Here it is another New Year. WOW! 2020! Here is another opportunity to recap last year or write about the year to come. Not feeling either of those things this year. So, I thought I would start off the year with a recipe. Ooooo! Ending the year with a “recipe” and starting the year with a recipe. Sounds good to me, how about you? Does that sound good to you? Well, with this recipe comes a story. I can’t say exactly when, but I can say that I remember it, so I couldn’t have been so young that I don’t remember. My parents used to go out to dinner very infrequently. We didn’t always have money for things – my dad worked a type of construction so there wasn’t always work – so going out to dinner was a super special treat. When they went out to dinner one of their favorite places was a restaurant called The Bold Knight. Now, unless you are over 50, even if you live in the bay area you have not been to The Bold Knight I am talking about. Ya know, things change. But back in the day I am talking about they used to have this cheese fondue that was delicious. The last time I went to The Bold Knight, they had melted Velveeta. Now, my husband loved it and I am sure there are other people that do, but back in the day they had a cheese fondue that tasted as if they actually cooked it and didn’t just put a chunk of yellow food-stuff in a pot and melt it. Anyway, my mother LOVED their fondue. She went on a quest to find a recipe that tasted just like it. I know she tried a lot of things. She finally settled on one. And it has become the family recipe for fondue.
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Cheese Fondue
(1 cube) 1/4 C butter
(1 tsp) 1/2 tsp salt
(1/2 tsp) 1/4 tsp dry (powdered) mustard
(3 tsp) 1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
(1/2 tsp) 1/4 tsp garlic powder
(1/2 C) 1/4 C flour
(2 cans) 1 can (12 oz) BUDWEISER Beer*
(1 lb.) 1/2 lb. mild cheddar cheese (grated)
Melt butter, then stir in salt, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic powder. Add flour, a little at a time, keep stirring, stir all the lumps of flour out. Bring to a boil, then stir in a little beer at a time. Cook until thickened. Then put in cheese a little at a time while stirring.
Serve hot.
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(The measurements in parentheses are for a DOUBLE batch.)
We dip raw vegetables; broccoli, bell peppers, carrots, mushrooms, cauliflower. Also, cooked cubed steak. Sometimes apples. And ALWAYS bread. I prefer sourdough bread, but my hubby is not a fan of the sourdough so I usually have two types of bread; sourdough and French bread.
*As a VERY IMPORTANT NOTE, it does not matter what type of cheddar cheese you use, you can use medium, you can use sharp, you can use mild, but it DOES MATTER what type of beer you use – it MUST BE BUDWEISER Beer. Not light, not ultra, not lime, nothing other than plain ol’ BUDWEISER Beer! Believe me. I have thought it would be good to use something else to add a unique flavor or bring more to the fondue – NOPE! Doesn’t work. In fact, just this Christmas I laughed when my uncle said, “You have to use Bud. I’ve tried other beers and the best one is Budweiser. It doesn’t come out the same if you don’t.” I agreed and told him I actually discovered that some years ago. I thought I had told him that, but perhaps not.
For many years I was unable to attend Christmas dinner at my family’s house due to a scheduling conflict, once we started going I was surprised and happy to learn that one of their traditions is to have fondue as an appetizer during the day.
My husband and I have had a few years where we have fondue as our New Year’s Eve dinner or our New Year’s Day dinner. We had it on New Year’s Eve this time. I am always surprised I haven’t posted the recipe before, so I am doing it now. Starting off 2020 right!
As you can see from the handwritten recipe, I can spell Worcestershire sauce as well as I can say it! 🙂
I hope you enjoy this family recipe. We love it!
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