Leave Your Fondue Pot Behind (but Keep the Fondue.)

[elleng]

Last edited Fri Nov 30, 2018, 01:07 PM - Edit history (2)

'You don’t need to break out anything special for this rich, creamy fondue: Instead, a roasted squash is its serving vessel.

Fondue is not something you serve at a party; fondue is something that defines the party.

Invited in as a part of the meal, that alluring attention-grabber will always dominate, demanding its own pot and forks and elbowing all other dishes out of the way. A classic fondue needs to shine alone.

But if you eliminate the fondue pot, and ladle the same gooey cheese mixture into a roasted squash, it becomes a far more demure addition to the menu — without losing a speck of its rich, creamy charm. Instead of being the centerpiece of a meal, fondue-stuffed squash is an integrated part of it.'>>>

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/30/dining/squash-fondue-recipe.html?

SORRY recipe not easily accessible. Here's ONE:

Ingredients
1 garlic clove, halved.
1 pound Gruyère cheese, grated.
1/2 pound Emmentaler cheese or other Swiss cheese, grated.
1 cup dry white wine.
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch.
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice.
1 1/2 tablespoons kirsch.
Freshly ground pepper.
More items...

https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/classic-swiss-cheese-fondue

[Major Nikon]

1. I can't see the recipe, but for me fondue is pretty simple

Fondue works best with semi-soft or medium hard cheeses that tend to have a higher fat content. So think gouda or swiss rather than hard cheddar and parmesean. You can still use hard cheeses provided you blend them with softer cheeses. I tend to make fondue out of all my left over cheeses, so I generally use what I have on hand. If I were to buy cheese specifically for that purpose, I'd probably use a 50/50 mix of smoked gouda and emmental.

After shredding the cheese I will mix with some corn starch to form a decent dusting of all the cheese. Starch keeps the cheese from separating as it melts.

I have a fondue pot, but more often than not I'll just use one of my thick bottomed pans. If I didn't have either I'd just use a stainless bowl on top of a pan full of boiling water.

To get it started you'll need some kind of liquid. You could use milk, or cider vinegar, or apple juice or cider, or beer, or pretty much anything else depending on what flavor you're after. I generally use about 1/2 to a full cup depending on how much I'm making. Bring to just under a boil and start adding the cheese a handful at a time. Make sure all the cheese has melted or nearly so before you add the next handful.

I'll lay out a mix of fresh veggies, mushrooms, sausages, and cubed crusty bread for dipping. It helps if you have a set of the little fondue forks.

[PJMcK]

2. Yummy!

I love cheese fondues! I've been making them since I was a teenager. You can use lots of different cheese and spices to get an infinite variety of flavors. Using vegetables instead of bread for dipping is also a nice variation.

A similar dish is Raclette where a layer of cheese from the wheel is heated and scraped onto a plate. It's usually served with cornichons and little red potatoes. Wine, of course.

They're probably bad for my cholesterol!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. Ummmmm, unless you have some way of keepting

the cheese-filled squash quite warm, pretty soon you'll have cold, solid cheese.

The whole point of fondue is that the cheese, the chocolate, the oil, the broth, whatever, is kept hot while you dip the bread, the fruit, the whatever into it.