Point Reyes Blue Cheese & Oatmeal Stout Fondue
When was the last time you had Fondue?
Why has it been so long. It has cooking nostalga all over it! Think back, way back, when civilization sat around the hearth or fire ring, to cook. Fondue has fire, resulting in hot oil, used to cook bite size pieces of meat and vegetables, to increase their surface area and quicken the cooking time. A cauldron of liquid cheese, to dip your breads, vegetables and meats into, as a sauce, oozing over the crafted bite you created and about to bring to your lips to savor and enjoy.
This recipe brings two cheeses that pair very nicely together, blue cheese and stout. I chose an oatmeal stout, as the extra creaminess that encompasses the texture of this brew, adds a silkiness to the sauce, with the melted cheese and
Ingredients
Point Reyes Blue Cheese and Oatmeal Stout Fondue Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoon butter, unsalted
- 1 each shallot peeled and minced
- 1 tablespoon thyme leaves, fresh
- 1 cup Oatmeal Stout, such as Firestone Walker Velvet MerlinFirestone Walker Velvet Merlin or Anderson Valley Oatmeal Stout
- 1 cup cream, heavy
- 12 ounce Point Reyes Original Blue, crumbled more cheese info here
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 8 ounce cream cheese
- 3/4 teaspoon Black Pepper cracked fresh
Fondue Serving Ingredients:
- 2 each hanger steaks, cooked sous vide to 133°F/56.1°C for 1 hour, or medium rare
- 6 each mushrooms, crimini, quartered
- 6 each figs, fresh or dried
- 2 each fennel sliced and caramelized
- 2 each Belgian endive
- 2 each bread loaves, with walnut and/or dried apricot, cubed
Servings: guests
Units:
Instructions
- In a medium sized pot, over medium heat, add the butter and lightly brown it. Add the shallots and sauté until caramelized, about 8 minutes. Add the thyme and deglaze the pan with stout and pour in the cream, warming to almost a simmer. In a bowl, toss the crumbled blue with cornstarch. Whisk in the blue and cream cheeses into the hot beer cream mixture, mixing until smooth. Season with the black pepper and pour into a fondue pot or smaller ramekins with candle warmers. Prepare the fondue dipping ingredients by slicing, cubing and arranging onto a serving platter. Get the fondue forks ready and serve. Disco playlist optional.
Recipe Notes
Other Beer Cheese Sauce | Fondue Tips:
- A wonderful loaf of sourdough bread is a great accompaniment to any fondue. Try different local or homemade breads to further individualize the meal.
- Blanching vegetables makes them easier to skewer and sometimes more tasty. Take a large 10 - 12 quart pot of water adding in a 1/4 - 1/2 a cup of salt (water should taste like seawater) and bring to a boil. Cook each prepped vegetable separately for 2 - 3 minutes, then remove from the pot and add to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.
- Vegetables that benefit from blanching: cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, green beans and asparagus.
- But I don't have a fondue pot, don’t worry. Try a heavy-bottom pot, double boiler or a ceramic baking dish like a soufflé dish.
- If the cheese is not melting smoothly, add a few drops of lemon juice or malt vinegar to help break down the cheese protein.
- Not enough fondue fork | skewers, use bamboo skewers are a substitute.
- If the fondue is too thick, add more beer, one tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
- Keep the fondue over low heat, if using Sterno Cooking Fuel
or portable Butane stove
. Too high of a temperature can scorch the fondue.
- If using flame heat at the table, be prepared in case of a spill and have a fire extinguisher on hand.
or 
. Too high of a temperature can scorch the fondue.Other Beer Cheese Sauce| Fondue Recipes:
Beer Cheese Sauce
Chocolate Cherry Fondue
Chocolate Stout Fondue
Dungeness Crab Fondue
German Beer Cheese Sauce
Goat Cheese Fondue with Chanterelle Mushrooms and Gueuze
Hot Oil Fondue
Point Reyes Blue Cheese & Oatmeal Stout Fondue
Sanctification Fondue
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