Tomato Cheddar Fondue
"Without community, there is no liberation."--Audre Lourde
Nothing says community like eight fondue forks crowded around a bubbling pot. I'll talk about the (delicious! easy!) recipe in a minute, but it feels sort of coincidental today.
I was with my community this morning. We celebrate MLK Day like some churches celebrate Easter or Christmas. Angela delivers her most rousing sermon of the year. We sing "We Shall Overcome" as many times as we'll tolerate. We have readings from Desmond Tutu, Mahatma Gandhi, The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., and Audre Lourde. This year, we focused on Haiti, how Dr. King's vision demands that we take care of our brothers and sisters there. Our little church raised thousands of dollars for Partners in Health this morning, and there wasn't a dry eye in the place.
I thought about not going. Yancey's working, and sometimes taking two kids to church alone is a nightmare (I can hear an "Amen!" from all you single parents out there). I've felt tired all weekend--tired from work; tired from my rare insomnia. So I almost gave up on the whole church thing when Loretta refused to put her shoes and coat on. She had three time-outs before 9:30 a.m. Finally, I picked her up like a sack of potatoes, buckled her in, and threw her coat and shoes in after her. Not a mountaintop moment, Dr. King.
Once there, though, Loretta happily settled in with more loving adults, I knew how horrible it would have been to be alone at the end of a week like this. I must have cried for 90 minutes straight. The last couple years, MLK Day has really undone me. Yes, I'm crying for all the injustice that's still rampant in our world. But I've also found myself totally bereft at the loss of the man himself. I wish he was still alive. I wish he was still inciting us to action; campaigning against the triple evils of racism, militarism, and materialism. I suppose it's up to us now. And here I am, making fondue.
My sister and her family came over for dinner tonight. I made the traditional cheese fondue (Gruyere, white wine), but it's this one I keep thinking about. Not temperamental at all, a flavor so comforting you want to take the bowl into your room, hide from your children, and read People magazine. And it's just canned tomatoes (the superhero of non-perishables), regular ol' medium cheddar, a bit of white wine.
Happy Martin Luther King Day, friends.
Cheddar Tomato Fondue
Serves four (if you're nice to each other). Taken straight out of my new Gourmet Today cookbook (you know--that light green all of you should own). I suppose you could try this with a sharper (more expensive) cheddar, but I really don't think you need to. The wine, tomatoes, and garlic are enough to make it seem much more extravagant than it actually is. And there are so many other things you can dip--blanched broccoli, roasted cauliflower, boiled little new potatoes.
2/3 cup finely chopped drained canned tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons dry white wine
1 tablespoon cornstarch
12 oz Cheddar, coarsely grated (3 cups)
Accompaniment: cubes of French bread
Cook tomatoes and garlic in butter in a 4-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid is evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir together wine and cornstarch in a small bowl, then stir into tomatoes and simmer gently, stirring, 1 minute. Discard garlic. Add Cheddar by handfuls, stirring until completely melted. Serve in a fondue pot set over a flame.
January 18, 2010
Reader Comments (25)
Mmmm, fondue.
Tip for fondue-ers out there... Toss your grated cheese in a bag with cornstarch to coat. It'll keep the cheese from separating in the pan. I recently tried using flour instead of cornstarch and it didn't work.
i particularly love that photo sarah; simple yet bold. thank you also for the recipe + reflection. met karl for brunch at egg today; next time you're out i think we need to make that restaurant happen. i'm pretty sure you'll love it as much as i do.
That photo is amazing, isn't it?
ooooh, scrumptious!
M
You've given me the recipe I needed to use my brand new (ahem, brand new to me 5 years ago) but only used once with bad results fondue pot. Thanks Sarah! I'm a friend of Bethanys...my twin boys adore their preschool playmate Pippa...and I've followed your blog since Bethany sent me to the Blasted Broccoli Bowl last year. I come for the recipe inspirations and leave with so much more. You are not only a gifted cook, but a fabulous writer to boot. I've dragged my three kids to church alone for years and it is like exercising...it may take all you have to get going, but once you are in the middle of that great workout (or the church spirit is filling you up) you can hardly believe that you almost missed it. I so appreciate each heartfelt post I read and each recipe that makes me look like I can really cook :). Your blog touches more people than you think - thanks Sarah!
I don't know when I'll get a chance to try the recipe, although I want to, but thank you for your reflection on Dr. King.
