25 December 2020

Joyeuse fondue et bonne pintade

Our regularly scheduled programming is being interrupted by the holiday. It's Christmas where I am, and it might be Noël where you are when you read this. I hope you will have or are having a merry one, despite lockdowns, confinements, Brexit, pandemics, and presidential pardons. Stay well and stay safe. Maybe we'll all be vaccinated by next summer and things will get better.

Meanwhile, life goes on at the domestic and kitchen levels. Yesterday we made our Christmas Eve fondue savoyarde and a big green salad with garlicky vinaigrette. Here are the cheses that went into a pot of simmering white wine to melt into fondue. Maybe Walt will post a picture of the finished fondue. This year's was one of the best in recent memory, in part because of the cheeses we used.


Starting on the left in the picture above the cheeses were Comté, Beaufort (upper right), and Abondance (lower right). All are what we Americans call "Swiss" cheeses but these are French, and all are AOP (the European label of quality) so are guaranteed to be authentic and made according to strict, time-tested criteria and standards having to do with where the milk comes from, from what breeds of cattle, and how long the cheeses are aged.


  • Comté cheese is made in the 4,600 sq. mile Franche-Comté region in eastern France, which shares a long border with Switzerland. Annual production is more than 60,000 tons, more than for any other French cheese.

  • Abondance cheese is made in a 1,350 sq. mile area centered on the Haute-Savoie département in the Alps, a part of France that's east and south of the Swiss city of Geneva. Annual production of Abondance cheese is smaller, coming to about 3,000 tons.

  • Beaufort cheese is made in a 1,550 sq. mile area in the Savoie département, in the Alps just south of the Haute-Savoie. Annual production is just over 5,000 tons.


The other ingredients in this kind of fondue are white wine, garlic, kirschwasser (cherry brandy), and corn or potato starch as a thickener, seasoned with black pepper and grated nutmeg. We eat it with cubed French bread and fresh apple also cut into cubes. Our version is 500 grams (just over a pound) of cheese, once cup of white wine, and small amounts of the other ingredients. We put in about 150 grams each of Abondance and Beaufort, along with 200 grams of Comté.


This morning Walt is making an applesauce cake for our Christmas and weekend dessert enjoyment. And we'll be putting this guinea-fowl capon (the chapon de pintade above) on the rotisserie in the oven around 10 a.m.for 2 to 2½ hours. We'll have it with giblet gravy, bread stuffing, cranberry sauce, steamed Brussels sprouts, and pureed pumpkin as our Christmas dinner at noontime.

19 comments:

  1. I wish so much I could have partaken in these delicious dishes.
    I don't think I ever had Abondance, so I don't know how it differs from Beaufort, but I know the latter is different from Comté. The combination must be great.

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    1. My first cheese fondue was in Pully, Switzerland, in 1947.

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    2. I think mine was in Rouen in 1975, on New Year's Eve.

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    3. Ken you two must make it a point to try all these different varieties to get to know them. Per google, though, Trader Joe's carries Abondance, but not Beaufort. I only know Comte.

      The capon looks perfect for 2. Hope you and all your lovely readers have a lovely Christmas.

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    4. The other two cheeses that often go into fondue are Gruyère (Swiss or French) and Emmental.

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  2. It all looks and sounds delicious. Merry Christmas!

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    1. It was, BA. Hope your Christmas was merry and delicious too.

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  3. Merry Christmas - the cheese looks delightful

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    1. Hope your Christmas was merry too. I can recommend those cheeses.

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  4. Those cheeses look delicious. My fingers are crossed for summer travel. A friend's son who works at Children's Hospital in Nashville is getting his shot today- the Pfizer one. There are only 7 suitable storage places in Tennessee and Nashville has 4. Most people are willing to wear masks, so I'm hopeful.

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    1. Good news, Evelyn. Our local CVS reportedly got some storage equipment on the 23rd, while hospitals started injecting staff this week. The Oxford AstraZeneca is supposed to be approved mid-January, without the storage headaches. Fingers crossed.

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  5. By now, you've enjoyed your chapon de pintade with all the trimmings.... Merry Christmas day!

    I'm making cheese-stuffed shells and homemade meatballs :)

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    1. Sounds really good to me. Hope your Christmas was merry.

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  6. Roasted chicken, baked and roasted brussels sprouts, yukon gold roasted potatoes and onions, romaine salad with vi
    aigrette, dried cranberries, onions, and sliced almonds' I have several choices for wine, maybe I will open the Malbec! It's fun to hear what's on the plates of everyone else! Merry Christmas and enjoy your dinners!
    Mary in Oregon

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    1. Your dinner sounds really good. Hope you enjoyed it, and will enjoy the leftovers. We're having leftovers today.

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  7. Merry Christmas to you, Walt, Tasha and Bert, Ken!

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  8. Looks absolutely delicious Thanks for sharing these images. A very Happy New Year to you both.

    Helen Tilston

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  9. Looks absolutely delicious Thanks for sharing these images. A very Happy New Year to you both.

    Helen Tilston

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