Fondue Favorites

The Big Geek and I love fondue. What's not to love--melted cheese and stuff to dip into it? It's awesome. When we have a fondue party, I like to make one traditional fondue and one cheddar-beer fondue. Both are good, and are suited for dipping different things. These are my favorites so far:

Swiss Three-Cheese Fondue

1/2 lb grated Gruyere cheese
1/2 lb grated Emmentaler cheese
3 oz (1/2 cup) grated Appenzeller cheese
1 clove garlic
1 cup dry white wine
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp kirsch (Kirschwasser)
white pepper to taste
nutmeg to taste

Rub the inside of a medium saucepan (or the fondue pot) with the peeled garlic clove. Throw away garlic clove. Add the wine and lemon juice and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

In a medium bowl, mix the cheeses with the cornstarch and toss. Stir the cheese mixture into the wine mixture one small handful at a time, making sure each handful is melted before adding another (try stirring in figure 8s). Do not let the mixture boil (a little bubbling is ok). Season with the nutmeg and pepper, and stir in the kirsch.

I like this one best with chunks of crusty bread, cooked broccoli, roasted potato wedges, or crisp cooked carrot.

German Cheddar and Beer Fondue:

10 oz (2 1/2 cups) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
4-6 oz Gruyere cheese, shredded (1-1 1/2 cups)
1 rounded Tbsp flour
1 cup German lager
2 Tbsp spicy brown mustard
a few drops of hot sauce
a few drops of Worcestershire sauce

In a bowl combine the cheeses and flour. Add the beer to a small pot (or the fondue pot) and bring up to a bubble over medium heat. Reduce the heat to simmer and add the cheese in small handfuls, stirring constantly. When the cheese has been incorporated fully, stir in the mustard, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce.

I like this one best with green apple slices, small sausages or slices of sausage, and crusty bread.

I like to make the fondue in the fondue pot on the stove. Your ability to do this depends greatly on the type of fondue pot you have. I suggest a cast iron or enamel pot, not a thin metal one.

Obviously, this is not a great meal choice for little geeks since long sharp forks are involved. We like to do this with friends or on our own after the little geeks are in bed.

Also: this is NOT the time to decide to count fat grams. Use full-fat cheese. If you're worried about doing that, then you probably shouldn't have fondue. On the plus side, if you don't dip bread or potatoes it's low-carb. . .

German Cheddar and Beer Fondue

If you don't own a fondue pot, you should. In fact, it wouldn't hurt you to own a few. I have one with a pot made of enameled cast iron, but at a fondue party we hosted a guest brought one that had a metal outer pot for water and an inner pot made of ceramic (basically a double boiler). I'm going to find out what kind it is and get one of those, because it worked really nicely.

Anyhow, if you've never had fondue, you are missing out. Yes, I know, you're basically eating cheese for dinner, but man, is it delicious. Don't fix it every night if you're trying to eat a low-fat diet. At least it's low-carb (depending on what you dip). . .

At our party, we made two cheese fondues. One was a traditional swiss fondue, which was good but didn't quite set correctly. The second was this recipe, which was so good I might have made it for dinner again tonight if I'd had enough cheese. It will be making appearances at future "date nights" the Big Geek and I have at home after the kids go to bed.

You start out making these on the stove in a regular pan and then transfer them to the fondue pot. Or, if you don't have a fondue pot, I guess you could just stand around the stove and eat it, or put it in a little crock pot. From experience, I can tell you what you CAN'T do--you can't make this at home and then try to take it to a party. It won't work out. You can't cool fondue and reheat it--trust me.

This recipe is from Rachel Ray 30-minute Get Real Meals.

10 oz (2 1/2 cups) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (you can try the low-fat, but I'm not going to)
4-6 oz Gruyere cheese, shredded (1 to 1 1/2 cups)
1 rounded tablespoon flour
1 cup German lager
2 Tbsp spicy brown mustard (I used a whole grain, and it was awesome)
3 drops of Tabasco
3 drops of Worcestershire sauce

In a bowl, combine the cheeses with the flour. Add the beer to a small pot and bring it up to a bubble over medium heat. Reduce teh heat to simmer and add the cheese mixture in handfuls. Stir constantly in in a figure-eight pattern with a wooden spoon, melting the cheese in batches. When the cheese has been incorporated fully, stir in the mustard, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Transfer to a fondue pot and serve.

Incredibly easy, incredibly delicious.

Serve with:
Cubed or thick sliced sausages
Blanched cauliflower and broccoli (see, it's healthy!)
Green apple slices
Roasted potatoes or carrots
Cubes of bread
Anything else that appeals to you!

Rachel says this recipe serves four. I made two of her fondues, which should have served 8, and 12 people ate it with some of the swiss fondue left over, and I don't think anyone was hungry.

Fondue probably isn't little-geek friendly. Sharp, long forks and bubbling pots of cheese plus kids is not a good combo.