Fondue is a crowd-pleaser that’s perfect for New Year’s Eve, or when you’re ready to warm up after a weekend of skiing. Pick up some swiss cheeses from our specialty cheese department (personally, we prefer Gruyère and Emmentaler) along with a bottle of dry white wine, plus some fruit, veggies, and bread for dipping, and you’re ready to go!
Don’t have a fondue pot? You can use a double boiler, slow cooker, or a heavy saucepan with a hot plate or tealight underneath. Also, consider placing a few plates of dipping items around the pot, so that guests don’t have to reach over to get what they need.
Here are two recipes to get you started:
Co-op Cheese Fondue
Ingredients:
1 small garlic clove, halved
1 cup dry white wine
¾ pound Gruyère cheese, grated
¾ pound Emmenthaler, raclette or Appenzeller cheese, grated
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
1 to 2 tablespoons kirsch (optional)
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste (optional)
Directions:
Rub the inside of a fondue pot with the garlic clove, then discard the garlic. Combine grated Gruyère and Emmentaler with wine, cornstarch and lemon juice and cook over moderate heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cheeses begin to melt. Add kirsch and a pinch of pepper and nutmeg. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring gently, until creamy and smooth. Serve with a selection of foods for dipping.
For Dipping:
Crusty bread cubes; steamed broccoli or cauliflower; carrot, celery or fennel sticks; cubed apple; seedless grapes; clementine sections; cubed salami, soppressata or kielbasa; roasted chestnuts and/or dried apricots
(Recipe adapted from cooking.nytimes.com)
Chocolate Fondue
Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
24 ounces semisweet chocolate chips or chopped
semisweet chocolate bars
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Directions:
In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, warm the cream until hot, but not simmering. Add the chocolate and stir just until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour the chocolate fondue into the fondue pot and set it up over the heat. Serve with a selection of treats for dipping.
For Dipping:
Sliced bananas, Sliced apples, Sliced pears, Orange segments, Strawberries, Marshmallows, Cake or banana bread cut into cubes, Cookies, Graham crackers
(Recipe adapted from thespruceeats.com)
