Cheese Fondue

Updated on 11 April 2021

Ahh, for the love of cheese!  I could eat cheese fondue far too often (and probably do lol).  This recipe is what I came up with based on recipes I've read, my experimentation and modification of it over time, and cheeses commonly available near me.  As such, I don't measure some of the ingredients. To get an idea of how much I use, check out my YouTube video here:

https://youtu.be/yXTxGKkYTLM

This cheese fondue is in the style of Swiss fondue, but I use this combination of cheeses:

The one on the top left is Gruyère (Swiss/French); below that is Jarlsberg (Norwegian), and on the right is Comté (French).  I used to use Emmental (instead of Jarlsberg), but stopped because it was harder to come by and more expensive.

Ingredients:

6 1/2 oz. Jarlsberg cheese

5 1/4 oz. Gruyère cheese

4 oz. Comté cheese

all-purpose flour (or cornstarch)

1 1/2 c. Chardonnay or other dry white wine
bottled minced garlic
Kirschwasser
lemon juice
pepper
nutmeg
bread (baguette or other hard-crusted), cut into pieces or cubes

any other dippers desired (apples, etc)

special equipment: fondue pot

Directions:

1. Shred all the cheeses together (I use and recommend using a food processor with shred blade) into same bowl. Sprinkle with a small amount of flour, work in by hand, then repeat a couple of times until cheese no longer sticks together as much (again, see the video for a better explanation). 

2. Add the Chardonnay to the fondue pot and minced garlic, to taste (I go a bit heavy). Turn the pot on to a low setting, just enough to get the mixture to rapidly simmer for a couple of minutes. (On my current fondue pot (Rival brand), I have to set it to 200°F. The one shown in these pix is our old one.)

3. Begin adding cheese a small handful at a time, mixing after each addition.  At first it will look like this:

After a few more handfuls, it should look more like this:

4. Add a small splash of the Kirschwasser and a squeeze of lemon juice (I typically use bottled lemon juice, but have used fresh as well).  Continue adding cheese handfuls until the mixture clings a bit to the utensil, but drips/melts off slowly (you may end up with a little unused shredded cheese or you may have to shred and add more).

5. Add pepper, to taste:

Followed by nutmeg, to taste:

6. Stir to combine and it should look something like this:

7. Serve with bread and enjoy!!

Alouettes Sans Têtes

First off, I must tell you that the title of this recipe is not literal, I am not cooking headless larks/birds! I found this recipe in a book I bought at Borders (miss that store!) years ago called "France: The Beautiful Cookbook". It can be found on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/France-Beautiful-Cookbook-Authentic-Recipes/dp/0002154129 and really lives up to its name.  It's the size of a coffee table style book, though, so I wouldn't call it a practical item for regular kitchen use. Still, it is completely worth the countertop space it hogs.
I hadn't made this in quite a while, as it is a bit time-consuming--consider yourself warned. According to the book, the name is because "the shape of these little meat rolls is reminiscent of tiny birds with the heads removed". A bit creepy, I admit; best to just not worry about the translation and enjoy the dish ;)  

Link to my YouTube "making of the recipe" video: https://youtu.be/qerdyzAYoXo

Here is the recipe with my modifications (only very slight ones).

Ingredients:

3 lb of rump steak (I actually used some that was a different cut, pre-sliced for braciole (similar Italian dish)
3/4 lb sliced prosciutto
2 slices of soft white bread, crusts removed
1 tsp bottled minced garlic
4 T. chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
6 pinches freshly grated nutmeg
coarse ground pepper
olive oil
1 T. butter
3 oz. baby carrots, chopped
5 oz onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3/4 c. red wine (I used a St. Emilion, but this is just because someone gifted me a bottle; I recommend a nice Côtes du Rhône or Merlot)
2 large cans tomato purée
4 oz. tomato sauce
salt
1/2 tsp. sugar

Directions:

1. If you do not buy the meat pre-sliced, you will need to slice it thinly enough so that it will easily roll up (about 1/4 in thick or slightly more).

2. Tear the bread up into small pieces and place pieces in food processor.  Grind the bread to crumbs.

3. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, and nutmeg. Season with pepper as desired.

