Fondue It To Me One More Time

I consider myself to be a philanthropist but instead of dealing in money I deal in cheese. I bring fabulous cheese to the masses and not because they are necessarily lacking in cheese but because I love it so much if I find a new kind or a particular recipe I love or I find that someone I know has never HAD a particular cheese? I must share it.

So when my cousin told me last week she had never had fondue before and wanted to try it, I immediately invited her over for a Friday Night Fondue session. I used my trusty and EASY epicurious.com cheese fondue recipe with a few tweaks and we were off!

Epicurious.com's Cheese Fondue

1 garlic clove, halved crosswise
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons kirsch (optional)
1/2 lb Emmental cheese, coarsely grated (2 cups)
1/2 lb Gruyère, coarsely grated (2 cups)

Now right away I will tell you I omitted the kirsch. For me it doesn't add a great deal to the dish but if you love it, definitely use it. I also opted for Hungarian Swiss Cheese instead of the Emmentel simply because my cousin and I are both part Hungarian, and I knew she was bringing over a Hungarian wine so I thought it would be fun. So I started with two big blocks of Swiss and Gruyere,

and since I couldn't find the grater (or the fondue pot for that matter, but more on that later!), I used a veggie peeler to get nice small thin slices. I also chopped up my bread and veggies beforehand too so everything would be ready at once. I used a white baguette, country wheat, and broccoli



Rub inside of a 4-quart heavy pot with cut sides of garlic, then discard garlic.
Add wine to pot and bring just to a simmer over moderate heat.


Stir together cornstarch and kirsch (I just used a splash of wine) in a cup.

Gradually add cheese to pot and cook, stirring constantly in a zigzag pattern (not a circular motion) to prevent cheese from balling up, until cheese is just melted and creamy (do not let boil).


I cannot stress how slowly you should do this. Do not add another handful until the first handful is melted. This may seem painstaking but it doesn't take all that long and the reward is super creamy fondue!


Stir cornstarch mixture again and stir into fondue. Bring fondue to a simmer and cook, stirring, until thickened, 5 to 8 minutes.



Transfer to fondue pot set over a flame. Or if you are me realize your fondue pot is NOWHERE to be found and panic for a moment, then decide to use this electric chocolate warmer you got for Christmas 3 years ago and always meant to throw out and never did.


Settle in with a good movie

In our case, The Women.
(one of my new favorites!)

And enjoy!




Anna quite enjoyed the fondue and we both sank into warm cheese and red wine comas afterwards. Our next Fondue Friday will be chocolate so stay tuned for that.