Irish Dubliner Fondue
Irish Dubliner Fondue: Who says Saint Paddy’s Day means Corned Beef and Green Beer? Sometimes the most FUN holiday dishes aren’t the most traditional.
Don’t get me wrong, I love traditions. Hubs and I have a standing lunch appointment every Saint Patrick’s Day at a local Irish Pub. We’ve held our March 17th lunch appointment our entire marriage; even when we had to cart our babies (robed in Notre Dame attire) into the pub with us–don’t judge.
We have a lot of family traditions. In fact, fondue itself is customary in our house.
Lt. Dan and I got married directly after graduating from college. We saved every penny we earned waiting tables to take a marvelous honeymoon before we had to start our official jobs and “grown-up” life. After weighing our options, we discovered we had saved enough money to spend a month in Colorado or a week on some island. Colorado it was!
What great memories I have of our first month as a married couple. We spent a couple weeks hiking, horseback riding, four-wheeling and exploring all the natural hot springs in Steamboat Springs. We rafted down the Colorado River. Hand-in-hand, we poked through obscure shops in downtown Colorado Springs. We rambled around Red Rocks. Yet one of my favorite memories was dining at a little fondue restaurant in Manitou Springs. Nestled at the foot of Pike’s Peak, this quaint mountain town is home of The Mona Lisa Fondue Restaurant, among other things. One evening we sat out on an idyllic balcony in the crisp mountain air and ate the most exquisite meal either of us had ever experienced in our 22 years of life.
Course after course, we laughed and whispered sweet nothings to each other, as we devoured every last morsel brought to our table. Upon returning home, we promptly bought our first fondue pot and our tradition emerged. Over the last twelve years, we have hosted uncountable fondue parties. We have gone through several fondue pots and have collected all sorts of fondue paraphernalia. Our tradition lives on…
So, nothing against traditions. But think of the wonderfully unconventional dishes one can make with traditional Irish ingredients! Dishes such as Irish Dubliner Fondue or Chocolate Guinness Floats… just off the top of my head. *wink*
Dubliner is a sharp nutty cheese with a slightly brittle texture. It melts well and stands up nicely against the tang of Harp beer. Irish Dubliner Fondue is a delightful deviation from classic Swiss fondue. This pub-style dip is easy to prepare and will disappear in moments when paired with fresh bread, pickles and fruit!
You can prepare your fondue in most fondue pots, but I like to cook it in another small pot. It makes a much tidier presentation.
Serve Irish Dubliner Fondue with smooth and creamy Chocolate Guinness Floats for Saint Paddy’s Day this year!
You won’t need a “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” T-shirt to get a little St. Paddy’s Day love!
Irish Dubliner Fondue
Ingredients
- 1 clove garlic cracked
- 1 1/4 cup Harp beer or pale Irish beer
- 8 ounces shredded Dubliner Cheese or sharp cheddar
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 teaspoons ground mustard
- Pepper
Instructions
- Place a small sauce pot over medium heat. Pour the beer in the pot. Peel and crack one garlic clove; then add it to the pot.
- Mix the shredded cheese with the flour and ground mustard. Slowly add the floured cheese to the beer. Whisk until smooth. You will think you’ve made a mistake until the mixture gets hot enough to thicken and come together—just keep whisking! (5-10 minutes) Remove the garlic clove.
- Once smooth and thick, pour into a fondue pot and serve! Serve with bread cut into cubes, sliced apples, grapes, gherkin pickles, and boiled baby potatoes.
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I want the KitchenAid Artisanÿ® Series Almond Cream Stand Mixer. As Pioneer Woman would say, it’d make my skirt fly up. That is if I wore skirts ;) This is such an awesome giveaway and what a great story and tradition. Thanks.
Nope. It was design by Shauna Callaghan. You can link to her at the bottom. :)
le Creuset anything would be well loved in my kitchen! I’ve heard that amazing cookware makes a difference and have been jonesing for it ever since!
love the fondue post…attended a fondue party once and still remember every bite of it.
I’d love a Kitchenaide Mixer. I gave mine to my daughter 5 years ago and miss it so much. I thought I could get by with a hand mixer, but it’s so many steps backwards.
Of course I’d also enjoy the fondue pot as I love Dubliner cheese.
What a lovely post and I want to try one of those floats :) Great giveaway too!
Guinness floats!! How interesting. Going to try to make it soon.
What a fantastic giveaway! I worked my way through college working at a fondue restaurant! Checking out their site…I had no idea you could get those cute blue measuring cups from Nigella!
I tweeted about this giveaway.
I’m a happy subscriber!
Not only do I not judge you, I’m right there with you! ;) My sweetie and I were excited to go to our fav Irish pub, Lis Doon Varna last week only to find it closed, out of business. We were so bummed!
I would love to win this fondu set! Oh the things I could dip into melted cheese…….
I like the whole kids in the kitchen line!
I love your tradition. How wonderful that you can relive a special time with every use of a fondue pot!
I’ve been thinking about what made my chicken stock darker ever since you commented on it. Since I just made another batch, I figured it out. It’s something I’ve done since my mom taught me; when I chop up the onion to put in the pot, I leave the skins on, which darken the liquid. Just thought I’d let you know why it looks like it does. Cheers!
Your first month of marriage sounds like such a wonderful time. My husband and I would love to do that some day :o) Your fondue looks fantastic. I’m a big fan of dubliner cheese and we would love this. We actually eat fondue or raclette quite frequently as a family and it is always so much fun!
Besides you offering an awesome giveaway (which, btw, annny Le Creuset piece I would love to add to my kitchen) I had to comment and say I love the idea of a Dubliner fondue! That’s genius.
Oh I love fondue! This Dubliner fondue sounds incredible and well as the Guinness floats! Mmm.. :)
I follow you on Twitter as well.