Last night the JP Crows had plans to make dinner but for some reason we were all feeling uninspired as to what we were going to cook up. The email discussion we had throughout the course of the day ranged from baked pasta to thai- all of which sounded tasty but not good enough to commit it to the night’s menu. We needed another approach so we went the route of naming off ingredients in our fridge that needed to be used up before they went bad. This is a good tactic to use when you’re struggling with a meal plan and in our case, led us on a path to Fondue and Salad. How did we jump from Food and Wine’s Pad See Yew to a fondue party? The answer lay in Mo’s cheese stash, in particular the gruyere and fontina.
Lacking a cute little fondue set and a bottle of kirsch we were destined to wing it, which more often than not, turns out better than following a recipe to a T. Our vessel was a smaller dutch oven which we thought would keep the heat longer, and instead of skewers we used, forks, cocktail picks, and the best tool of all- our hands. Since we winged it, it’s hard to supply accurate measurements but this was the approach we took led by our Fondue Captain, Mo.
Melt butter in fondue vessel, add minced garlic and sautee until fragrant. Pour in about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of white wine (can substitute with beer). The amount of wine really depends on how much cheese you have so this measurement varies. Cook until the alcohol evaporates and stir in the mustard then the cheese. We needed to thicken our mixture with a tsp of corn starch dissolved in a splash of water to achieve our desired consistency.
Winging the cheese mixture was a little stressful but the fun part came when we picked out the tasty dipping items. Here is what we chose: thyme roasted potatoes, mushrooms and onion, medallions of crisped up chicken sausage, sliced apple, red bell pepper and toasted baguette.
Although delicious, the salad was an after thought and wasn’t touched until the vat of gooey cheese was empty. The salad contained diced beets, dried fruit, almonds, red onion and sliced carrots. It was dressed with a vinaigrette of honey, lemon juice, white balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Once we ate our fill we cleaned off the table, opened some more wine and pondered over a game to play. We decided to switch it up from rummikub and go with the regular version involving cards. At first it was hard to get out of the kubbing mind set but after a few rounds we were all pros again.
PACKED full of flavor. Start with a smaller portion of feta and herbs and keep adding until you have reached your desired taste. Also keep in mind the longer it sits the more the flavors meld! The black lentils were fun to experiment with, they definitely hold their texture in cooking.
The beets I used were the “candy-striped” variety so that’s why they do not appear that vibrant red in the picture above. I quartered and steamed them for around 30-40 minutes until they became tender and the peeling came off with ease. From there I chopped them into a small dice, put them in a jar and covered them with olive oil and red wine vinegar. My taste buds fall on the side of salty/sour so I like to add alot of vinegar to my beets to balance our the sweetness but if you are a fan of sweet then you should hold back on the vinegar.
meals. Last time I made Baked Cauliflower Mac and Cheese, I used a combination of Gruyere, Parm and Goat Cheese in my bechamel. Even my weary man-crow gobbled it up. I may never see him spread it on a cracker but seeing him enjoy a dish that contained Goat cheese is still a victory in my book.
