Cheese Fondue
I don't have much time to type this. As I do, my dear sister-in-law and I are solving the world’s problems. It's amazing what can be accomplished through conversation.
I had to share a wonderful recipe with you, though. It was a necessity.
Yesterday, to celebrate my 26th year of life, we served up a killer fondue spread.
You know the type of fondue I'm talking about?
Melted cheese in one pot.
Melted chocolate in another.
Strawberries, angel food cake, breadsticks, bread bites, roasted potatoes, marshmallows, bananas, and oranges in between.
One hour is spent preparing the fondue and food bites. The next four hours are spent enjoying it.
I don't believe there is a more wonderful social food than fondue — it encourages people to stand around, graze on delicious food for hours, and lends to wonderful conversation. I don't think we spend enough time lounging around enjoying food — as I've said before, perhaps I was meant to be Italian.
Now those people can appreciate some long meals.
Anyway. Let's get to this wonderful recipe!
We serve ours with an assortment of breads, breadsticks, and roasted potato bites. Yum.
Don't rush. Just enough it. Stand around the cheese pot for hours, slowly nibbling on the dairy goodness.
I'm having so much fun getting to hang out with the family. Fondue only accentuates that fun.
This meal is such a blast — I know you'll love it.
Cheese Fondue
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, minced
1 cup high-quality cream
1 cup organic whole milk
1 8oz. package of organic cream cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated Swiss cheese
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
Fresh chives (optional)
Instructions:
Heat up the olive oil in a saucepan. Then, add the shallot and allow it to soften for 3-4 minutes.
After the shallot is softened, add in the cream, milk, and cream cheese. Heat on medium-low heat until completely melted.
Add in the grated Parmesan and Swiss. Heat until melted. Then, add in the lemon juice, salt & pepper, nutmeg, and chives.
Now this is important — you have to leave the fondue over heat at all times — so what I suggest is build your food spread around the stove and have a gathering in your kitchen! Get creative. Do your thing, baby. I've seen some people use fondue pots that are heated by a candle (though I've found they never keep it hot enough). Another option would be to use a small crockpot to keep the fondue warm wherever you'd like to serve it.
