Festive Gruyere Fondue Food

SWISS GRUYERE FONDUE

Steps:

• Toss cheese with cornstarch in large bowl.
• Bring wine, lemon juice and garlic to simmer in heavy large saucepan over high heat.
• Reduce heat to medium.
• Whisk 1 handful of cheese into wine until almost melted.
• Repeat with remaining cheese in about 5 more batches.
• Continue whisking until completely melted and fondue begins to bubble, about 1 minute.
• Whisk in Kirsch and nutmeg.
• Transfer to fondue pot and keep warm over fondue burner.
• Accompany with a platter of assorted dippers, fondue forks and plates.
• DIPPERS: Cubed crusty bread, boiled new potatoes, rounds of smoked sausage, cubed cooked chicken, blanched asparagus, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower florets and carrot sticks.

GRUYERE FONDUE DINNER

Steps:

• For the dippers: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Lay the carrots, potatoes and cauliflower on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with half the olive oil, some salt and pepper and 1 teaspoon caraway seeds. Toss to coat. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and push the vegetables over to one side. Lay the green beans, bread cubes, salami and grapes on the empty side and drizzle those with the remaining olive oil, some salt and pepper and the remaining teaspoon caraway. Return to the oven and roast until starting to brown on the edges and the vegetables are tender, an additional 7 to 10 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature with fondue.
• For the fondue: Bring the white wine to a low simmer in a fondue pot. Toss the cheeses, cornstarch, mustard and nutmeg together in a large bowl. Add in handfuls to the simmering wine, whisking to melt before adding more. Continue to add until all of the cheese has melted and the fondue is thick and smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in the kirsch and serve with the dippers.

FESTIVE GRUYERE FONDUE

Steps:

• Melt butter in heavy saucepan over low heat. Add shallots and cook until soft.
• Add wine and bring to boiling to reduce by half. Add whipping cream; simmer 5 minutes.
• Combine cornstarch with cheese and add to saucepan, stirring constantly until melted. Do not boil. Season with salt to taste. Pour mixture into fondue pot. Serve with bread cubes or raw vegetables.

CLASSIC CHEESE FONDUE

Steps:

• Rub cut side of garlic on inside of large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed saucepan, preferably cast iron, rubbing the bottom and halfway up the sides. Add wine and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss cheeses with cornstarch. Add a handful at a time to simmering wine, stirring until first handful melts before adding next. Reduce heat to medium and stir constantly until cheese is completely melted. Add kirsch, if using, and heat until bubbling, about 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, if desired. Serve with crusty bread and other accompaniments. (See variations below)

GRUYERE AND CHEDDAR FONDUE

Steps:

• Whisk first 5 ingredients in medium saucepan until blended. Bring to boil on medium heat, stirring constantly.
• Reduce heat to medium-low. Add cheeses, in small batches, cooking and stirring after each addition until cheese is completely melted. Remove from heat.
• Serve fondue with remaining ingredients for dipping.

GRUYèRE FONDUE

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, combine cream, flour, and Worcestershire sauce, and set aside.
• In a large heavy saucepan, sauté onion in butter with bouillon cubes over high heat, stirring until cubes are completely dissolved.
• Reduce heat to medium. Add cream mixture, whisking constantly until thickened.
• Gradually add cheeses, and stir until melted and smooth. Mixture will become very thick.
• Add wine a little at a time and mix well. Wine tends to thin out mixture, so add as much as needed to reach desired consistency and flavor.
• Transfer the fondue to a heated fondue pot and keep warm over low heat.
• Accompaniments:
• Lightly toasted French bread cubes
• Fresh cooked shrimp
• Steamed broccoli

GRUYERE FONDUE WITH CARAMELIZED SHALLOTS

Steps:

• Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat.
• Add thinly sliced shallots and sauté 3 minutes.
• Reduce heat to low; sprinkle shallots with sugar, salt and pepper.
• Sauté until shallots are caramelized, about 15 minutes.
• Transfer shallots to small bowl.
• Add 1 1/2 cups wine to skillet; boil 1 minute.
• Pour wine into heavy medium saucepan; set over medium-low heat.
• Toss cheese with flour in medium bowl to coat.
• Add half of caramelized shallots to wine; add cheese mixture by handfuls, stirring until cheese melts and is smooth before adding more.
• Thin with more wine if mixture is too thick.
• Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
• Transfer cheese mixture to fondue pot.
• Set pot over candle or canned heat burner.
• Top fondue with remaining caramelized shallots.
• Serve with bread cubes.

CHEESE FONDUE

Steps:

• Cut the baguette into bite-size pieces, and put in a serving bowl. Scrub the potatoes, and transfer to a pot of water over medium heat; boil until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain, and set aside to cool in a serving bowl.
• When you're about 15 minutes from sitting down at the table, rub the inside of a fondue pot with the cut end of the garlic, then discard the garlic. Whisk together the wine and cornstarch, then pour through a fine-mesh strainer into the fondue pot. Put the pot over medium heat and continue to whisk until the liquid comes to a simmer, then turn down the heat a little and ditch the whisk for a wooden spoon. Add the Gruyère and Appenzeller, gently stirring to help it heat and melt evenly. When it's almost smooth, turn the heat down to low, and add the Vacherin Fribourgeois. It might look alternately lumpy and oily, but keep stirring, and it will get smooth again.
• At this point, you may need to adjust the texture of the fondue to make it just right for dipping. If it's too thick and resisting the wooden spoon, add a splash of white wine to thin it slightly. Season with a tablespoon of kirschwasser and a few grinds of black pepper, and stir well. Take the fondue pot to the table, where you can keep it warm over a lit Sterno, and stir it occasionally to keep the bottom from browning. (If it gets too hot and you have an adjustable lid for the flame, turn it down or off. If it cools too much and solidifies, carry it back to the kitchen and stir it over higher heat.) Serve with bread, potatoes and cornichons on the side.
• When you get down to the bottom of the pot, if you've still got an appetite, crack an egg directly into the fondue pot, and let it cook over the last bits of browning cheese. When the white is about set but the yolk is still runny, turn off the heat below the pot, and dip in any remaining bread.