Thursday, October 28, 2010

Gruyere and Spice Fondue in a Roasted Pumpkin

This is one of those Halloween party appetizersthat will never get old. Your guests will love its simplicity and, well... its cheesiness. This is just about as good as fondue gets, and is chock-full of wonderful autumn-y flavors. 
You can make the fondue up a bit in advance and keep it warm under a very low fire. But it's best to bake up your pumpkin right before serving, or to at least reheat it before serving. The hot pumpkin helps to keep the fondue fluid and hot. Either way, serve this up and let your guests know to start chowing down right away so it doesn't get cold and lose its perfect texture.

Need:
Pumpkin:
1 small pumpkin, opened, cleaned, and seeded
2 tbsp. butter, softened
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 pinch ground cinnamon
Fondue
1 1/2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 shallots, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. emmenthaler cheese, shredded
8 oz. gruyere cheese, shredded
1 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. cold water
1 1/2 C. dry white wine (good quality)
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
Pinch ground cinnamon
Punch ground smoked paprika

Instructions: 
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Prepare the pumpkin. To do this, combine the butter, cinnamon and nutmeg in a little bowl. Rub this mixture all over the inside of your cleaned pumpkin.
3. Return top to pumpkin, place on a baking sheet, and bake about 30 minutes, until softened.
4. Meanwhile, make the fondue. In a large saucepan, cook the shallots and garlic in oil about two minutes over medium-high heat. In a small bowl, stir together the water and cornstarch until smooth.
5. Stir the wine into you garlic-shallot mixture, followed by your cornstarch mixture. Bring to a simmer.
6. Add the cheese to the mixture bit by bit, stirring constantly. Stir with a zig-zag motion rather than a circular one. This will help to keep the cheese from clumping together into a ball.
7. Heat and stir until all of the cheese is incorporated.
9. Season as desired with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
10. Pour fondue into your roasted pumpkin and sprinkle paprika over.
11. Serve with hunks of crusty bread, sliced apples, crudites, even roasted chunks of sweet potato.

The perfect Halloween party appetizer for a dinner party or even a Thanksgiving dinner. Serves about 10-12, depending on how hungry your guests are.

35 comments:

  1. once again you have left me hungry lol.

    i don't have the willpower or the ingredients to actually make this, but it looks damn delicious

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  2. This looks delicious! Definitely making this for the big family Thanksgiving meal.

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  3. that sounds amazin.

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  4. I ad chili in a pumpkin a few weeks ago, it was delicious.

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  5. I hate pumpkins, but like your blog. How can that be?

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  6. Anonymous4:09 AM

    mmmm niceee

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  7. That looks delicious! I've sadly never tasted pumpkin though, so it's just speculation!

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  8. This looks very tasty.

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  9. Nice idea, but i'd probably vomit if I ate any of it D:!

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  10. Hmm.. Sadly, I don't think I will like this. :(

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  11. smells good. ty 5 sharing :D

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  12. vis thurely helps me getting ungry

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  13. Great, it's delicious :Q__
    Thanx for sharing.

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  14. If its anything like Pumpkin Pie.
    I'm in!

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  15. yumyumyumyuymuymyuym

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  16. WOW I never heard of this, but this looks good!

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  17. I wonder how this will taste

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  18. This looks delicious D:

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  19. Jesus, that looks nummy

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  20. Sounds Awesome XD I try this out one of these days.

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  21. I love Gruyere cheese, my favorite for pasta.

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  22. OMG that looks so good.

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  23. Wow, that sounds amazing. Next time I have a halloween party I'll definitely use that.

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  24. That looks so delicious!

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  25. wow. that looks kinda groty.

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  26. Looks delicious, I'll have to try it out!

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  27. Oh my gosh, I never would have thought of this combination, and it looks so good. I wish i'd have seen it before Halloween... but it's still fall! Not too late!

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