Southwestern Cheese Fondue

My family members and I are currently stoveless. My sister-in-law Leigh recently ordered a high-end gas range, which arrived a week and a half ago.

Unfortunately, the price tag on the new toy from Viking isn’t merely financial. The stove is eating into Leigh’s time and patience as well her pocketbook. It is apparently designed ONLY to go into a spanking new kitchen, not to fit neatly into an existing kitchen.

Leigh has had to hire not only a plumber to put in a gas line (which she expected) but a handyman to design a pipe for the exhaust system, an electrician to put in new wires, and a carpenter to fit the stove into the wall.

Some of them have come, some of them are still expected, and some of them are going to have to come back. Meanwhile, the stove sits in the middle of the kitchen annoying everyone, particularly the cats.

Miss Modigliani is NOT amused.

Actually, my mother isn’t annoyed—but then she has memory issues. Whenever she spots the stove she just compliments Leigh on how beautifully clean it is.

With no working burners or oven we’re taking advantage every other cooking appliance in and out of the house—the grill, the microwave, the slow cooker.

Yesterday evening the fondue pot enjoyed its moment in the sun. Happily, our fondue pot is electric so all the heating (not just warming) could be done at the table.

My brother was lobbying for a traditional Swiss fondue with Gruyère and Emmantaler, particularly since my most recent fondue was also nontraditional.

Most people credit the Swiss with inventing fondue to get them through winter months full of stale bread and cheese, and I do love classic fondue.

I found cilantro and a jalapeño pepper in the house, however, so my brother had to eat yet another non-fondue fondue. He managed very nicely.

The flavorings here are really a guideline. If you want more pepper, as I say below, use more (or use the seeds!). If you don’t want to taste the cumin, omit it. If you have small children in the house you may want to skip the cilantro—or let adults put it on their own portions.

Enjoy……

The Fondue

Ingredients:

2 to 3 cloves garlic, slightly crushed
1 pound shredded cheese—mixed Monterey Jack and sharp cheddar
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup Mexican beer
2 plum tomatoes, diced
1 can (4 ounces) mild green chiles
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced (more if you like spice)
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1 medium baguette, cut into bite-sized pieces
carrot and celery sticks

Instructions:

Rub the inside of a fondue pot with the garlic; then discard the cloves.

In a bowl toss together the cheese and the flour.

Bring the beer to a boil in the fondue pot. Add the tomatoes, the chiles, the pepper, the lime juice, and the spices—but not the cilantro.

Reduce the heat and stir in the cheese/flour mixture. Continue to stir until the cheese has melted. Stir in the cilantro.

Dip the bread and vegetable pieces into your fondue. Serves 4.

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