the Friday Feeding; VOL. 71

It’s a big week-end here in Canterbury.  While you are out stomping around sugar houses, stop on by the store for some good eats.  Corned beef sandwiches, potato maple whisky chowder, maple mud pie and a plethora of maple products.

From 1:00 to 3:00 on Saturday, Citizen Cider is pouring samples and our cheese monger Christian is sampling cheeses from Boggy Meadow Farm in Walpole, NH.  I’ve also developed a recipe for fondue using both of those products.  Sample some and see the recipe at the end of this post.

Maple Cider Fondue

Melty and pourable, fondue is a fun way to enjoy cheese outside of a platter.  We like nachos chips with cheese poured on it…the Alpine region of Europe invented this dish years ago to pour over crusty breads and pickled foods.  

And like nacho cheese has a liquid ingredient (tomato juice), Fondue contains a liquid too.  Wine is the traditional ingredient but here I used hard cider lending a slight apple taste followed with a smidge of maple to capture the season. Serve with apples and crusty bread for dipping.

Place in a sauce pan:

• a 16oz. can of Wits End Citizen Cider. This is a dry cider that is closer to a white wine that is traditional in a fondue.
• 1 crushed garlic clove

Add and whisk in:

• 2T cornstarch

Turn heat to medium/low and whisk cornstarch in. Continue whisking until the cider is bubbling and it thickens and becomes clear. Remove the garlic clove.

Reduce heat to low and Immediately add:

• 1lb grated Boggy Meadow Baby Swiss cheese
• 1/8 tsp maple extract

Continue whisking until the cheese melts and the mixture is smooth. Keep warm to serve with in the top of a fondue pot or double boiler with hot water below. Or in a bowl nestled into a large bowl that contains hot water.

This recipe serves 6-8 but can easily be halved.

• 1/2 can (1 cup) of cider
• 1/2 clove of garlic
• one 8oz block of cheese
• 1/16 tsp maple extract.

See you round the store,

Jane and Dave

click here to see this weeks specials menu