In the Kitchen: Making Fondue and Fresh Ricotta

Welcome to Cheese Friends, a group blog exploring and enjoying cheese.  We're talking about cheeses we love, sharing recipes, and, every once in a while, making our own.  Our first post is from Jonathan, Rebecca, and TC, friends who met in DC now living in the Bay area.  We look forward to involving more of our cheese-loving friends as writers, tasters, and foragers.  Find us on Twitter @cheesefriends and let us know if you have a cheese that makes you swoon.

We decided to kick off the blog by getting together for a night of fondue and cheese making.  We wanted something to snack on while we made our first attempt at homemade ricotta so my husband TC and I thought it would be fun to surprise Rebecca by visiting Berkeley's Cheeseboard and gathering the ingredients for fondue.

The Cheeseboard Collective is our go-to place for cheese in the East Bay.  The people who work here also own the place (a co-op) and we have always had informed help from their team as we look for cheeses we describe as everything from "grassy and soft but lighter on the salt and leaning towards funky" to "a blue that is friendly for people who love blue and people that are skeptical of blue but willing to try."  We'll talk more about them later, but have a look at a few of their cases.

We came to The Cheeseboard knowing we wanted to make fondue and familiar with the basics: wine, Emmentaler, Gruyere, and touches of garlic and nutmeg.  We approached the counter and took a playing card from the stack. They called the "four of hearts" relatively quickly and we started the consultation.

The person helping us was familiar both with fondue recipes and proportions, verifying the approximate weights for a generous fondue for three with one of the other workers.  She helped us select a Le Gruyere Cave Aged and Emmentaler from Switzerland, with the unexpected suggestion to add some Appenzeller (silver label aged 2-4 months).  Fondue regulars would be less surprised, but this was new to us and a welcome addition with its sharpness and its fruity kick.

For the wine, we went with a Gewurztraminer.  This was not a standard choice.  Most fondues are made with a reliably dry wine and this California Gewurztraminer was not.  It was a bit too sweet, but fairly weak so the sharpness of the cheeses tamped the sugar down a bit. Our meyer lemon juice from our backyard lemon tree had a nice bite as well so it all worked out.

Cheese Friends Fondue

1 clove garlic

1 cup dry white wine (plus some to thin as needed)

2 T lemon juice

3/4 lb Cave-aged Gruyere, 1/4 Emmentaler,  6 oz Appenzeller

1 T cornstarch

Nutmeg to taste (2 pinches)

Pepper to taste (2 pinches)

Dippables: 

Warm brown bread (or other thick, stout bread), blanched cauliflower florets, blanched green beans, sliced apples, sliced pears, whatever you like!

Steps:

Peel garlic and rub inside of pot thoroughly. 

Squeeze lemons and put 2T of lemon juice in a medium-size pot

Add wine and turn burner to medium heat (do not allow to boil)

Grate the cheese and toss it in the cornstarch

Add cheese 1/2 a cup or so at a time to wine/lemon juice

Raise the heat to medium high, stirring slowly to melt and combine

Add a few pinches of pepper and nutmeg (optional, but delicious)

Stir thoroughly until melted
If it seems too thick, add a bit more wine and stir through
Transfer to fondue pot or bring the pot directly to the table for dipping

If it gets too thick or cools, just place it back on the heat

Enjoy!

We served the fondue with a salad of crisp romaine, cherry tomatoes and a Point Reyes Blue Cheese dressing.  Point Reyes Original Blue from Farmstead Cheese Company is a creamy blue with a big, flavorful, taste without much edge or sharpness.  It's simply delicious crumbled on a salad and in dressing,  Read an exhaustive article here.


Next Post: Making the Ricotta!