Fondue on you

We were in New York for awhile since last we regularly blogged and one of our favorites new things there was a stop at Artisinal Fromagerie and Bistro, Chef Terrance Brennan's all cheese restaurant - where we had a cheese plate and an ample fondue. (after all cheese as they say is the new wine).

Such was Michelle's enthusiasm for the fondue (ok mine too) that when Bastille Day rolled around, we decided that a fondue of our own was more than in order.

We used the basic 1966 Gourmet Magazine recipe (below) but substituted the Emmenthal and Gruyere for Fontina and Livarot - we also used Valdeón a beautiful Spanish Blue (which comes wrapped in and lightly flavoured by Chestnut leaves) for punctuation(!!?!).

For dipping we went with some Fuel Bakery sourdough, sour green apples, raw cauliflower and carrot.

Cheese Fondue from Gourmet February 1966

1 garlic clove, halved crosswise
1 1/2 cups dry white wine (preferably Swiss, such as Fendant)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons kirsch
1/2 lb Emmental cheese, coarsely grated (2 cups)
1/2 lb Gruyère , coarsely grated (2 cups)
Accompaniment: cubes of French bread on fondue forks or long wooden skewers
Special equipment: a fondue pot

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 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). 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 and serve with bread for dipping.

Comments

[Emily]

how small is this world! I've subscribed to this site via bloglines for quite some time now, Thinking the people at the other end of the computer are absolute strangers and today I see a picture of Michelle who I know from poledancing on your blog.

Anyway happy eating!

[philby]

A small world indeed. As a Swiss fan of the Sydney eating scene and your blog, what do I have to see? Swiss Fondue!
What can I say but «en guete!» (Bon appétit in Swiss german)...

[Michelle]

Well hello Emily,
And to think Reena didn't believe me when I told her you had a blog!

[Sean]

Hi Philby,

I'd like to personally thank everyone in Switzerland for bringing us fondue. En Guete indeed.

Sean

[Deborah]

i think i have the same fondue pot as you, except in white. is it the cast iron one from house? i'm hoping to christen it in a couple of weeks!

[Sean]

H Deborah,

Yep that's the one, it's pretty decent.

The recipe above is really great as a starting point (to get your ratios right) and other than that I'd suggest experimenting and eating as many variations as possible.

Let us know if you need any help with the eating bit :P

"en guete!"

[deborah]

excellent! i couldn't decide between the red and white pots. eventually i asked the guy who works there to pick one :)

yes i think i'll use the emmental / gruyère combination... and i like inclusion of apples too! a generous green salad is a good thing with all that cheesey goodness :)