Alright, confession time. Growing up, cheese fondue was my absolute favorite meal. Now, in elementary school, we'd sometimes have these assignments where we filled out worksheets. Sometimes these worksheets would ask you to write your favorite food. Without exception, when presented with this question, I knew in my head what to write: cheese fondue. But, tragically, when I was really young I didn't know how to spell cheese fondue. Looking back, I'm not sure where I got tripped up. It's not a hard word. Perhaps there was some question about whether there was an "e" on the end. 

So, when presented with this question, rather than write cheese fondue, I would write pizza. Hey, it's cheese and bread. And I like pizza. So I wrote pizza. 

Well, now with the benefit of spellcheck, let me say for the record: cheese fondue is awesome. What's not to like? It's a mixture of white wine, cheese, and garlic. You dip crusty bread into it. You can also dip vegetables. It's a GIANT POT OF MELTED CHEESE. 

So, today's recipe is for cheese fondue. It's simple and delicious. And truly, it's not that hard to spell. 

I feel like this might be obvious, but it's worth mentioning: splurge for some really good cheese here. I like to use a nice Emmental or Gruyere. It's sometimes nice to mix the two.

Cheese Fondue

First things first. Get out the cheese and cut it up into pieces. 

Cut it into really small pieces. Or, if you have a food processor, give it a quick whirl. It'll melt better if it's in smaller pieces. 

Measure out 1 cup of white wine. Set aside.

Also, set aside the kirsch and mix in cornstarch. 

Meanwhile, over medium heat, add the wine and garlic cloves. Bring to a gentle simmer.

Slowly add the cheese into the simmering liquid. Adding the cheese gradually allows it to melt evenly, encouraging a smooth fondue. 

Once smooth, stir in the kirsch-cornstarch mixture. Bring to a gentle simmer to allow the cornstarch to work its magic. 

Almost done!

Get some nice crusty French bread and briefly heat it in the oven.

Cut into bit-size pieces. 

Done! If you have a fondue set, it's fairly easy to keep the fondue hot at the table. If you don't have one, it might be necessary to reheat the fondue if it sits on the table for long. Although, I can't see it lasting that long. 

Dip and enjoy!

And don't forget the best part of fondue: the crusty burnt cheese at the bottom. Try not to fight over it. 

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound imported Swiss (Emmental) cheese

1/2 pound Gruyere cheese

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon cherry brandy, such as kirsch

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1 cup dry white wine

2 baguettes of French bread, or other crusty bread

SERVES 4-6