We’re on Day 3 of our entertaining theme for this week and the next party recipe comes from Great Party Fondues, a new cookbook from Peggy Fallon. This very adult dip is made with jalapeno jack cheese, beer, and tequila, and is a mouthful of flavor. Serve it in a fondue pot or a miniature Crock Pot, and offer tortilla chips, pita chips, celery, and pepper strips as dunkers.
Making a good cheese fondue requires some attention to detail. The cheese should be at room temperature before adding to the hot liquid, and stirring should be kept to a minimum, otherwise the sauce will be stringy. In addition, cheese sauces have a tendency to separate, leaving you with lumpy cheese in a soupy liquid. In her book Cookwise, Shirley Corriher gives a few tips on working with a cheese sauce.
- Starch helps to keep the sauce from curdling. (This recipe has cornstarch to help with that.)
- Stirring should be kept to a minimum, and only after removing from heat.
- If the sauce becomes stringy, stir in a little lemon juice or dry white wine while heating over low heat until the sauce is smooth again.
I have one copy of Great Party Fondues to give away, courtesy of Wiley. You’ll get my review copy, very gently used, just leave a comment telling us about your favorite fondue. Please make sure your email address is correct so I can contact you if you are the lucky winner. The book can be shipped to United States, Canada, and APO/FPO addresses. The contest closes at midnight EST on Thursday January 15, 2009, and Random.org will select the winner. Look for the announcement of the winner in this post soon after.
UPDATE: Congratulation to Carol, comment #13, you are the winner of the book!
- 2 pounds (~900 g) jalapeno jack cheese, grated, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 (12-ounce/355 ml) bottles of beer, preferably Mexican (Corona is good.)
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional if you want a milder sauce)
- 1/3 cup (78 ml) tequila
- DUNKERS
- tortilla chips
- pita chips
- celery sticks
- pepper strips
- Grate the cheese into the large bowl, then toss with the cornstarch. Set aside.
- Stir the beer, garlic, and cayenne pepper in the pot over medium heat until the beer is heated and bubbles around the edges.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the cheese 1/2 cup at a time, allowing it to melt completely between each addition. Lightly stir each time.
- When all the cheese is melted, add the tequila and stir. Cook for 1 minute longer.
- Transfer to the fondue pot and light the tea light. Serve immediately.
box grater
large bowl
6-quart pot
ceramic or cast iron fondue pot with a tea light (or electric or a miniature Crock Pot)
References
Other Fondue Recipes
KPDWife says
January 14, 2009 at 9:57 amYUM – This sounds delicious!
My favorite party dip would have to be a roasted red pepper hummus!
MyKitchenInHalfCups says
January 14, 2009 at 11:51 amThis is very much my kind of dip!
My favorite is a dip I used to make with our son, a sort of 9 layer Mexican dip with refried beans, salsa, quacamole and all the usual but then we mixed in broccoli floweretts.
Have to try this one.
Nicole says
January 14, 2009 at 1:03 pmI love a yummy artichoke dip
PArker says
January 14, 2009 at 1:08 pmLove bean dip
Dan says
January 14, 2009 at 1:08 pmthe spinach dip served in a bread bowl.
Carolyn G says
January 14, 2009 at 3:15 pmMY favorite fondue is a cheese one I make with gouda and cheddar. I use fresg garlic, beer, finely chopped onions and mustard powder. It sounds weird but is deliciious.
Chau says
January 14, 2009 at 5:05 pmwhite chocolate fondue ftw!
Jill Asher says
January 14, 2009 at 6:24 pmI love to sour cream with onion soup mix dip. Simple, yummy and I hope (fingers crossed), not too fattening!
Val says
January 14, 2009 at 6:46 pmI’ve only had fondue once but it was great. Swiss flavored cheeses with I think nutmeg sprinkled on top. We used pieces of a very rustic bread to dip. YUM! I could have eaten that for the whole meal, except my arteries would have closed up before we got out of the restaurant. Incredibly good.
toontz says
January 14, 2009 at 6:54 pmChocolate fondue, Cheese fondue, fried items, I love it all.
