Recipe - Basic Fondue

2 One half fl Dry white wine
1 Clove garlic
5 One half ounce Emmental and Gruyere cheese;
grated and, mixed
halfandhalf
1 teaspoon Cornstarch
One half fl Kirsch
1 ds Pepper
1 Grind fresh nutmeg
6 ounce Sliced French bread;, cubed

The above measurements are for one person. Multiply by your number of
guests.

In Switzerland, fondue is usually prepared in a "caquelon," and earthenware
dish with a handle, glazed inside. If you do not have a fondue pot with
stand and Sterno heat source, use an enameled saucepan, or nottooshallow
fire proof dish. Rub the inside of the pan with half a cut clove of garlic
and let it dry until the rubbed places feel tacky. Put the wine in the dish
and bring it to a boil. Slowly start adding cheese to the boiling wine,
stirring constantly until each bit is dissolved before adding the next.
When all the cheese is in, reduce heat. In a small dish, combine the Kirsh
and cornstarch, stirring well; add to the cheese mixture and keep stirring
over heat until the mixture comes to a boil again. Add freshly ground
pepper and nutmeg to taste. Remove the dish to the stand and light Sterno.
The fondue should remain bubbling slowly. Provide each guest with a fondue
fork or bamboo skewer. Guests then proceed to spear a bread cube and stir
it around in the cheese and then eat it.

NOTES : The old custom is that, if you are a male and you lose the cube in
the dish, you must buy a round of drinks for the table; if female, you must
kiss everybody. Other lore: Do not drink water with fondue; it reacts
unkindly in your stomach with the cheese and bread. Dry white wine and tea
are the usual accompaniments. Another tradition: the "coupe d'midi" or
"shot in the middle", for when you get full. A thimbleful of Kirsch,
knocked straight back in the middle of the meal usually produces more room
if you're feeling too full. The crusty bit that forms at the bottom of the
pot as the cheese keeps cooking is called the "crouton" and is very nice
peeled off and divvied up among the guests as a sort of farewell to dinner.
Recipe by: NAWK/Internet

Posted to MCRecipe Digest V1 #859 by "Crane C. Walden"
cranew@foothill.net on Oct 22, 97