Need a good recipe for a fondue dinner?
We have it!
This month’s Fromagination Cheese of the Month Subscription shipment is titled “The Fondue Dinner.” February is cold in Wisconsin, and people need a better reason than beer to gather around the table and commiserate! So we’ve sent three great cheeses to our Cheese of the Month subscribers for them to create a superb fondue sauce: Emmentaler (Edelweiss Creamery, Monroe, WI), Grand Cru Surchoix (Emmi Roth USA, Monroe, WI) and Baby Swiss (Chalet Cheese Cooperative, Monroe, WI).
Did you notice a certain geographic similarity among these great fondue cheeses? Monroe must be Fondue City about this time of year.
Below, we tell you how to employ those cheeses at your dinner table to entertain guests, use up your stale bread, avoid drunkenness, and create some great “Shepherd’s Underwear”!*
Dairyland Fondue
You don’t need to own a fondue pot to create fondue cheese sauce – any heavy pan will work. (Fromagination carries a heavy, cast iron fondue pot ) A cast iron crock is especially convenient as it can be heated on the stove and transferred to the table for service.
- kosher salt
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled and cut in half
- 1 cup Edelweiss Emmentaler, grated
- 1 cup Emmi Roth Grand Cru Gruyere Surchoix, grated
- 1 cup Chalet Cheese Cooperative Baby Swiss, grated
- 1-1/2 cup dry white wine (recommended: Tariquet Sauvignon Blanc)
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon
- pinch of nutmeg
- black pepper, freshly ground
In a medium bowl, mix the cheeses and combine with one cup of wine and the lemon juice. Let the cheese mixture soak for at least 45 minutes (Fromagination soaks its overnight). When ready to prepare the fondue, add a pinch or two of salt to the pot. Starting in the salt, vigorously rub the cut end of the garlic over the entire interior surface of the pot. Discard garlic.
Add 1/2 cup wine into the prepared fondue pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Slowly add the cheese mixture, whisking continuously.
The fondue is ready to serve when the cheese is completely melted and the fondue takes on a smooth consistency. Serve with bread, roasted or fresh vegetables, cured and smoked meats and/or pickles. Serves 6 people.
*Underwear references always get people to keep reading…it must be engrained from 2nd grade. “What IS Shepherd’s Underwear?” we heard you ask. Well, it’s the cheese baked to the bottom of the fondue pot when most of the fondue dinner is over, and only this crust remains.
Even if you think the guy should really go to the Alpine Laundromat and deal with his dirty clothes more often, we think you find the Shepherd’s Underwear a truly divine part of your fondue meal.
Have a great fondue dinner before the snow melts! And if you don’t want to do it at home, you can come and have some fondue at our shop.