The Cheese Lady
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Letter #1-2009
OPEN
808 Terrace Street
Downtown Muskegon
Tues - Fri 10 - 6
Saturday 9 - 4
or call 231-728-3000
_
It's a new year and the changes have kept us hopping.
On the family front, Nate, our older son,
(who is looking for a job in Chicago, by the way,
he was selling for AVnet to GE Medical for 5+ years)
was here for over a week in December.
He helped us catch up on our technical stuff, make deliveries
and on December 20, his 33rd birthday,
he and his dad helped Todd, our younger son,
his wife, Sarah, and our much talked about grandaughter, Elle,
move into our downstairs apartment.
And it was a real storm that weekend!!!
At Christmas, Kelly, Nate's fiance' came in town.
We all wore our matching 'jamas and hung out.
Elle and Mia are new friends
The Cheese Lady shop is going great!
We could not succeed without all of you!
Thank you for watching us grow over this past year
and thank you to all those who've decided
cheese is the thing to serve, a lot.
We are looking forward to 2009
with great enthusiasm.
New products. New ideas.
Old friends.
CHEESE * CHEESE * CHEESE
Don't let us loose focus . . . we are a cheese shop first !
So what is your favorite cheese?
And what is your favorite recipe?
Please share the info, if you like.
I will pass it on.
I have to tell you anything warm and melty
is my favorite right now.
When did you last try fondue?
The following is traditional but there are hundreds of variations.
I have the grated mix for the traditional at the store.
Traditional Cheese Fondue Recipe
INGREDIENTS
½ lb grated Gruyere cheese (rind removed)
1/2 lb grated Emmentaler cheese (rind removed)
1 clove garlic
1 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon kirsch (optional)
pepper and nutmeg to taste
DIRECTIONS
Don’t
use a cheap cooking wine for fondue (or for anything else for that
matter).
Instead use a decent Sauvignon Blanc, California Riesling, Chenin Blanc, or Swiss Fendant.
I use apple cider or apple juice.
As
you add the handful of cheeses to the simmering wine, stir in a zig-zag
or figure-eight motion
to help break up the cheese and blend ingredients.
The
hard crust left at the bottom of the pot is called “la courte” or “la
religuese”,
and is considered a delicacy. Pry it out and serve pieces of it to your guests.
Avoid
mixing water into fondue.
If the fondue is too thick, add more dry white wine.
If it is too thin, more cornstarch and cheese.
Keep the heat as low as possible so the cheese doesn’t become rubbery.
Fondue
recipes
don’t double very well.
If you need more fondue, it is best to make it in another pot.
Wondering
what to drink with your fondue creation?
Try more of the wine you used in the recipe. If you want more of a full-bodied wine,
Bordeaux, California Merlot, Chianti, and Cabernet Sauvignon work nicely.
Hot black tea, hard cider, and beer also deserve mention.
More
than 6 people
at one fondue pot is usually a disaster.
Ideally, there should be 4 people at one fondue pot.
Take care.
See you soon.
Kathleen
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Letter #1-2009
OPEN
808 Terrace Street
Downtown Muskegon
Tues - Fri 10 - 6
Saturday 9 - 4
or call 231-728-3000
_
It's a new year and the changes have kept us hopping.
On the family front, Nate, our older son,
(who is looking for a job in Chicago, by the way,
he was selling for AVnet to GE Medical for 5+ years)
was here for over a week in December.
He helped us catch up on our technical stuff, make deliveries
and on December 20, his 33rd birthday,
he and his dad helped Todd, our younger son,
his wife, Sarah, and our much talked about grandaughter, Elle,
move into our downstairs apartment.
And it was a real storm that weekend!!!
At Christmas, Kelly, Nate's fiance' came in town.
We all wore our matching 'jamas and hung out.
Elle and Mia are new friends
The Cheese Lady shop is going great!
We could not succeed without all of you!
Thank you for watching us grow over this past year
and thank you to all those who've decided
cheese is the thing to serve, a lot.
We are looking forward to 2009
with great enthusiasm.
New products. New ideas.
Old friends.
CHEESE * CHEESE * CHEESE
Don't let us loose focus . . . we are a cheese shop first !
So what is your favorite cheese?
And what is your favorite recipe?
Please share the info, if you like.
I will pass it on.
I have to tell you anything warm and melty
is my favorite right now.
When did you last try fondue?
The following is traditional but there are hundreds of variations.
I have the grated mix for the traditional at the store.
Traditional Cheese Fondue Recipe
INGREDIENTS
½ lb grated Gruyere cheese (rind removed)
1/2 lb grated Emmentaler cheese (rind removed)
1 clove garlic
1 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon kirsch (optional)
pepper and nutmeg to taste
DIRECTIONS
1.
Rub the inside of a medium saucepan with the peeled garlic clove.
Throw away the garlic.
Add the wine and lemon juice and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Throw away the garlic.
Add the wine and lemon juice and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the Gruyere and Emmentaler cheese with the cornstarch and toss.
Stir the cheese mixture into the wine one small handful at a time.
Make sure each handful is completely melted before adding another
The fondue can bubble a bit, but don't let it boil.
Season with the nutmeg and pepper. Stir in kirsch (optional).
3. Transfer to a cheese fondue pot and keep warm with burner. Serve right away.
What
to Dip
- Crusty cubes of French or Italian bread (leave a piece of crust on each cube)
- Rye or sourdough bread cubes
- Cooked chicken (bite sized cubes with skin and bone removed)
- Cooked ham (bite sized cubes)
- Sausage (garlic sausage is a great choice)
- Potatoes (roasted or boiled, baby potatoes work best)
- Asparagus spears
- Broccoli florets (boil for two minutes)
- Cauliflower florets (boil for two minutes)
- Peppers
- Granny smith apple slices
Don’t
use a cheap cooking wine for fondue (or for anything else for that
matter). Instead use a decent Sauvignon Blanc, California Riesling, Chenin Blanc, or Swiss Fendant.
I use apple cider or apple juice.
As
you add the handful of cheeses to the simmering wine, stir in a zig-zag
or figure-eight motion to help break up the cheese and blend ingredients.
The
hard crust left at the bottom of the pot is called “la courte” or “la
religuese”, and is considered a delicacy. Pry it out and serve pieces of it to your guests.
Avoid
mixing water into fondue.If the fondue is too thick, add more dry white wine.
If it is too thin, more cornstarch and cheese.
Keep the heat as low as possible so the cheese doesn’t become rubbery.
Fondue
recipes
don’t double very well.If you need more fondue, it is best to make it in another pot.
Wondering
what to drink with your fondue creation? Try more of the wine you used in the recipe. If you want more of a full-bodied wine,
Bordeaux, California Merlot, Chianti, and Cabernet Sauvignon work nicely.
Hot black tea, hard cider, and beer also deserve mention.
More
than 6 people
at one fondue pot is usually a disaster.Ideally, there should be 4 people at one fondue pot.
Take care.
See you soon.
Kathleen