Saturday, January 14, 2006

Shattuck Avenue Fondue {Recipe 1}

"The perfect lover is one who turns into a pizza at 4:00 a.m."

-Charles Pierce

Ok, so I have now officially kept my New Year's resolution, which was to begin creating more original recipes. This was a fun one to come up with. I took a simple Cheese Fondue recipe, and added a few ingredients that I thought would make it more interesting. I named my creation, "Shattuck Avenue Fondue," because my favorite cheese shop, the place where I buy all the scrumptious, yummy, sinfully delicious cheese for my recipes, is located on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley. This is so easy, and very enjoyable to make. I made it just the other night for dinner, on a night when I just didn't have to energy to fuss too much, and then relaxed in front of the TV with it.

Shattuck Avenue Fondue

1 10 3/4 oz can Cheddar Cheese Soup
1/4 cup milk
1 /4 cup each of the following cheese, shredded
Cotswold, Mild Yellow Cheddar, Prima Donna Gouda, Gruyere
1/4 Vegetable broth
1 tbs. Cornstarch
2 tsp. Nutmeg
1/2 Loaf Extra Sour Dough French Bread, cubed

Pour milk into an electric, 3 Qt. Fondue pot, or medium sized, heavy, non-stick saucepan, and heat until it just begins to simmer. Set temperature setting to 200 degrees. Stir evenly as you add the canned soup and continue stirring until it reaches a nearly smooth consistency. Slowly stir in the shredded cheese in small quantities, while continuing to stir. Half way through, slowly stir in the vegetable broth and allow the mixture to begin to bubble slightly. Continue to stir gently while adding the remaining cheese mixture. When all the cheese appears to be well blended add nutmeg and stir thoroughly, but gently, making sure the cheese is not sticking to the bottom of the pot. The last step is to add the cornstarch to the cheese sauce depending on your preference of consistency. Turn the temperature gauge to warm, and serve with cubed French Bread, 4 cups mixed vegetables or your choice of cocktail meats. Makes 2-4 servings.

M
y kitchen is decorated with Pillsbury Doughboy everything! LOL. As you can see, he got the fondue all over his face! LOL. I think he liked it also. Tee Hee. I need a lot more practice photographing my fondue recipes. I had a difficult time with it for some reason, but the fact that there is apparently a challenge in it for me is a plus. It will be good to get some practice in photographing a subject that is new to me...food preparation.

-OndineMonet
"Shattuck Avenue Fondue"
Berkeley, California
January 11th, 2005
Evening

3 comments:

Karen Funk Blocher said...

Now, see, this is one way in which we're very different. You not only cook - you actually create new dishes, and record what you did so that it's reproduceable. I mean, wow! I don't think I've ever known anyone else who can do that.

As for me, my cooking can best be described with this quote from the movie Sibling Rivalry: "I don't cook. I reheat."

I'd love to reheat that fondue, though!

Karen

DesLily said...

I have never been a good cook. During my learning years my X had a bleeding ulcer so all had to be baked or boiled and very plain.. i did get into baking back then though!
Awww the pillsbury dough boy. .. did you know he dies? yeah I heard it was a yeast infection...
(don't groan to loudly lol)

Wil said...

My, that looks yummy. Add a bottle of Gray Reisling and a wonderful meal or Super Bowl Speciality is created.

Most food photographers will tell you to create a mini-set, with an inclined plane pitched down and to the right towards the camera, with a counter-valent wedge to level the pot while allowing it to be tipped ever so slightly towards the lens. There is a reason they call those fancy magazines "food porn" - only professional porn photographers spend as much on their lenses to achieve the perfect shot.

Many, many thanks for the kind comments the other day. Truly appreciated...