Thank you for another heartfelt post, Sarah. I was in college when both MLK and Bobby Kennedy were killed, excruciating times. Truly an era of disbelief. I do have to comment on the fondue as well because I love the idea of sneaking off with this and reading, in my case, A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN for the 100th time. Here's to winter and the blessings that come with this season!
Pam, I love that book. But I've only read it twice. You have me beat by a mile.
Hi Andrew! So nice to see your name here.
Hi Melissa! I'm so happy to hear of your connection to me through Bethany and Pippa. Thank you for following along.
I love your metaphor--going to church is like working out. Very true.
I want to go to your church! Sounds great. Lovely post, and sometimes there's nothing better than a good cry, right?
To clarify--I actually haven't read the book 100 times, but it is one of my favorite "go to" books. Francie Nolan would have loved your blog and would have derived great strength from your optimistic nature!
In light of your reflection on this day, I will think of this as Everyman's Fondue (I really like the notion of eating a bowl of it sans kids with a copy of People). When I will make it, I'll think of those who extend the goodness to everyman.
Sarah, your depth of feeling is rare during times like these - both relating to Dr. MLK and Haiti - and some days I just thank God that people like you exist. My aunt is a carbon copy of you; I swear, an email from her would be just like your post! I think I'm too young to fully grasp the significance of MLK; it seems like my generation (I'm 26) has truly moved beyond racism - or so we hope.
Oh - and the fondue looks KILLER! I'm going out to buy some cheddar tomorrow.... Do you think vermouth is a horrible substitute for white wine here? Maybe 2 Tbsp instead?
Katherine, I encourage you to consider that while great progress has been made against overt racism, there are deeply-rooted, sinister effects that remain entrenched throughout our communities. I am an adoptive white mother to two black sons, so this has become an intimate part of my daily life. We're not there yet, and I fear we risk harm by believing we've come farther than we have.
I'm 35 now; and honestly I may have shared a very similar perspective to yours when I was 26. I share this nugget of thought with you, because others were willing to share it with me -- and what I learned by listening to them has changed my life in big ways.
Let us all continue to hope for the best!
... and everything's a little better with cheddar, right? Especially if it's melted. Yum.
I just took a college class on racism with mostly 18-22 year olds. I can assure you that racism is definitely alive and well in younger generations. Choosing to think that we are in a "post-racist" society simply means that we have covered our lives with a layer of P.C., but all of the underlying problems are still there.
p.s. We happen to have everything in the house to make this. Hmmm....
Hummmm...sounds great. Delicious picture. I'm writing from Brazil, and this means it's summer down here. No time for fondue, specially under an 100 oF sun. Will keep the recipe for the next winter though.
Oh man so bummed we missed out on that time together. We got yet another flat tire and couldn't make it and I have to say I probably would have been crying right alongside you for the weeks we have had getting here. It is easy to feel self pity until you are reminded by the help of others that your plight in life isn't all that bad.
This recipe looks so yummy. I love fondue and have always wanted to have a fondue party, this motivated me round up some other pots and go for it!!
Ooo, I can feel this one. And I'm tearing up because I really wanted to be with one of my new communities on Sunday at Madrona and in that Garfield gym with an annual community on Monday. Alas, my leg was up and I was listening to Rev. Dr. King on the radio. Not the same, but that's where I was so I'm really loving your reflection today and feeling it. Thanks, sister.
Love you.
hey melissa!!!!!! i love seeing you here since i don't see you in real-life as much as i would like. so glad you are finding inspiration here as well. xox
love all of it. thanks for sharing your service with us...i hope you know how lucky you are to be able to attend such a church and be in such a community. and this fondue looks positively sinful. i think i have all the ingredients.....
This looks yummy! I plan on building community by inviting people over for it :-)
Your paragraph about throwing the kids into the car reminded me of Anne Lamott's essay "Why I Make Sam Go to Church" [in Traveling Mercies], in which she explains that she makes her son go to church because she outweighs him by 75 pounds. Good enough, I think.
Sarah, I've made a recipe like this for year's except I call it hamburger fondue. I like your meatless one. It is one of my daughter's favorites and she will be happy with this because she gave up meat for Lent! I'm going to try this tonite.
Last week I was so tyred when I came back home from work that I didn´t want to do anything, so I tryed this recipe I had seem in your website few days ago, I used Spanish cheese as it was the only I had, and it was delicious, why don´t you have a look at this website, I think you´ll find it really interesting.
Thanks for your website, It really helps me sometimes
http://www.asturiascheese.com/spanish-cheese