50/50 Fondue
Plating items for fondue can be as lavish as you want! Here, we served with sourdough bread, sliced sausage, cherry tomatoes, radishes, grilled Brussels sprouts, cornichon, and green apples.
50/50 Fondue
There’s nothing worse than going to a crowded restaurant on Valentine’s Day in my opinion. No hate to restaurants, I love to go out to eat. But there are strategic ways of enjoying a meal and one of those strategies is to avoid the most crowded days. The food is always batched cooked so as to alleviate the flow of orders for the kitchen staff. This means that it’s not going to be cooked à la minute, as most decent restaurants tend to operate. This means your food is prepped heavily but is cooked to order. You’re much better off creating a lovely but simple meal at home to enjoy with your loved ones.
Couple of thoughts before you begin making the cheese dip of your dreams:
For fondue, you want to use a combination of a mild cheese, like Swiss plus a nutty, savory cheese like Emmentaler. If you’re a bit more adventurous, I would suggest substituting the Emmentaler with a stinky variety like Raclette
The cornstarch is added to the cheese to prevent it from lumping up while it’s melting. Also, it’s used as a binder to keep the cheese from separating into a big, old greasy mess
If left out long enough, the cheese may congeal in which case you may need to throw back on the stove to reheat. The fire gel cans will keep it warm but will not maintain the texture
You can substitute the wine with chicken stock and a little squeeze of lemon but it won’t taste the same. In fact, the wine and sherry are the best liquids for this dish
I would recommend pairing this dish with a white, dry French wine like Chablis or a light bodied French red wine like Gamay or Bordeaux. If you don’t have access to either style of wine, you can always swap in a dry Riesling from Oregon or a California Zinfandel.
Ingredients for the 50/50 Fondue
1 garlic clove, peeled
2 tablespoons potato or cornstarch
14 oz grated Swiss cheese
14 oz grated Emmentaler cheese
12 oz dry white wine
2 oz dry sherry
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
To Serve With the Fondue
Granny Smith apples
Cooked sausage such as chorizo or bratwurst
Chunks of baguette
Blanched broccoli
Boiled potatoes
Sliced cherry tomatoes
Special Equipment
Cast iron fondue set, includes pot, pot holder, and spears
Serves 2-4
Directions for the 50/50 Fondue
Rub the peeled garlic clove around the inside of your cast iron fondue pot. Then, bring your cast iron fondue pot up to medium high heat with the wine inside. You want the wine to boil for at least 30 seconds to cook some of the alcohol out.
Add the cornstarch and dry spices to the shredded cheese and toss around to evenly distribute. Once your wine is up to a boil, add the cheese in three batches while whisking in order to melt slowly. You should have a nice, silky smooth cheese sauce.
Once melted, add the mustard and sherry and adjust the seasonings as necessary.
Transfer to the pot holder with a lit fire gel. Enjoy with your amazing spread of dipping items!