Cheese Fondue

Fondue is a Swiss dish and was very popular in the 60’s and 70’s and has resurfaced in the last several years.  So if you run across your mom’s old fondue pot, drag it out and use it.  You could also pick one up at Good Will or another second hand store for pretty cheep.  Of course they will probably be a nice bright orange or avocado green.  You can also find one at a kitchen store for a pretty reasonable price.  If you don’t have one and you don’t want to go hunting for one you can always use a heavy bowl made of pottery raised with a candle under it or a small crock-pot. 

The traditional way to eat fondue is with boiled potatoes and bread. I like to add some steamed veggies. Feel free to use chunks of cooked chicken too. You can use other cheeses but the Gouda and Râclette are more traditional. Another combination could be cheddar cheese and Monterey jack cheese and add some green chilies while omitting the wine. You would need to cut back on the roux if you left out the wine.

Cheese Sauce

2 c.................. Milk

1 c.................. Dry White Wine

½ lb................ Gouda Cheese

½ lb................ Râclette Cheese

½ tsp.............. Garlic Powder

½ tsp.............. Onion Powder

to taste........... Salt

as needed...... Roux 

Roux

1 c.................. Flour

1 c.................. Clarified Butter (also called Ghee)

1.    Shred cheese.

2.    Place the milk and wine in a saucepan and heat while stirring.

3.    When hot whisk in enough roux to thicken, about 3 heaping tbs.

4.    Whisk in the remaining ingredients and continue cooking until all of the cheese is melted while whisking.

Be creative, have fun and enjoy!!!

Mom’s Mac & Cheese w/ Ham

My Mom & Dad with my sisters & I

My Mom always made mac & cheese from scratch & we loved it. She would sometimes put ham in it which made it that much better. I never tasted a box mac & cheese until I was way into adulthood. Needless to say, I don't like the boxed kind and still make it form scratch like my Mom but will often add different cheeses.

Cavitopi pasta...................................... 1 lb 

Shredded Fontina cheese...................... ½ lb
Shredded Swiss cheese........................ ½ lb
Blue cheese crumbles........................... 2 oz
Diced ham........................................... ½ lb
Yellow onion........................................ ½ ea
Garlic powder....................................... 2 tsp
Onion powder....................................... 2 tsp
Kosher Salt.......................................... 2 tsp
Tabasco............................................... ¼ tsp
Heavy whipping cream........................... 1½ c 

1.    Boil pasta and strain.

2.    Add rest of ingredients and mix well.

3.    Place in a casserole dish.

4.    Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for 30 minutes covered.

5.    Remove cover and bake another 10 minutes.

This is very decadent.  If you want to make it lower in fat you can replace the heavy whipping cream with skim or low fat milk which is what I do.  You can also replace the Swiss and Fontina cheeses with a low fat cheese.  The blue cheese gives a lot of flavor without a lot of fat so keep it. For you blue cheese haters, you don't really taste it. It just intensifies the flavor. Yes, you can leave it out if you just can't do it. And for those that love it, adding more can through off the balance so be careful. I also like to add a little extra cheese along with some Parmesan on top to give it a little extra crunch. Plus, I love cheese.

For those of you that are vegetarians try replacing the ham with roasted egg plant, artichokes, and roasted red peppers. 

Be creative.  If you want to replace the ham try some taco meat and use cheddar cheese in place of the blue or the Swiss cheese.

Have fun and enjoy!!!