Hoppy Christmas Cheese Fondue

If you have written cheese fondue off as a '60s fad of interest only to skiers, you've made a mistake and owe it to yourself and your family to give it a try. Kids love both the taste and the informal "play" involved with this meal.

Part of my take on this dish is that most versions are not much more than melted cheese. Such renditions are too salty, too rich, and too hard to eat. Stringiness is a flaw, not a feature, in my view. It all works better if you think of the fondue as a rather thick cheese sauce. I like beer better than wine as the fat-cutting agent; the bitterness of the hops adds something small but wonderful. A huge bonus here is that the leftover fondue makes a wicked macaroni and cheese for a subsequent meal.

Serves 4

• 2 cups milk, in a Pyrex cup
• 4 cups coarsely grated mixed hard cheeses*
• 1/2 to 1 bottle full-flavored beer - pale ale is good (American-style lager is too meek; stout is too dark and sweet) 
• 1 clove garlic
• 3 Tb butter
• 5 Tb flour
• 1 tsp hot sauce, more or less, to taste
• 1 large loaf best quality crusty artisan sourdough bread
• 1 heavily pre-heated serving dish, for the bread.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

While the oven is heating, grate the cheese. Toss it with 1Tb of the flour in a large bowl.

Put the bread in the oven.

In a medium-sized heavy-bottomed sauce pan, make a roux with the butter and the remaining flour. While the roux is cooking over low heat, press the garlic clove into the milk. Microwave the milk for 2 minutes on high to give things a head start.

After the roux develops a froth and has cooked for a few minutes without coloring, remove it from heat and let it cool briefly. Whisk in the hot milk and garlic and return to a medium burner. Bring to a simmer, whisking constantly. Whisk in at least half the bottle of beer. Bring back to a simmer and allow several minutes for the foam to subside. Whisk in the cheese by handfuls. Heat, stirring occasionally, until steam rises from the fondue and it begins to bubble. At this point, it should be the consistency of a very thick sauce. (If it is too thick, whisk in the rest of the beer. Allow foam to subside and fondue to return to temperature.) Stir in the hot sauce.

Put the whole pot on an insulating pad (like a pot holder) in the center of the table. Remove the bread from the oven and slice roughly into 1.5" cubes. Line the hot serving dish with a clean towel and put the bread cubes in it. Place next to the fondue pot on another pot holder.


Accompany with any clean, dry white wine, such as a Chignin from the Savoie, currently available at Rosemont. (Steer clear of big, rich wines here.) For kids, serve water, not milk - plenty of dairy in the fondue. I usually steam some Broccoli and serve it along with the bread; it's great dipped in the fondue, whether you're big or little. Or you can just serve a salad with some dark and/or bitter greens, such as spinach, frisee, or raddichio.

* You have a lot of flexibility with the cheese. I like about 2 cups Emmentaler, 1 cup Gruyere or Fontina val d'Aosta, 1 cup sharp cheddar, plus a few tablespoons of hard Romano as an accent. But I vary this very widely based on what I happen to have in my fridge at the moment.