Recette de la fondue.

I'm beginning to feel a bit like a one trick pony here, but this week's recipe needs to get out there before it's 80 degrees and we're swatting mosquitoes away from the bbq. So, without further ado, I present to you, our (read: Dan's) fondue recipe.

Sidenote: I really do cook, I swear. It's just that Dan happens to be the cook of the cheesse-y and meat-y things, and I am the cook of the soups, veg and baked variety of goods.

Ingredients:

* 1 1/4 cup of a dry white wine
* 2 garlic cloves (halved)
* 1 pinch of ground nutmeg
* 500 grams of grated cheese (We use 1/3 Jura, 1/3 Savoie, and 1/3 Gruyere...it's not an exact science, so pick three grate-able cheeses and start experimenting.)
* 2 tbsp of Kirsch or Eau de Vie (Essentially you need an alcohol of 80 proof - we use Eau de Vie Poire)
* 2 tbsp of whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
* Dipping things - cubed bread, big diced boiled potatoes, sliced cured meat and broccoli are really good...


[That's a lot of grated cheese right there...]

How to:

1. Wipe the insides of the fondue pot with the two halves of garlic. Remove garlic and add wine. Bring wine to a simmer on the stove in your fondue pot IF it is cast iron or says it is stovetop safe, otherwise you will need to cook everything in a pot and transfer it to your fondue pot if your fondue pot is not stovetop safe.

2. After the wine has come to a simmer, add the grated cheese and the nutmeg to the wine.

3. Continuously stir in the same direction until the cheese has completely melted. (I'm not exactly sure why, but I know that it is important enough for bold face typing...maybe it has something to do with the fondue "breaking...")

4. In a seperate small bowl, mix Kirsch and flour until it is smooth.

5. Add kirsch/flour mixture to pot of cheese.


[Not to scale - the above is 5 times this recipe. :) ]

6. Stir until combined.

7. OPTIONAL: Mince the two halves of garlic from earlier and add to pot, then move it to a separate burner that is off.

8. OPTIONAL: Add 1/4 cup of white wine to the cheese mixture after transferring it to a separate burner. I think regardless of whether or not you add the garlic, it's good to add the extra 1/4 cup of wine at the end because it adds to the taste (the alcohol burns out) and to the texture.


Ta-DAH!

Man I'm gonna miss fondue this summer.

A la prochain friends...