the cheese is added.
The last ingredient to add is the Kirschwasser
Once everything has been added and mixed in well you are ready to eat! Just remember to keep stirring or you can end up with a burnt cheese mess at the bottom of the pot known as an ‘omelette’.
One final rule about making Fondue, if you loose something off your fork in the pot
The penalty or pleasure is that you have to kiss the cook!
Guten Appetit!
