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Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Do You Fondue?

One of the first cookbooks I ever owned was The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook by Zoe Coulson.  It was published in 1980, and I was living in a student apartment in Knoxville, Tennessee.  My father bought the cookbook for me so I wouldn't starve.  He especially liked the fact that it is illustrated throughout and has color photos of all the dishes in a handy index in the front.  While some of those jello molds and noodle ring dishes look a little dated today, it is still a good all-purpose cookbook.

When our daughter moved into her own student apartment, I passed the cookbook on to her.  I didn't think I would miss it, but I did.  Every now and then, I'd think, if only I still had the recipe for this or that.  Then last year, I was helping clean out my husband's uncle's house and, lo and behold, there was the same cookbook buried in a drawer.  I quickly put it in the keep pile.

So this time, when that "if only" thought hit me, I had the recipe.  And this time it was fondue bread that crept into my brain.  I hadn't made it in years.  In fact, I don't think my kids had ever had it, but over Easter weekend, I had a yen for fondue bread.  I made it for a late breakfast along with free-range fried eggs and fresh fruit.



This is a very hearty and cheesy bread.  I reduced the amount of cheese from the original recipe.  The original calls for two pounds of cheese!  I used about one and three-quarter pounds, but you could reduce it to one and a half and still have plenty of cheese.  The cookbook classifies this bread an entree; you might think of it as a baked cheese sandwich.

This is also a fairly easy bread for people who are not experienced with yeast breads.  It doesn't have to rise; it only "rests" a couple of times.  If you are using yeast for the first time, be warned -- the temperature of the liquids is important.  Use a thermometer to make sure you do not overheat your liquid ingredients.  Overly hot liquid will kill the yeast.

Fondue has had a resurgence of popularity in recent years.  Maybe it's time for fondue bread to make a comeback, too!

Printable recipe


16 comments:

  1. It's so lovely Posy that you kept the cookbook and then sacrificially passed it on to your daughter. I do hope she is treasuring it. Your fondue bread looks and sounds incredible - all that cheese! It must have amazing flavour xx

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  2. That's very special, passing your cookbook to your daughter, I hope she'll enjoy cooking many wonderful meals with it. Yum, that fondue bread looks amazing!

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  3. I LOVE fondue. This sounds awesome. And it looks really really good. I'm hungry. I'm gonna go get breakfast. :-)

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  4. Hmmmm....that looks so yummy and I like the idea of a bakes grilled cheese!

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  5. I loooooove fondue! Well, I just cannot live without cheese! :) Will try this recipe as soon as I get rid of the extra pounds that I gained on my recent trip. I invite you to check out my journal. Hope you like it!

    http://cafesocietyxxi.blogspot.com/2012/04/easter-trip-germany-2012-scrapbook.html

    Much love! xoxo

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  6. You know what? I have never made fondue! That bread looks amazing - something I would definitely want to try. =)
    ~Kim
    http://2justByou.blogspot.com
    Visiting today from Blogging Buddies.

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  7. Oh my what a special treat! Sounds great!

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  8. I've never had fondue bread but back in the 70's (I guess that really dates me) a fondue set was on everyone's wedding gift resistry! We all had fondue parties, was all the rage back then! One of the top resturants here in Nashville is the Melting Pot which serves every kind of fondue you can think of. It's lots of fun but makes for a long dinner!
    Rebecca

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  9. Looks so yummy!! Those old cookbooks are the best.
    Thanks for stopping by, Mary Alice

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  10. Perfect timing for this post! I just had my dinner and now lookin for some sweet taste to digest :D

    Ohh look so nice!!!

    ANDWHATELSEISTHERE
    SHOP

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  11. Oh my, Lynette this is too tempting! I love cheesy bread, and so does my husband, and maybe I'll surprise him with this bread. Is this hard to do? I'm totally intimated by breads.

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  12. oh and is that a perfectly poached egg i see beside the bread slice? you are soo good!

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  13. Lynette, you had me at cheese bread! That looks divine! Did you steal that picture out of a magazine? Gorgeous! I'm so impressed with you right now. YUM!

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  14. That bread looks so yummy!!

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  15. Yum yum yum. Going to make this bread when I get back to normal (new normal that is!) eating. :)

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