While many people celebrate on Christmas Day, our big holiday meal is on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day is just our little family. And cheese fondue, a green salad served with shallot vinaigrette, followed perhaps by some leftover bûche de Noël is our tradition.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 large baguette
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup dry white wine
1½ cups chicken stock
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly
ground white pepper
2½ cups grated Gruyére cheese
2½ cups grated Comté cheese
Method
Cut the baguette into 1-inch (2.5 cm) slices. Cut each slice into quarters. The yield should be 15 to 20 pieces per person or about 10 cups.
Melt the butter in a medium (4-quart/4l), heavy-bottomed sauce pot on medium-high heat. Add the garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds, then add the wine and the chicken stock together.
When the liquid comes to a simmer, add the salt, pepper, and the cheese.
Stir gently and bring just to a boil. Now it is ready to bring to the table.
Keep the fondue warm during the meal with a fondue pot, electric slow cooker, or portable burner.
With a fork, spear the bread through the tender white interior until the tines just break through the crust. Slide the bread along the bottom of the fondue pot, collecting the cheese. Twirl like pasta and bring the cheesy bread to your plate. Allow to cool for a few seconds, then enjoy.
Finally, we make the ‘soup’. When most of cheese is gone and only a few lumps are sticking to the bottom, add enough bread into the pot to absorb the remaining liquid. Stir well, scraping the bottom, and spoon onto your plates.
On the subject of wine in a dish, the alcohol evaporates completely during the cooking process. But if you’re not comfortable adding wine to a dish, you can use stock or even water.
Let’s Cook French, is a fun, interactive, bilingual family cookbook that introduces the art and joy of French cooking from Claudine Pépin—featuring 30 classic recipes, along with notes on French culture and suggested menus for your next family soirée.
Recipe — Claudine Pépin | Illustrations — Jacques Pépin
