Weather so frigid as we’ve had for the past 10 days kind of makes you want to snuggle in between the crusts of a grilled cheese sandwich. A more adult approach to warming up with cheese is the classic fondue, into which you dip your favorite crusty bread and maybe – if you’re being really grown up – some veggies too. After a near disaster with a recipe from a French friend (it tastes great when he makes it but not so good in our kitchen), we’ve returned to the old stand-by recipe stirred up by Denver Post travel editor Kyle Wagner. She says the key is combining three cheeses – some firm and some soft – and picking varieties that are nutty, salty and buttery. Her favorites are the washed-rind cow’s milk Italian Taleggio, paired with Gruyere, Appenzeller or Emmenthal. If you want your fondue to have a little local flavor, use Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy’s washed-rind Red Cloud instead of Taleggio. It’s available at most Whole Foods stores, and most shops that carry Haystack’s other cheeses will order Red Cloud if you ask. This recipe serves four.
Kyle’s Fave Fondue
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup kirsch
- 1 clove garlic, cut in half
- 8 ounces each of three quality melting cheeses, shredded or cut into small cubes
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- Pinch of grated nutmeg
- Black pepper
Dipping items as desired, to make three cups total per person: cubes from crusty loaf of bread, steamed broccoli florets, roasted and quartered new potatoes, steamed baby carrots.
Directions
Dissolve cornstarch in kirsch in small bowl and set aside. Rub cut sides of each garlic clove half around the inside of a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed pot. Add cheese, lemon juice, wine and nutmeg, and stir over medium heat until melted. Add cornstarch mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower heat and simmer until well melded. Add pepper to taste.
Transfer cheese mixture to fondue pot and maintain low heat over a tea candle or can of sterno.
