Most evenings the task of cooking a meal is just another chore on the list of things to do.Even for a once-professional chef, the joy of creating a fabulous meal is often tempered with the humdrum of everyday life…clearing away the breakfast dishes which we didn’t get round to in the morning, answering emails that have been lingering sulkily in the inbox and getting the kids to bed without embarking upon an escalating series of whines and complaints. Too true that for many of us, the evening has all but disappeared when we finally get time to ourselves and the default setting is to grab a bottle of something cold ( beer if we have any but more often wine, or in emergencies the bottle of gin in the freezer!…)and cook something familiar.

And yet, the demands of family life do sometimes throw us bones upon which to chomp contentedly. Tonight the boys got hold of some recordings of us in the “olden days” as Son #1 would say, and prompted the release of the fiddle from it’s dark and dusty hiding place and a rare moment of accord was spent teaching the rudiments of holding the bow and playing along to the songs. Music has the power to transport us back to times and places all too easily forgotten…and in this instance, to conjure up memories of band rehearsals, meals shared and pubs frequented.

Today’s recipe then isn’t what I had next anticipated for the blog, but rather a glance back at the past with fond (if slightly blurry) memories!! Band rehearsals usually involved lots of improvised music making but mostly noshing on dips and nibbles including this retro smasher!

Blufondu Fondue (sorry, in-joke!)

300g Emmenthal

500 g Gruyère

200g comte

375ml dry white wine

4 tablespoons Kirsch

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 clove garlic

1 tablespoon cornflour

1 pinch nutmeg

white pepper

• Cut the garlic clove in half and rub around the inside of a  terracotta pot, fondue pan or heavy based saucepan.
• Grate the cheeses – you can use other cheeses as you prefer but I love the nuttiness of the emmenthal and the sweet fruitiness of the comte and gruyere. Add the cornflour and mix so that it coats the cheese evenly.
• Pour the wine into the pan and bring to simmering point.Add the lemon juice
• Add most of the cheese and heat gently, stirring continuously until smooth, adding as much cheese as needed to give your preferred consistency ( I like it thick enough to make strings but not so thick that it can be used to build a wall!)
• Season with the nutmeg and pepper, then add the kirsch
• Keep warm over a very low flame or burner, or use a 70′s fondue set!
• Serve with chunks of crusty bread, raw & roasted vegetables, or anything else you want to cover in cheese (!)

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