I’m on my third week at my fancy new job, and I admit to loving every minute of it. There’s so much to learn and absorb, and I feel like every day I come into work is new and exciting. While I miss my former coworkers, I’m meeting new people here, and they’re all incredibly friendly and great to work for and with.
I figured that, since I have a fancy new job, Matt and I would celebrate with a fancy new dinner! My mom gifted me with a fondue pot after my bachelorette party last year (which was AWESOME and so much fun!!), and Matt and I busted it out last Thursday to give it a whirl. We grabbed a fondue cookbook, the necessary ingredients, and some stuff to dip in the cheesy goodness.
In preparing the dipping stuff, the dinner went from fancy to frightening. Apparently, I cannot cut a French loaf to save my life; the huge serrated bread knife slipped off the bread and sliced through my finger, bringing forth so much blood that I panicked. Stuck my finger in my mouth (yup, I’m one of those types), ran upstairs with Matt hot on my heels, and wrapped an old, soft t-shirt around my finger to stop the flow of blood.
Almost a week later, and it still looks awful. 
There was a point during all this when I thought, “This probably needs stitches.” Did I actually say that out loud, though? Are you crazy! And risk actually having to go to the hospital and get someone to poke a needle in me! I ended up not saying anything until two days later, lol.
Anyway, after about 10 minutes, I felt confident to remove the t-shirt and bandage up the cut, then went downstairs to help Matt prepare the rest. (Spirit bless him, he finished slicing the bread for me.) He told me how impressed he was that the knife blade actually had blood on it, then we sat down and, somehow, after all that, managed to have a really yummy fondue-for-two dinner.
Even now, almost a week later, the cut smarts when it hits against something and is numb around the area. Yeah, I probably hit a nerve, which is one less for people to get on, I suppose! Enjoy the fruits and vegetables of our labor – our blood, sweat, and tears (but mainly the blood) – with a smoky cheese recipe that even got me forgetting about flashes of steel.
(Recipe adapted from Great Party Fondues.)
Ingredients
Fondue
* 1/2 lb sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded
* 1/2 lb Gruyere cheese, shredded
* 1 tbsp cornstarch
* I tbsp. butter
* 1 cup beer
* 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
* dash of hot sauce
Dippers
(these are merely suggestions!)
* a crusty bread, cubed
* mushrooms, broccoli, and other vegetables
* corn”dogs”, hot “dogs”
One trick that I learned is to NOT prepare the fondue in the pot itself. You’ll need to dirty up a saucepan for this fondue recipe (and most others). Sorry; I thought that could be a shortcut, too!
Method
1. Prepare your fondue pot as recommended. Ours was the kind where you filled the broiler with boiling water, then placed a ceramic pot over the hot water. Your fondue pot may differ!
2. Put the shredded cheeses into a bowl and add cornstarch, tossing to coat. Set aside.
3. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter and add the beer soon afterward. Wait until the beer is bubbling, then turn down the heat to medium-low.
4. Add the cheese mixture bit by bit; you want the first bit to be melted before you add each subsequent bit. Do NOT let the cheese bubble.
5. When all cheese is incorporated, slowly add the Worcestershire sauce and dash of hot sauce. Stir to combine.
6. Gently transfer the cheese mixture to your fondue pot, and serve while still hot. Cheese will be VERY hot.
7. Dip, swirl, and dine your way to decadence!
Tips and tricks on having a smashing-good fondue party!
* Dipping: After spearing bread or a vegetable, dip it into the fondue to coat with cheese, then remove and hold it over the pot a few seconds to allow the cheese to fall back into the pot. This also cools the cheese on the item so you may eat it without burning yourself!
* Don’t touch the fondue fork to your mouth, even if it’s your fork! The fork will go back into the pot at some point, so don’t let it touch your lips, tongue, or teeth.
* No double-dipping. (That is, unless you’re with your partner. 
)
* Try a bit of everything! You’ll be surprised what tastes good with a healthy layer of melted cheese.
We also had a TON of cheese left over, which we used to make adult mac ‘n’ cheese. Recipe for that coming later!
Stephanie Fox
Girl, you’re worse than me with those knives! LOL!
I’d have to substitute some ingredients in that recipe… I don’t drink any alcahol, and don’t add it to my cooking, and the only worcester sauce we can get over here has anchovies in it, so I don’t eat it.
Oh, and that’s great about how much you’re enjoying your new job… Hope it stays that way!
Actually, this recipe was adapted from another, and beer wasn’t in the original. I think it was milk or something, but I’ll let you know what the ingredient is when I’m home and able to access the cookbook.
That’s a shame about the Worcestershire (lol, “rooster”) sauce! I actually had to scour all of ‘em to find a vegan one, and it was more expensive than the rest. Of course…! I’ll see if I can find a replacement for that, too. I use so little that soy sauce or hoisin sauce might work!
And oh, thank you, girl! I can’t wait to catch up on your life the last… what’s it been, three weeks? I’m sure much has happened since then!
Yeah, I was thinking soy or something would work for that. It was the beer I wasn’t sure what to substitute with. But if you let me know for sure what the original was then I can make a note of it and give it a try.
A few things have happened in the past three weeks, but not as much as we’d hoped would have happened. I have plenty on my blog for you to read though.