The countdown at Times Square doesn’t compare to our family New Year’s Eve tradition. At my house, we gather around a fondue pot rather than a Waterford crystal ball.
No staying up late, drinking champagne and making resolutions that won’t last a week for us. We close out the holiday season with the simplest of one-pot meals: cheese and wine and bread.
Negative Covid tests required. Otherwise, what are a few germs among family and friends? Cheers to building hardy immune systems.
Sharing this meal requires a certain etiquette but also evokes a kind of primitive communal spirit. I visualize cave-dwelling ancestors gathered around a common pot of stew as my family dives into the cheesy deliciousness with our skinny, long-handled forks.
The national dish of Switzerland, steeped in lore, is an experience as much as it is a meal.
As I understand it, the bread and cheese made in the summer and fall to last all year hardened past enjoyment. The brilliant Swiss solved the dilemma by melting the hard cheese with wine and softening the bread by dunking it into the enticing mixture.
Maintaining control of the bread is essential, as is participating in the act of stirring the fondue. Traditions vary, but a “penalty” is exacted if you lose your bread to the pot.
Commonly, a woman who loses her bread would kiss the nearest man, while a man would buy the host a bottle of wine for the infraction. For us, the mere threat of consequences is enough for good natured ribbing.
Fondue makes the perfect comfort food for facing any misgivings about the old year passing you by and the anticipation of the one knocking on the door at midnight. Cheese. Yes. Bread. Yes. Wine. Yes.
(Admittedly, not the meal of choice for the gluten and lactose intolerant).
But it smells divine. My mouth waters as I write.
Our cheese fondue recipe comes from family friends of my parents who moved to the United States from Switzerland in the 1960s. Our fondue pot, coated with avocado green enamel, was procured — unused — from a yard sale.
It is straight out of 1970 and came with a handy cookbook titled “Fondue is In” published by Potpourri Press in Greensboro. There is a copy on Ebay for $6.99 plus shipping right now.
The author, Donna Grimes, had a whimsical style, peppering the recipes with sage advice.
Fondue, while simple, can also be a bit finicky.
“Don’t panic if the cheese and wine do not seem to mix at first,” Grimes advises. “Just smile and stir until the cheese is melted and the fondue is smooth.”
That advice — to smile and stir — has become an unofficial family motto. We evoke it anytime things seem like they are not coming together or they are falling apart.
You just keep going. When life offers no guarantees or promises, you keep doing the things you can do.
If I was going to make a new year’s resolution, it would be this: smile and stir. Whatever comes my way, at least there will be cheese and wine and bread.
Fonduely yours this New Year, Maggie
Contact Maggie Beamguard at maggie@thepilot.com.
