Cheddar and Beer Fondue

Fondue are fancy. Not really. This was is insanely easy and quick. And the best part is that you can eat lots and lots of cheese! A word of warning - not to sound too much like Martha Stewart, but using high quality cheeses really is the secret to making this recipe work. In a pinch, we tried using inexpensive grocery store orange cheddar, and the consistency and flavour were all wrong. A nice aged white cheddar really is the way to go. I've used different beers and they all work well, but the cheese is key! Our usual vehicles to convey the cheese from plate to mouth is potato and bread. But there are other traditional options, which I've listed, which we will explore.

2 Tbsp (1oz/28gr) butter
1 clove garlic
6 oz beer (hold another 6 oz of beer aside to add if too thick, and record how much more is added)
8 oz aged white cheddar
8 oz Gruyere
2 Tbsps flour
1 tsp dry mustard
½ tsp paprika
pinch cayenne
pinch nutmeg
¼ tsp salt
⅛ tsp black pepper

1. Rub the bottom of the cook pot with the garlic. Melt the butter in it, then add the beer and warm it up without bringing it to a boil, over medium heat.
2. Meanwhile combine the cheeses in a bowl with the flour.
3. Reduce the heat under the beer to a gentle simmer and add the cheese in handfuls, stirring constantly until all the cheese has gone in and melted
4. Stir in the spices. Transfer the fondue to a warm fondue pot.
5. If the sauce is too thick, add beer.If it's too soft, add cheese

Serving Suggestions:
         - dense cubed bread (a Boule or baguette is particularly delicious)
and/or
         - with lightly boiled cauliflower (2 to 3 minutes in salted water)
and/or
         - boiled baby potatoes
and/or
         - boiled German sausage slices like wursts or franks
and/or
         - pickles, pickled onions