Beer Cheese Fondue Recipe

This is a guest post by Elana Birnbaum

Fondue first became popular in North America in the 1960s, and it remains a charmingly retro dish. If youve ever wanted an excuse to plan a meal featuring delectable melted cheese as the star ingredient, this is your perfect opportunity. This is great as either an appetizer course or the main event for a dinner party. Be sure to have plenty of long skewers on hand for dipping; watching people try to navigate their bites from the melted cheese pot back to their mouths is half the fun! While it ideal to construct your meal in a fondue pot, you can prepare it on the stovetop and pour it into a serving dish in a pinch if you plan on eating it immediately getmyessay.com.

Because cheese is the main attraction, youll want to use a blend of cheeses that melt well, have good texture, and provide a balance of flavors. A great combination is 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, 2 cups of shredded Colby-Jack cheese and 1 cups of shredded Swiss cheese. The cheddar adds a punch of flavor, the Colby-Jack provides a smoother counterbalance, and the Swiss cheese adds that decadent, gooey texture that makes fondue so fun. Toss all the cheeses in a large bowl with one tablespoon of cornstarch, coating them evenly. This will ultimately help to thicken the cheese sauce.

Pour cup of beer into the fondue pot. In cooking, its important to use a beer that you would want to drink as it will subtly impart its flavor in the final dish. A nice solid stout plays nicely off the cheese blend. Bring the beer to a boil over high heat then reduce the heat to low and add in the blended cheeses. Stir constantly until the cheese is melted, about two minutes. If you want to kick the flavor up another notch, you can stir in one teaspoon of hot sauce to taste.

Place the fondue pot over low flame, and cut a loaf of crusty French bread into large cubes. You can skewer these cubes and dip them into the cheese sauce; they provide a mellow background to the rich and tangy fondue. If youre feeling extra adventurous, you can use any number of sides to dip into the cheese (apples, crudités, miniature sausages, etc.) so there are plenty of options to appeal to all your guests; however, bread is the real classic.

Fondue is so fun for dinner, you and your guests will never want it to end. For a special treat you can keep the fondue party going! Chocolate fondue paired with tart strawberries will provide a perfect end note to this playful, interactive meal.