4. Form the rolls by laying a slice of meat flat, then add a layer of sliced prosciutto (depending on thickness, may need to double layer), and then spread a small portion of the bread crumb mixture on top of the prosciutto.  It should look something like this:

5. Roll up the meat, starting with the small end (if one is smaller than other).  Secure the roll by tying with kitchen twine, as pictured here (double knots are not necessary; I went to single ones after this):

6. Heat a few Tablespoons of olive oil in a 6 qt/deep pot, medium to medium high heat.  Sear the rolls on all sides in batches, looking something like this:

Place all the seared rolls aside:

7. Add the butter to the pot and let it melt. Stir in the carrots, onions, and celery; cover, lower heat to med-low and cook until veggies are very soft but not browned (about 10 minutes).

8. Return the beef rolls to the pot and pour the wine over; turn up heat to med-high and boil for 15 minutes:

9. Transfer contents of pot to slow cooker (or leave on stove, if preferred) and set to low heat. Add tomato purée and sauce over rolls, then add sugar. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

10. Cook for 3 hours (or longer). When ready to serve, if a thicker sauce is desired, remove the rolls and boil for around 10 minutes.
My sauce was plenty thick enough for my taste:

If I were serving this for guests, I would cut the twine off before dipping up to serve.  Since it was just for my family, we cut them off as we ate :)

Skillet Fried Chicken

I don't make too many deep fried foods, and certainly not too many that are as quintessentially American as this one: fried chicken.  Like most of my beginning posts, I've made this recipe many times now.  Here is a link to the original recipe: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/skillet-fried-chicken

I follow the beginning part exactly with the seasonings and amounts.  This is what the rub looks like after whisking together:

Since I do not enjoy cutting up a whole chicken and frying the larger pieces has not worked as well for me in the past, I opted to use 3 1/3 lb. of chicken drumsticks instead.  Here they are after applying the seasoning/rub:

I've done the overnight refrigeration a couple of times and honestly, I don't think it really changes the flavor enough to bother with it.  Thus, I typically skip that step and just leave the chicken out at room temp for a half hour to hour before proceeding.  This time, I had to leave for a while, so I did refrigerate it for a couple of hours; however, I neglected to leave it out at room temp when I returned.  The consequence?  It takes longer to fry and get to the correct internal temp.  Already a time consuming process (the frying), I advise you don't skip the room temp step.

The other modification I do is to the amount of flour mixture I prepare--I only prepare half of what is written, which means using 1 1/2 c. flour and 1/2 T. each of cornstarch, Kosher salt, and pepper (I use coarse ground).
For the frying, I use my wonderful cast iron skillet.  When heating the oil, be sure to monitor the temperature with a deep fry or candy thermometer.  Because the chicken causes the temperature to dip when it first goes into fry, I start with the temperature closer to 350° F instead of the 300-325° in the recipe.  I find that it fries quite well between 325-350°.  One other caution is to be sure not to crowd the pan with too many pieces--they will not fry evenly and will take even longer.  Here is what my pan looked like as I put some in:

  I added only one more piece after this picture, for a total of 5 in the pan (like suggested in the recipe).  I didn't time it, but I know it takes around 15 minutes or more to reach the internal temp of 165°--and yes, I use a meat thermometer to verify.  Speaking of which, be careful when doing so; piercing the fried skin and meat sometimes results in the oil popping (it is not pleasant to get "bit" by the hot oil, I assure you!).  As expected, the frying does make the stove quite messy; I suppose I should use a splatter screen, but I tend to forget that for some reason!

For ease of cleanup, I suggest lining a cookie sheet with a paper towel and putting the cooling racks  in it.  And here is the end result...mmm tasty!!

