For the second winter in a row, we’ve had a snowmageddon here at the Lakehouse. It wasn’t quite as bad as 2019, only half amount of snow and somehow we didn’t lose power. And we got to enjoy it rather than spending hours and hours shoveling heavy, wet snow.

This past summer we picked up snowshoes for winter recreation and getting around our property should we ever have a major snowstorm again (we didn’t think that’d happen so soon). So we strapped them on and took them for a spin. We spent the first morning tromping all around our lake just enjoying the beauty of it all. It was absolutely gorgeous and we loved visiting with all of our friends and neighbors along the way! We were even entertained by wildlife.

After exploring, we came back and shoveled the driveway, so we had a great workout. But you know how it is, after you get back inside after playing in the snow, you’re kinda ravenous. And what sounded really good was fondue. I had a bunch of bread from the recent Whole Grain Artisan Bread class at the King Arthur Baking School at the Bread Lab, veggies, and apples…we just needed fondue to dip it in.

While I could make my normal Queso, I really wanted a classic Swiss fondue, like my mom used to make when I was a kid. I found a bottle of Klinker Brick Vorgänger, a blend of Southern German-style white wine varietals (Weissburgunder, Rislaner, and Gewürztraminer) from a recent wine club shipment from the Lodi Wine Commission that was perfect. Kirsch, cherry brandy, is traditional, but we didn’t have any; but we have Pear-in-the-Bottle Pear Brandy from Clear Creek Distillery, which I use when making Poached Pears, and thought that’d be pretty yummy (I was right!). Then I went about adjusting my Queso recipe into Swiss fondue! Note: if you don’t want alcohol in your fondue, substitute apple juice or non-alcoholic white wine for the wine and omit the brandy.

Making the Fondue

This recipe is very simple to make. Simply combine all of the ingredients into a high-speed blender, like a Vitamix, and blend until hot and thickened, about 5 minutes. If you don’t have a high-speed blender, you’ll need to soak cashews (if using) in warm water for about an hour so they’re soft enough to blend smoothly, and then transfer the blended mixture to a saucepan to boil and thicken on the stove. For a lower-fat version, use oats and nut butter instead of cashews—it works great!

This recipe uses a bit less cornstarch than the Queso because I didn’t want the fondue to get too thick over heat in the fondue pot. To substitute for the bite of Swiss cheese, I kept the nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and garlic, but added granulated onion (you can also use onion powder) and dry mustard. Nutmeg rounds out that Swiss fondue flavor profile. Pour into a fondue pot, chafing dish, or keep over a double-boiler to keep it hot and dippable.

It turned out awesome! Alan, who generally isn’t a faux-cheese person, loved it. He kept saying, “I can’t stop eating this, it’s soooo good!” We ended up making a meal out of it. Our favorite dipper for this fondue is Honeycrisp apple, it pairs beautifully with the cheesy bite. We also dipped whole grain bread, celery, rainbow carrots, and yellow summer squash.

Give it a try, we think you’ll love it too. And you don’t even have to wait for a snow day, enjoy it any time!