Lager, Gruyère & Emmental Fondue

Directions

1. 1. In a medium saucepan, stir together lager, mustard, and cayenne (if using) until blended. Add garlic and bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk in cream cheese until smooth.
2. 2. One handful at a time, stir in Gruyère and Emmental until melted and smooth.
3. 3. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking often to prevent cheese from sticking and burning on bottom of pan, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, pepper and nutmeg.
4. 4. Pour mixture into a fondue pot set over a low flame (or an electric fondue pot on warm). Serve with breads, crackers, vegetables, fruit and/or pickles for dipping.

Tips

• The moisture content of cheeses can vary, so your fondue may come out a bit liquidy or stringy. But no worries! A handheld or countertop blender will fix that fast — simply whizz the finished mixture until smooth. The fondue is hot, so be safe: If you're using a countertop blender, don’t fill it more than half-full (you may need to do two batches), vent the lid so the steam can escape and start on the lowest speed. Return the smooth fondue to the saucepan and bring it back to a simmer before pouring it into the serving pot.
• If you’ve blended and simmered, and your fondue still isn’t as thick as you'd like, you can whisk in up to 1-1/2 tbsp (22.5 mL) all-purpose flour, 1-1/2 tsp (7.5 mL) at a time. Simmer, whisking occasionally, until flour is cooked, 3 to 5 minutes. Once you've reached the desired consistency, simmer for about 5 minutes more. Remove from heat and transfer to fondue pot.
• Serve the fondue with two or three bread or cracker options. Add some vegetables, such as roasted or blanched cauliflower, broccoli or carrots; boiled baby potatoes; and/or sautéed mushrooms. Raw sliced apples and pears, fresh grapes and dried fruit make wonderful sweet additions, while the tang of pickles and other briny offerings pairs well with the creamy cheeses. If you’re a meat eater, cubed ham is a tasty dipper too.