3 potted s traditional Recipes

here are the basics of making an excellent cheese fondue , the proper way (or at least the lindysez way)., use good cheese , i use half emmental swiss and gruyere, grate them up and toss them with some salt and a good amount of pepper. let them sit out at room temp so they melt better . cut your bread (good french bread, but not sourdough) into bite sized pieces making sure to have crust on each piece. let those sit out for a while too so they aren tsp too soft., cheese that you use , you are going to use 1 3/4 cups of a dry white wine, such as a fume blanc, a california sauv blanc (don tsp use a new zealand 1 as most are too grassy) or a pouilly-fume. when you are ready to make the fondue, rub the pot with a clove of garlic (we like garlic, so we leave the clove in, but you don tsp need to); then place over a medium heat and add the wine. when the wine comes to a simmer, start slowly adding the cheese, sprinkling in a handful at a time, allowing each addition to melt (my dad said you always have to stir in the same direction, in a figure 8 motion, it works. if you stir in a circle you will end up with a big glop of cheese in the middle of a pot of wine, the figure 8 is key); keep adding until you have a nice thick sauce, then add a splash of kirsch and a pinch of nutmeg. put over a burner to keep it bubbling, and stir often when you dip your bread., a lb of cheese is enough for 4 people; or more if you are serving other things. and the amounts are guesstimates. i almost always grate too much cheese, so only add as much as you need to get the right consistency ; when you dip a piece of bread into the fondue, you want a nice coating of cheese and for the bread to absorb the wine. that s what it s all about, cheese, wine and bread. so use the best you can of each ingredient. and any left over cheese makes for a mighty good ham and cheese omelet.

good quality bittersweet chocolate drops, heavy cream, whole milk, instant espresso powder or your favorite extract, optional, egg yolks, sugar, creme fraiche, for garnish