Melt Away The Winter Months By Throwing A Fondue Party

Cabin fever is an experience those who live in a cold climate at some point in the year know far too well. Maybe you're a parent trying to entertain energetic kids after a long work day. Maybe you're a kid stuck inside from frigid temperatures and iced-over streets. Maybe you're a college student getting slightly sick of rubbing elbows with your roommates in your tiny apartment. We've got a solution to all of the winter woes: cheese. More specifically, melted cheese.

If you've ever wondered how to best endure cold winters, take a page in the book from European mountain dwellers — they know what they're doing. The Alpine trick to dealing with cabin fever is by eating fondue. Fondue is essentially a vat of melted cheese. It enforces community during the sometimes-bleak winter months, as it unites people around a pot of Alpine cheese, dipping sticks, and an assortment of cubed bread, crudité, and other foods to dip into the cheese.

While it may sound like a ton of work to host a fondue party or to make fondue for a family dinner, part of its charm is its minimal effort. The hardest part is grating the cheese, and once you're past that, all you need is to do is throw the cheese into some warm wine, add some spice, and your dreams of swimming in melted funky cheese will come to life.

The first step in throwing a fondue party is having the essential materials. At its core, you will need a fondue pot, but if you don't have access to one, you can makeshift a fondue pot with a large ceramic pot over heat or by making a double-boiler. In addition to the vessel for the cheese, you will need skewers to dip the food into the cheese. Purchasing a fondue pot set may be the most economical option, as most come with the pot, an electric heater, and skewers.

When it comes to ingredients, most of the fun is in the customization. If you're looking to go full-throttle Alpine, use Swiss and French cheeses like Comté and Gruyère that offer a unique funk and nuttiness. Traditional recipes melt these cheeses into simmering dry white wine and flavor the fondue with nutmeg, pepper, and Kirsch.

Prepping the dippers is as easy as forming a charcuterie board. In Swiss and French custom, fondue is served with some assortment of cubed bread, boiled baby potatoes, cornichons, and cured meat. Apple slices, vegetables, or other small or chopped foods are all common as well. Whatever you think will go well doused in melted cheese is fair game.

Though fondue is an easy dinner to whip up for a large group of people all at once, it involves some finesse to ensure the fondue is of utmost quality (maybe that's why some say raclette, a slightly simpler form of melted cheese, is better). Any form of fondue will taste good, but working around some logistical kinks ensures the fondue party will go as smoothly as the texture of the melted cheese.

First off, refrain from melting the cheese before your guests arrive. Also, because it consists of a bunch of cheese melting over heat, the bottom can quickly burn and affect the whole batch's texture, so make sure everyone is prepared to dig in before you start making the dish.

When you're ready to begin, rub a clove of garlic around the inner surface of whatever vessel you're using. The garlic will serve as an earthy, punchy aromatic and seasoning to the final product. Before melting the cheese, set up the foods to be dipped in, so you can place the hot pot right in the center of your table once it's ready, and your guests can get started. Make sure to tell your guests to dunk the add-ins all the way to the bottom of the pot, swirling their skewers along the bottom to prevent any stagnant cheese from burning. Once the cheese is gone — and it'll go quickly — consider preparing a chocolate fondue for dessert.