Introduction

Where there is cheese there you will find a happy Ashley. So you can just imagine my delight over a meal that consisted of dipping varied food items into a bubbly cauldron of hot nutty cheese. Even as I write this I'm resisting the urge to go help myself to some more - well - I wouldn't be as successful at resisting if I hadn't eaten it all.

With piles of rosemary roasted potatoes, bread, tart apples and chicken sausage our elongated fondue forks were rarely devoid of a cheese covered bite. We dipped and savored each bite eating more than necessary while using exhaustive research techniques to figure out our favorite pairing of the evening. My husband was partial to the Chicken Sausage while I felt the apples were the stars of the night.

Fondue is a creative cook's dream. For sweet or savory fondue, a base recipe can easily be altered to suit your taste buds. And then there are the dipping items - you'd be surprised at how many things can taste good once their covered in hot cheese.

Gruyère and Cider made a perfect pairing on the recent chilly Fall night when we ate our weight in Fondue. The rich cave-aged Gruyère was blended with hard apple cider and a splash of apple cider vinegar to give it a little pop of acidity. You can use the following recipe as a starting point and add in Calvados (apple brandy), fresh thyme or maybe even a whisper of cinnamon.

If you are an adventurer in the kitchen, light up your Sterno because Fondue is the meal for you.

Cider and Gruyère Fondue

• 4 cups coarsely grated Gruyère cheese (about 1 pound)
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 cup hard apple cider
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons Calvados, applejack brandy, or poire Williams (clear pear brandy) *optional*

Toss the grated Gruyère and cornstarch in large bowl to coat. Bring hard cider and vinegar just to simmer either in the Fondue pot or in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium low (mixture should be barely simmering). Add a handful of cheese to simmering cider mixture. Stir until cheese is melted. Add remaining cheese 1 handful at a time, stirring until melted between additions. Increase heat to medium and cook until fondue begins to bubble, stirring constantly. Stir in Calvados, if using. Season to taste with pepper.

If you used a medium saucepan, transfer fondue to pot. Set fondue pot atop stand. Light Sterno.

Set up your dipping items around the pot.

We recommend dipping sausage, apples, pears, bread and roasted potatoes for this particular recipe. But do not limit yourself to this list. Be creative and have fun - it's hard not to with this meal as you can finally play with your food!

About Ashley E. Rodriguez

Food became my life while living in Italy. Growing up I was fortunate to have been brought up around a mother who intuitively knew how to cook, and just by being around that, it rubbed off on me. But it was in Italy where I truly began to appreciate the power of good food.

For me food is so much more than following a recipe in order to reach a desired product. As much as I enjoy that tasty product and the process in which it was created, my personal infatuation with food focuses on the aspects that go beyond satisfying a bodily hunger. I am completely and utterly obsessed with food because of its effect on the people who consume it, grow it, produce it, enjoy it, and live for it. Food is culture, it nourishes our bodies, it is passion, it is hard work, and for many it is their livelihood.

My culinary career has been primarily pastry focused. I worked under the Captain of the winning American Coupe du Monde team (the Olympics of bread baking) at the Essential Bread Baking Company in Seattle, WA. From there I went on to Los Angeles where I studied under Sherry Yard (Executive Pastry Chef for Wolfgang Puck's restaurant empire) at Wolfgang Puck's famous Spago restaurant in Beverly Hills. While working with Sherry, I also assisted her with her second book, Desserts By The Yard.

I moved back to Washington State and began my pastry business, fulfilling all sweet needs. You can see my work in numerous publications including Seattle Metropolitan Bride & Groom. Currently I am focusing on training my two young boys to have distinguished palates. You can also find me writing, teaching and creating a television program on the subject of real, good food.

Photographs copyright by Gabriel Rodriguez. Used with permission.