Zesty Cheddar Fondue is an easy and delicious appetizer perfect for the holidays. It is a creamy cheese fondue filled with rich sharp cheddar, onions, garlic and cilantro that pairs perfectly with bread and apples.
I am so excited to share one of my favorite family traditions with you today. FONDUE! From a very young age we started the Christmas Eve tradition of enjoying a full fondue. In my mom’s normal fashion, it was the same every year. We would have Swiss Cheese fondue with two pots of oil that we would use to fry meatballs, cheese curds, steak, chicken, onion rings, and basically anything else you could buy in the freezer section to fry. It was a cheesy and greasy mess, but it was oh so good!
Before we started the fondue tradition, all of us kids would constantly be nagging my parents about when we could be done eating and start opening gifts. Once we began the fondue tradition we were so engrossed in making our own food and enjoying all the fried and cheesy goodness, that we were in no rush to open presents. That is saying a lot for four kids at Christmas!
After we all grew up, left home and came back with spouses, there were just too many people crowded around the table to make a full fondue work anymore. We now enjoy a prime rib dinner every Christmas Eve, but to keep the old tradition alive, we start the meal with a fondue.
Now that I am in charge of dinner, I like to deviate from the standard Swiss fondue and try something new each year. This year I will be making this yummy Zesty Cheddar Fondue. It is a fun change from the traditional fondue with a bit of crunch from the onion and a fresh twist with cilantro.
As much as I am excited to share this fondue with you, I am even more excited to tell you about my newest kitchen addition I am obsessing over! It is a beautiful new Delta Cassidy Faucet in Venetian Bronze with Touch2O® Technology. I have been dreaming about adding one of these faucets to my kitchen for quite some time and am so thrilled to finally make it happen!
Are you wondering what Touch2O® Technology is? With Delta Touch2O® you can simply tap anywhere on the spout or handle of the faucet to start and stop the flow of water. I can’t begin to tell you how convenient this is when you have messy hands from cutting raw chicken breasts or preparing a messy appetizer like this fondue.
A friend was staying with us this weekend and was checking out our newly remodeled kitchen. She went to touch the faucet because she thought it was so pretty and when it turned on she literally started jumping up and down with excitement about how cool it was. I feel the SAME EXACT WAY every time I use it.
As much as I love cheese fondue, it is on the messy side. Thanks to my my new Touch2O® Technology, prep and cleanup is a breeze! Do you have a messy holiday tradition you love? If so, be sure to share it on Instagram and tag it with #HappiMess. Remember, a mess isn’t a bad thing, but simply the evidence of life well lived! Learn more about Delta’s HappiMess Mess Makers here.
Zesty Cheddar Fondue
Ingredients
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- 1/3 c. onion finely diced
- 2 tsp. garlic finely diced
- 2/3 c. chicken broth
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp Kirchwasser liquor optional
- 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar (Shred a quality block of cheese, not a bag of pre-shredded cheddar)
- 1 Tbsp. flour
- 1/3 c. sour cream
- 2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
- In a fondue pot, over medium-high heat, saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil for 3-4 minutes. Add the broth, Dijon and liquor.
- Toss the shredded cheese with the flour and add to the pot. Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and smooth. Add the sour cream and cilantro and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Place the fondue pot on a warmer and serve with chopped apples and cubed sourdough bread.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Delta Faucet. The opinions and text are all mine.