For a really special meal, try this: Prepare an antipasto assortment of, for example, Marinated Mushrooms, Peperonata, Garbanzo Bean Salad, and Insalatone. Add some hot peperoncini and a few cured olives and serve everything at once with a good Italian white wine. For dessert, fresh strawberries with cream—then expresso and a liqueur.
The fondue serves 5 to 6
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• ½ lb. Fontina cheese, coarsely grated
• ½ lb. provolone cheese, coarsely grated
• 3 Tbs. flour
• 1½ cups dry Italian white wine
• pepper to taste
• large loaf Italian or French bread, cubed
1. About 2 or 3 hours before you want to make the fondue, mince the garlic until it is almost a paste and stir it into the olive oil. Toss the grated cheeses together with the flour.
2. Half an hour before you want to eat, heat the wine in a fondue pot or a medium-sized enameled saucepan. Be careful to keep the heat below a simmer.
3. Add the cheese mixture, a handful at a time, and stir slowly with a wooden spoon until it is melted. When all the cheese is melted, stir in the olive oil, garlic and some pepper. Continue stirring slowly over low heat for about 15 minutes, or until the fondue is perfectly smooth; it should have a velvety texture.
4. Place the fondue pot over a candle or other food warmer. Spear bread cubes with long forks and dip them, stirring fondue each time.