Death By Cheese Manicotti

I've been making this dish for quite a few years now and love it every time.  It's quite easy and doesn't require any difficult prep.  I created the recipe based on some others I had found and combined.  For the ingredients, I have used different brands of all of them, and it seems to hold up regardless.  What I list here is what I used this most recent time:

1 box (14) Barilla manicotti shells
8 oz. Essential Everyday Six Cheese shredded cheese blend
8 oz. Sargento 6 Cheese shredded cheese blend
15 oz. Meijer brand part skim ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (not sure of brand) cheese (I usually use shredded Parmesan)
1 T. minced bottled garlic
1 egg
2 T. Italian seasoning
1 jar (26 oz, I think) of Essential Everyday Three Cheese Pasta Sauce
1 jar (26 oz, I htink) of Prego Three Cheese Pasta Sauce

(The variety of the sauces and cheeses is due to what I had on hand to use up :))

Directions:
1. Cook manicotti shells according to package directions.
2. Heat oven to 350° F.
3. In a small bowl, mix 1 1/2 packages of the shredded cheeses, ricotta, 1/2 c. of the Parmesan, garlic, egg, and Italian seasoning.  Here is what mine looked like after mixing:

4. Spread enough sauce (about 2 cups) in a glass 9x13 baking dish to cover the bottom:

5. Stuff the manicotti shells with the mixture from step 3 and line up in pan:

I usually do not have enough mix to stuff all 14 shells.  Depending on how much I stuff in each one, I tend to come out with 12 or 13.  This time was 13 and looked like this:

6. Cover the shells with the remaining sauce and top with the other 1/2 c. of parmesan:

7. Bake for 15 min, then remove from oven and top with the remaining 1/2 package of cheese blend:

8. Bake for 10 more minutes and hopefully it will look something like this:

Now it's time to enjoy:

Braised Chicken Thighs with Carrots, Potatoes, and Thyme

Entry updated on 13 Jan 2024 (original post date was Jan 2015).

I made this on a weeknight where I wanted something that wouldn't be too time consuming. I had made it before and thought it would be a great dish to kick off the blog with! 9 years later, now I have my own YouTube channel :D My goal for 2024 (and after) is to cook lots of these older blogged recipes and update the entries.

Link to my YouTube "making of the recipe" video: https://youtu.be/74yBW6Zj8Yw

Original recipe credit: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/braised-chicken-thighs-carrots.html

Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, fat trimmed off
Kosher salt
coarse ground pepper
paprika
2 T. olive oil
1 red onion, chopped (I used food processor)
1 lb. small/baby red potatoes, quartered
6 medium carrots, peeled and cut in 1 to 1 1/2" chunks
1 T. plus 1 tsp. all-purpose flour
1 1/3 c. reduced sodium chicken broth
1/3 c. dry white wine (for this recipe, preference is Vouvray)
1 1/2 T. minced fresh thyme

Directions:

1. In a large, heavy skillet, heat olive oil over med-high heat. Season the chicken thighs all over with Kosher salt, pepper, and paprika. Brown thighs in the olive oil for 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

2. Add the chopped red onion to the pan, stir to coat in the oil.

3. Add the carrots and potatoes, stir to coat in the oil. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to brown (around 5 min.)

4. Sprinkle the flour atop the veggies and stir to coat, then carefully add the chicken broth and wine to the pan. Return chicken to pan. Bring liquid to boil (if it not already).

5. Cover pan, lower heat to med-low, and let braise for 25 min.

6. Stir in the thyme and let cook for 2-3 more minutes.

7. Remove from heat, serve, and enjoy!

Welcome to my cooking blog :)

Hello, dear reader!  Welcome to my cooking blog--my name is Michelle and the title of this blog, "Dans la Cuisine de Michelle" is French for "In Michelle's Kitchen".

Background: I've loved to cook since I was little and used to help my mom in the kitchen.  I took some cooking classes in junior high and high school, plus learned quite a bit on my own.  When I became a high school French teacher, as part of the cultural component of the curriculum, I would have my students actually cook French food in the classroom.

Why this blog?: Since cooking is such a passion of mine and I have benefitted from cooking blogs of others, I wanted to start sharing my experiences as well.  I have been wanting to do this for a couple of years, thus I am quite excited to finally get it going!

About my style: I am not a professionally trained cook, nor am I one that keeps the kitchen in pristine order while doing so.  My pictures are not going to be professional ones by any means; I want this to be a blog that shows my authentic experiences in my kitchen.  Although I do enjoy cooking a variety of cuisines, French and Italian do tend to dominate, as you will see.

Enough about me, let's get something on the stove already!