Fondue for Two
Fondue found it’s heyday in the 70’s in the US. A Swiss delicacy suddenly was served in electric avocado-colored fondue pots. Chocolate fondue was an elegant dessert for a dinner party. Veggies, meats and potatoes sizzled in oil in a fondue pot, then were dipped in exotic sauces. Somehow fondue lost it’s charm in the suburban home, but it’s always a tourist must on a visit to Switzerland.
There are now fondue restaurants in the US. You can find both a traditional fondue pot as well as high end electric brand fondue pots on Amazon. So we would say fondue is having a bit of a renaissance today. We found ourselves, with some really good swiss cheese in our fridge, baby potatoes and French bread in our pantry so we decided it was time to make fondue again. After climbing to the highest shelf in the kitchen we brought down the fondue pot and had fun chopping and grating.
What I love about fondue is that you can pick anything you want to dip in the delicious cheese. On this night we looked in our fridge as a start. We par boiled, baby potatoes, carrots and broccoli. This is not a must but I don’t like dipping a cold vegetable into hot cheese.
We had some sausage so we added that as well. Of course, a must for cheese fondue is the bread. A good crusty French bread works best.
Three Kinds of Cheese
Gruyere is a must as a start. It has the fullest flavor. We added Emmentaler as the second cheese, which adds nuttiness in the flavor. We had a block of Costco domestic Swiss that we used as our third cheese. Appenzeller is a great one as well as it’s very sharp in flavor. This can get pricy so use about 1 pound whatever Swiss cheeses you can find.
It was a very cold winter night so warming up the fondue pot and lighting the fireplace made for a cozy start to the evening.
The three cheeses are mixed with the cornstarch. Stir well to incorporate.
The Fondue Pulls Together Quickly
Be sure whatever you plan to dip is prepped before starting to cook.
The first step is to rub the bottom of a saucepan with a clove of garlic. Once done, toss the garlic.
Next add the white wine and then the lemon juice.
Add the Cheese by the Handful
After adding a handful, stir well to incorporate before adding the next. It will get bubbly, but don’t let it boil hard. Keep stirring!
Add the brandy and stir. Then add a bit of nutmeg to taste. After this add white pepper. Give it a taste before moving to the fondue pot. Mmmmm…looks good!
Simple, easy and yet elegant for two or more! Other ideas to dip are apple or pear slices, cooked shrimp or chicken or aspargus.
So good!
Everyone gets their own fondue stick to dip.
No double dipping!
Serve with a simple salad and a good wine and you have dinner for two.
Classic Swiss Cheese Fondue
Ingredients
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 8 oz Gruyere cheese, shredded
- 8 oz Emmentaler cheese, shredded
- 3 oz Appenzeller cheese, cut into small cubes (domestic Swiss can be subsituted)
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon brandy
- A few gratings of nutmeg
- Fresh ground white pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium size bowl, toss the Gruyere, Emmentaler and Appenzeller cheese with the cornstarch. Set aside.
- Rub the inside of a medium, heavy-bottom saucepan with the garlic. Discard the garlic.
- Add the wine and lemon juice and bring to a slight simmer over medium heat.
- Add the cheese, a handful at a time, stirring into the wine. Stir until almost incorporated before adding the next handful. The fondue can bubble slightly but do not let it bowl, stirring constantly.
- Stir in the brandy then season with the nutmeg and white pepper.
- Transfer the cheese to a preheated fondue pot. Keep warm on the lowest setting. Stir frequently.
- Serve at once, with the dipping ingredients of your choice. Enjoy!
