When I was a kid, New Year’s Day was the one holiday our family hosted in our house, and with it came a few annual dishes that would come to signal the holidays for me. Mushroom knishes, crab and horse chestnut appetizers, and a sweet and sour meatball stew served in a fondue pot with a stereo glowing blue beneath it to keep it warm all day – these were the holiday classics that made up my childhood. As we grew up, we hung onto most of them, changing and modifying them, and for the past several years a traditional fondue has replaced the more complicated and tie-consuming meatball stew.
The fondue Savoyarde seen here is a simple cheese fondue, served with bread and apples, and I cook it up every New Year’s Eve, even when it’s just Andy and myself, as it was this year. It’s silly and kitschy and all the things that a holiday like New Year’s Eve/Day merits. Some sparkle, some pizzazz, some cheesiness – just the way we like things around here. Dip in.
