Fondue is a trendy dish in the United States; its popularity has fluctuated since its mass-introduction from Switzerland in the 1960s, an effort to boost the Swiss cheese industry that was in decline. I never had fondue growing up and my first taste of fondue was in a restaurant in the Montmartre area of Paris while I was studying abroad during college. It was such a great experience that I took Dave back there when we first visited Paris together in 2006.

Refuge des Fondus is a narrow restaurant with a long stretch of tables lining either side of the wall. The restaurant uses every centimeter of space and to sit on one side of the table, they need to pull out the surrounding tables in order for you to sit down. There are personal notes and drawings from past diners covering the wall and at least 50 different currencies are papering the ceiling. The food is great too. For a set fee (I'm sure the price has changed since I was last there), you get a platter of little snacks like olives, salami, etc, then you choose either meat or cheese fondue (meat fondue is basically cooking chunks of raw beef in hot oil) and wine... but you drink your wine from a baby bottle! I thought it was just a cute touch but I later read that it was a creative way to get around the tax that Paris imposes on wine served in glasses.

So now that we're living in Switzerland, I knew I had to make a traditional Swiss fondue with the local cheeses. Fondue is so easy to make, really quick and the recipe is pretty standard although can easily be altered with different types of wine and cheeses.

Traditional Swiss Fondue
(serves 2 comfortably with leftovers/I would increase the portions to serve 4 as a main course)

• 1/2 pound Gruyere, coarsely grated
• 1/2 pound Emmental, coarsely grated
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 garlic clove
• 2/3 cup dry white wine
  
• 4 tablespoons Kirsch (dry cherry brandy; see photo below)
• Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Dipping items*

*When serving fondue as a main course, I have a variety of dippers including small pieces of baguette, slivers of sausage, veggies like broccoli and asparagus tips, tortellini (I prefer prosciutto-stuffed) and crisp fruits like green apples or pears.
Important note: Makes sure all pieces are cut to bite-size; there's nothing less graceful than trying to fit an over-sized piece of bread dripping with cheese in your mouth :)

First, shred your cheeses and mix in a large bowl with 2 teaspoons of cornstarch. Next, cut a clove of garlic in half and rub the cut side on the inside of a saucepan. Then add the white wine and 2 tablespoons of Kirsch to the saucepan, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add the cheese, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth.


If the mixture is too thick, add the other 2 tablespoons of Kirsch. Season with salt and pepper and a dash of nutmeg to taste.


The whole process of fondue takes about 15 minutes max, so the most challenging part is having all the dippers ready and hot once the fondue is ready. My suggestions are to chop and have everything ready to go. Precooked kielbasa works well, so you just have to brown it; the bread and fruit can be sliced and set aside. It's really the veggies that you'll want to be freshly cooked and the tortellini also takes a few minutes. I don't have a microwave, but if I did, it would be easy to quickly reheat everything once the fondue is ready.

Finally, transfer your fondue to a fondue pot so it stays warm and smooth and enjoy!


Results: Dave and I both really liked the fondue and all the dippers. We agreed that some of the pieces of broccoli and bread needed to be cut smaller to avoid the situation referenced in my Important note above.

Recipe from Food Network