So, thanks to our Canadian cousins, I am now hopelessly in love with fondue.
I went on Amazon and dropped a bit of cash for this pretty terrific ceramic pot. And the stand and burner. And the fondue forks.
All sold separately, by the way.
I do not care; it was well worth the investment, and in the bit over a month since we’ve been back from Canada, we’ve enjoyed our fondue several times.
Shhh. Don’t ell our doctor.
But…
and here’s a pretty cool secret…
You can google the recipe and buy a bunch of Swiss and Gruyère cheese, then grate it, then do all the rest of it, or…
You can drop $13 or so and buy this box o’ Fondü from the specialty cheese section of your market.
Well… my market, anyway.
And… it is very good right out of the, ermmm, box, but…
I played around a bit, and we think this version is much more better!
INGREDIENTS
•1 (14 oz) box Swiss Fondue
•1 cup white wine
•1 tbsp Kirsch
•1/2 tsp dry mustard
•1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper
Secret Bonus Ingredient:
•Velveeta*
*I know, sacrilege! But! I can set you up with a simple, three ingredient (cheese, dried nonfat milk, and gelatin – well, and water) – that melts every bit as well as Velveeta. Or, you could substitute freshly grated Fontina.
The reason I ended up adding the Velveeta was that I mebbe should’ve just added a couple of tablespoons of the white wine instead of a whole cup, so I needed to thicken my fondue by adding additional cheese until it was as thick and bubbly as I wanted.
To prepare, place your fondue pot on the stove over low heat and add the basic ingredients.
Feel free to just use one or two tablespoons of the white wine and skip the additional cheese; but – we really thought this tasted much better than the original.
Cook, stirring often, over low heat until the cheese is melted and ooey-gooey thick and practically perfect in every way.
If you choose to go with the full cup of wine, add Velveeta, or cheese in small chunks, stirring until it has melted and the fondue is as thick as you like.
Light your fuel, place the fondue pot on the stand at the table (I use a trivet to protect the tabletop), and serve.
Bread? A natural choice!
Apple and/or pear slices? Toss ’em with a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice and you are good to go!
Tater Tots?!? Surprisingly perfect, and gluten free! Simply bake the tots until nicely crispity, then spear and dip to your heart’s content.
So many very tasty options; and, really, not very much effort.
I like that in an appetizer!
As a bonus, try stirring a bit of any leftover fondue into tomato soup.
Yum! Especially served along side a chicken salad sammich with pickled avocado.