Wednesday, December 26, 2007

I'm Melting, Melting...

That's what the cheese was heard to say as we made our traditional Xmas Eve fondue.

The fondue worked out well and we made rather quick work of it. It was accompanied by a garlicky green salad that was the perfect counterpoint to all that cheese.

The recipe is simple. Use a mountain cheese or cheeses from the Savoie or Switzerland (we used comté and emmanthal), grate it up and mix it with heated dry white wine. A sample proportion is 400 grams of cheese and 200 ml of wine. Add a dash of Kirsch, then salt and pepper and a bit of grated nutmeg. Stir slowly over medium heat until the cheese is melted and the mixture comes together.

You have to be careful at the table because as the fondue cools, it begins to solidify. A decent heat source is necessary under the pot.

My only regret is that I forgot to pick up some apples to dunk into the cheese; we just had the bread.


  1. is there a catholic/pagan tradition in france for a meatless or fish meal on christmas eve, like lent? i keep reading about meals like yours, or brandade ones, or bouillabaise etc.

    the fondue looks beautiful as do y'all's sunrise shots, as always. peace and happy new year!

  2. purejuice, I don't think so, since the traditional holiday meal in France is on Christmas eve and usually includes a roast bird of some sort.

    The fondue is my own tradition which I started while living in San Francisco back in the late '90s.

    Our fondue pot dates from when we lived in Washington, DC, way back in the late '80s. My, my, but time does fly...

  3. Sorry, that would be the mid 80s for Washington. We moved from there to SF in 1986.

  4. Maybe it has changed, but the traditional family meal was lunch on Christmas day. In my youth we went to bed right after midnight mass and didn't open what Santa Claus has brought us until morning. There was no réveillon as such which is quite a different story and is mostly observed by adults on New Year's Eve. Réveillon de Noël, in my opinion, doesn't seem to have any religious connotation and is just an opportunity to meet with old friends one more time and ...paint the town in red!!!

  5. In Québec, it's at the Réveillon that we have "tourtière": a very special French-Canadian meat pie.

  6. Hope you went for a walk afterwards! I love fondue, but it does stick to your stomach for a long while, doesn't it?
    Apple pieces would be a good idea! Why did I never think of that?
    Claude Vieux, c'est mieux !!!


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