Wisconsin Trio Fondue Demonstrated by Ron Meola
Here at City of Ate, we love food, and we love random, wacky holidays that celebrate food. Not too long ago we celebrated National Pancake Day with a free stack of buttermilk pancakes at IHOP. We're anxiously counting the days until National Hoagie Day on May 5 and Apple Pie Day on May 13. In the meantime, we'll have to find solace with National Fondue Day coming up this Sunday, April 11.
The Melting Pot, a fondue franchise in Addison, Southlake, and Arlington, will be right there with us, celebrating National Fondue Day by offering free cheese fondue at all locations from 12-4 p.m. this Sunday. The restaurant will even let guests standing in line at 4 p.m. enjoy the cheesy experience. So there is still hope for some of you late risers! The Melting Pot will also be offering "Cheese for Charity" where you can donate $10 to a local charity. If you're unfamiliar with the fondue concept or want to learn more about the holiday, then visit www.nationalcheesefondueday.com for more information.
It was a no-brainer for us this week when deciding on what we should do for our next Appetite for Instruction--fondue, of course! Ron Meola, owner of The Melting Pot's Addison and Southlake locations, let us sit in and watch him demonstrate one of his favorite fondue recipes, The Wisconsin Trio. Here you go, City of Aters, fundue with fondue. (Couldn't resist.)
Ingredients:
3 oz. white wine
1 oz. sherry
3 oz. minced shallots
6 oz. Fontina cheese
6 oz. Butterkäse cheese
1 oz. Buttermilk bleu cheese
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 oz. chopped scallions
Step 1: Combine the fontina and butterkäse cheeses in a separate mixing bowl. Add 3 oz. of white wine and 1 oz. of sherry into the fondue pot (or a regular saucepan), and then add 3 oz. of minced shallots into the pot, bring to a boil and stir.
Step 2: Add 1/3 of the cheese blend and gently whip thoroughly. Add another 1/3 of the cheese blend and whip thoroughly again. Do this one more time or until the cheese blend is gone. Tip: Make sure not to add all the cheese at once, unless you enjoy clumps of cheese.
Step 3: Fold in the black pepper and 1 oz. of the buttermilk blue cheese into the fondue pot or saucepan.
Step 4: Add 3 oz. of scallions and turn down heat. Keep the fondue warm on a low heat. Melting Pot suggests serving tortilla chips, bread, apple slices, and mixed vegetables to use for dipping.
