Cheese and Meat Fondue

Cheese Fondue Recipe:

1/2 pound Swiss cheese (Emmenthal if you can find it)
1/2 pound Gruyere cheese
1 cup white wine
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
Garlic Powder
Nutmeg

Slice the cheese into cubes. Make sure to cut off the edges, even if there doesn't appear to be any wax rind on it. Mix the wine and some garlic powder in the fondue bowl and bring to boil on high heat. Once it starts to boil, add cheese and turn heat to low. Add Nutmeg to taste and cornstarch until it thickens properly (1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons). The fondue pot should have a double boiler system to use with melting cheese or chocolate. If the water boils over, take the top off and pour out some hot water. If it continues, lower the amount of water until it no longer boils over.




Things to dip:

Cut a loaf of french bread into cubes. Try to have some crust on each piece so it stays together once in the cheese.
Apples slices, grapes and other fruit also make good dippers.



This cheese fondue was easy and delicious, not to mention easy on the wallet. If you had no ingredients, it would run you about $10 for the cheese, $3 for the garlic and nutmeg, $3 for the cornstarch, and however much you want to spend on the wine. If you already have the bottle of wine, nutmeg, cornstarch, and garlic powder (all relatively common in the kitchen) it could cost as little as $10 for a 2-3 person gourmet first course.




Oil Fondue!

The main part of the meal involves cooking raw meat or vegetables in oil. For this something as simple as peanut oil will work.

CAUTION! Hot oil is very dangerous to cook with. Some general safety tips I have found online are as follows.

- Wear covering clothing. If the oil pops or boils, you don't want the hot oil to be hitting the skin on your arms or legs
- Make sure the fondue pot is fully dry before you add hot oil. If there's any water, it can flash boil and splash
- Never use water or a water-based extinguisher on oil fires. The oil floats on top and will make it worse.


Heat the oil in a pan on the stove to help it heat up faster. Then transfer the oil from the stove to the fondue pot.

Here is the real place for creativity. Any type of meat can be used, but be sure to cook the meat thoroughly because different types and sized pieces take longer to cook. Some suggestions are beef, chicken, shrimp, and Italian sausage. Raw vegetables are also good, such as broccoli, carrots, and cubed potatoes.






Before putting into the pot, the meat or vegetables can be dipped into breading. Also after cooked, they can be dipped into sauces such as barbecue, teriyaki, or steak sauce. Remember never to eat straight from the fondue forks. Instead use a fork to remove the item so that you're never in contact with any raw meat or meat juices.



And now... where's the chocolate fondue?

I haven't done it yet! Was so full from the cheese and meat, opted to wait for chocolate.