Melissa says
January 14, 2009 at 7:31 pmWe make this cheese fondue all the time that has a sharp cheese and dark beer. Its delish!
Kim says
January 14, 2009 at 8:44 pmWe’ve made a fondue for years – I grew up on it – probably explains a lot – that I love but it’s totally tacky. Have the usual basic ingredients – cheddar, monterey jack (sometimes peppered jack), swiss….whatever happens to be in the fridge…a splash of milk, a splash of wine or beer, Worcestershire sauce, maybe some Tabasco, some garlic, oregano, pepper, butter, powdered mustard…maybe some red pepper….a little tiny bit of nutmeg…and then the key ingredient….Velveeta. How sad is that? It’s just not right without the Velveeta. My husband can’t stand it….I make it everytime he goes out of town and have it for dinner. 🙂
Carol says
January 14, 2009 at 8:52 pmI love a good chocolate fondue.
Kristen says
January 14, 2009 at 10:49 pmYou know, I am constantly stirring my cheese fondue… so glad you posted these tips because that explains a lot of the problems I have with it!
I love cheesecake dipped in a milk chocolate fondue… white chocolate even better!
MaryAnne says
January 14, 2009 at 11:09 pmfor the life of me, I don’t know the name of the fondue, but when I was a kid, the ‘adults’ shared tastes of what they were having…it has swiss, some form of alcohol and big chunks of bread for dipping. I have looked at the different recipes online, but nothing to jar my memory. To this day, I still taste it! it was THAT good!!
ann says
January 15, 2009 at 2:19 ami have honestly never had fondue in my life… growing up i loved cheese and always wanted to try it but i never did… how sad is that!
Sam says
January 15, 2009 at 3:09 amI haven’t had fondue in years! We used to make it with Cheddar cheese and white wine, it was so good!
Sarah says
January 15, 2009 at 10:27 amMy favorite fondue is the beer cheddar fondue at The Fondue Room in Mt. Clemens Michigan. Eating here was my first true fondue experience with the fondue pots set into the tables. They also make a great chocolate fondue with a whole plate of desserts!
Angie says
January 15, 2009 at 10:32 amMy favorite fondue is chocolate-caramel fondue. I will eat, with gusto, ANY food dipped in this!
I also really like a sort of smoky cheese fondue at a local restaurant, but I don’t know how to replicate that.
mindy says
January 15, 2009 at 12:13 pmchocolate fondue to use with fresh cut up fruit you cant get any better than that thanks for the giveaway
Keely says
January 15, 2009 at 2:02 pmI love chocolate fondue. And my DH occasionally requests my cheesy salsa dip, which I leave out in the fondue pot during gatherings.
I’m definitely going to try this jalapeno recipe as it sounds like a better version of my cheesy salsa dip.
Lisa says
January 15, 2009 at 3:15 pmI love cheese fondue but can’t turn down chocolate fondue with fruit to dip either. I guess its a tie.
Chris says
January 15, 2009 at 5:05 pmChocolate is by far my favorite. Thanks for the contest.
Jo says
January 15, 2009 at 5:53 pmI love chocolate fondue!
Arianna says
January 15, 2009 at 6:37 pmYum! Every summer my friends and I get together for a lake house weekend to party. relax, swim and we always have fondue!
chris swan says
January 15, 2009 at 7:46 pmCheese fondue from a place Melting Pot is wonderful. I never made it at home so would love to try.
Dawn Yates says
January 15, 2009 at 10:27 pmI’ve never actually tried fondue, but my two favorite foods are chocolate and cheese!
Andrea says
January 16, 2009 at 7:01 amThanks to everyone who entered the giveaway! The contest is now closed. Please check back in the next day or so for the announcement of the winner.
Carla says
January 17, 2009 at 3:31 pmI used to go to the melting pot and their fondues are awesome…I would love to learn how to make my own so I can become my own party chef