Fondue Party for the (No Longer so Very) New Millennium

[arysteia]

In honour of Day 12 of 14valentines. Today's subject is economics and work. There's an essay on the subject here.

When I was eight (maybe ten, either way it was the middle of the eighties) I precociously told my mother that the clothes she wore when she was young (ie the seventies) were the most hideous ever devised. Nothing fazed, Mum replied that one day my children would tell me the same. Oh no, said I, impossible. My clothes are beautiful, and always will be so. It's a safe bet I was wearing a bubble skirt with a six inch elastic waist at the time, with lycra tights underneath, and ankle boots. Oh, and braces (suspenders to Americans). I also had a crimper, and could make my hair stick out like Tina Turner's. Fortunately I have no children to punish me.

Last week my sister demanded requested fondue for her birthday dinner. Being filled with a new appreciation of the decade thanks to some recent dvd watching, I agreed. The fondue pot looked both rusty and too small, the spirit burner filled me with visions of my newly acquired millstone apartment burning down, and the recipes all called for long-vanished wines. Bah humbug. I set to improvise. And lo, the party was a great success.



No fuss, no muss: fondue in an electric wok

I used a genuine seventies recipe as a frame, but then messed about to my heart's content. The recommended cheeses were vastly too expensive so I chose others, the wine was unavailable, and I didn't have the suggested spirit. The wok I wholeheartedly endorse, it is vastly simpler and safer to use.

This recipe serves four; I tripled it and served ten, with a not horrendous amount left over that I ate on toast the next morning.

Assemble the dipping items first. You can use whatever takes your fancy, just make sure it's all chopped or cubed to an appropriate size. (You will also want to prep the cheese at this point.) I used:

crusty bread
broccoli
zucchini (courgettes)
potatoes (diced small and baked in the oven ten minutes or so)
cabanossi
carrots
celery
button mushrooms

Out in public, and before your adoring audience (ideally on a table):

3 cups gruyere (recipe said grated but I was lazy and just diced it with a carving knife)
3 cups edam (likewise)
garlic (several cloves if you crush your own, a good tablespoon if you're like me and buy it in oil in a jar)
1½ cups dry white wine (don't use your good stuff, I used the cask wine I had hiding in the bottom cupboard)
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
3 tbsp brandy
pepper, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, paprika

Pour wine, lemon juice and garlic into the electric wok. Bring to boil, then add cheeses gradually, stirring all the time in a figure-eight motion. People will probably ask to have a turn. Let them, unless they trail a history of disaster.

Turn down the heat as the cheese begins to melt. Any time it looks like slowing down or setting, just raise it again. It should be bubbling gently, not rampaging. When all is melted, add the cornflour which you've already blended to a paste with the brandy. Stir, and cook a few minutes.

Add seasonings to taste.

Allow your starving guests to have at. If at all possible, acquire some fondue forks from the Salvation Army/St Vincents/Goodwill. If not, just use ordinary ones. One of the advantages of the wok is that it doesn't heat up too much, and the ordinary mortal shouldn't burn him or herself.

Comments

[nerowill.livejournal.com]

Huh, the electric wok idea sounds like it might be a real mess-saver... Especially since ours is non-stick and the actual fondue pot (gotten at wedding and used exactly once)is super-stick-and-burn.

I had a crimper too. Damn tool of the devil I say... How in god's name did I EVER think that was a good look?

[arysteia.livejournal.com]

Snap, snap, and snap. Wiping out the wok with a soapy sponge afterwards was a positive joy compared to past experiences with my also super-stick-and-burn fondue pot. Did everyone get one as a wedding present? I actually have two, from both my mother's and aunt's weddings.

Oh, and the crimping... *sigh* I plead youth and mass hysteria.

[shihadchick.livejournal.com]

Ooh, using the electric wok instead sounds like pretty much a stroke of genius. And the fondue sounds fabulous and darnit, now I'm HUNGRY, despite eating really quite a lot of dinner. Thank you once again for sharing, yo.

(Also, I feel this is probably a good time to mention it since I don't think I ever did - I so haven't sufficiently fangirled your cooking in the past, and I STILL remember how excellent that tomato soup you made us at the first get/together I was at was.)

[arysteia.livejournal.com]

It is indeed, I assure you.

Awww... Thank you. The lack of catering last year made me sadder than the lack of space. Canned soup! *cries*

I'm already thinking evilly machinatingabout this year