Total cheese

As promised, here are a few pictures from my New Year’s Eve. While sorting through my pics, I realized that mawing down on melted cheese doesn’t make for the most flattering photos. These were the only ones I thought I wouldn’t get in trouble for posting (except from Jeff - he's the one who looks like he's about to stab himself with the fork.)

Here’s my loose recipe for cheese fondue:

Heat about 1 cup (250 mL) white wine in a large saucepan or non-stick frying pan. Then slowly stir in 1 to 11/2 lbs (750 g) cheese (I use a mix of emmenthal and gruyère). Stir until it’s mostly combined. Then stir together 1 tbsp (15 mL) cornstarch with 2 tbsp (30 mL) cold water or white wine). Stir into cheese mixture. Stir often until wine and cheese are fully blended and smooth. If fondue seems too thick, stir in a little more wine. Then pour into a fondue pot and set over heat. My disclaimer (haha): I suggest doing this the traditional way in a fondue pot over a flame but I also suggest having a fire extinguisher on hand, just in case. It’s better to be safe than sorry and this has never stopped me from having a fun fondue party.

I like to serve this with a variety of dippers: sun-dried tomatoes, slices of chorizo or salami, broccoli, apple, grape tomatoes, olives and of course, bread.

Make sure to have more white wine to wash it down as well. This recipe will serve 8 to 10 people. We also ate with a lovely salad that my friend Leanne made — similar to the one I mentioned in a previous post. Salad is key to lightening the meal a little (not that there’s anything wrong with eating only cheese for dinner).

What meal did you share with friends and family over the holiday?