Cheese Fondue 2024 New Year

Dinner Dec 31, 2023

Note: I could not find appenzeller cheese, so I grabbed a second gruyere instead.

Gave plum brandy a try instead of kirsch. Since this was my first time making fondue, I have no idea what difference it made.

Fondue Ingredients:

3.5oz Gruyere Cheese, grated

3.5oz Emmentaler (or Swiss) Cheese, grated

3.5oz Appenzeller (or a second Gruyere) Cheese, grated

1 tablespoon Flour (or cornstarch)

1 teaspoon paprika Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1 Garlic Clove 1 cup Sauvignon Blanc (Dry White Wine)

½ shot Plum Brandy (or Kirsch)

Dipping Ingredients:

1 crown Broccoli

1 crown Cauliflower

1 package Button Mushrooms

1 Baguette

1 Honey Crisp Apple

1 Asian Pear

Pickled Pearl Onions

Vegetable Oil

Butter

Soy Sauce

Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Dipping Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C)

Trim florets from broccoli and cauliflower, leave a good amount of stem on to make staying on the fondue fork easier

Rinse broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, apple, and pear

Cut larger mushrooms and the pearl onions in half

Toss the broccoli and cauliflower in vegetable oil, salt, and pepper

Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil, grease, and add broccoli and cauliflower to tray

Roast for 30 - 40 minutes, until slightly charred, stirring halfway though

At broccoli and cauliflower halfway point, grease a skillet with butter

Add mushrooms to skillet, salt with soy sauce, and cook

Cut baguette, apple, and pear into bit sized pieces

Add baguette to hot sheet pan once it's out of the oven to kinda of toast the bread

Fondue Directions:

For best results, you should probably follow your fondue pot's cooking directions. These are the cooking directions for my fairly standard issue pot.

In a large bowl, toss to combine cheeses, flour, paprika, and black pepper together to coat the cheese

Cut the garlic clove in half and rub the cut sides on the bottom and lower half of the fondue pot

[This is to get a garlic flavor and a smooth fondue, so no little chunks. I just used my garlic press to add the whole clove. We like garliciness more than we care about the texture of the fondue.]

Add the wine to the fondue pot

Turn the pot on to temperature setting 5 and bring the wine to a strong simmer, bubbling but not boiling

While stirring constantly, gradually whisk in the cheese a handful at a time, not adding more cheese until each handful is completely melted and smooth

When all the cheese has been added, stir in the plum brandy

Reduce the pot's temperature setting to 3, the fondue should continue to just simmer but never boil

Serve! Pearl onion halves served on side, not dipped

Final Notes:

Since I was already roasting broccoli and cauliflower, small potatoes would have probably been nice to dip too.

We used a kinda nice wine that we just had around. I think it's flavor was better for drinking than using with cheese fondue.

Plate left to right: cauliflower, baguette, mushroom, broccoli, pear, apple