Christmas Eve 2019 - Mom's

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Mom moved this past spring from her condo to senior living apartments which was another change in our Christmas routine. We'd spent to last 11 Christmas Eves doing cheese fondue and steaks at her condo in Edina. Her new place is as equally charming and comfortable. 

Since her move I'd forgotten we were storing her artificial tree in our basement and she never asked for it. I offered to bring it over a few days ago but she said she'd just pass on the tree for this year and would decide if she wants to do one next year. I brought over a little tabletop tree that I'd left decorated from last year. Dale was unaware of I even had it and was a little taken aback that I could produce a decorated tree like Mary Poppins magically pulling something out of her nanny bag. 

Anyway, dinner was lovely. We finished out the evening with Baba dessert. My favorite dessert from childhood which was introduced years and years ago by Grandma Jean. 

Christmas Eve 2017

Sunday, December 24, 2017

Sent the above picture to Sam and Pete.

Sam texted back that they got a white Christmas. I texted back that that's pretty good for Kansas.

Pete texted back that they are doing cheese fondue at their house.

Christmas Eve 2015 - Fondue

Mom gets the fondue cheese ready.

Christmas Day 2013 - Dale, Mom, and Joe

This turned out to be a lovely Christmas. The time with friends at church was marvelous and the time with Mom on Christmas Day was very meaningful. It's too bad we didn't get to do the traditional Christmas Eve fondue due to my singing in both the afternoon and late evening services at church. Mom sang at the late service at her church and also the 9:00 a.m. Christmas Day service. We decided in advance that it might be a little hairy trying to fit all the prep and dinner in in between services. Sometimes an occasional break with tradition helps one to appreciate that tradition even more. There's always next year...

Christmas Eve 2012 - Dinner

For Christmas Eve dinner Mom made the traditional cheese fondue along with a colorful salad.  We also had steaks and Baba Dessert for dessert.  

Christmas Eve 2012 - Cheese Fondue

Mom made the traditional cheese fondue on Christmas Eve.  Shown at top is the original cookbook from which she's taken the recipe since the late '60s/ early '70s.  Shown at bottom is Mom preparing the recipe on Christmas Eve 2012.

Christmas Eve 2011 - Dinner at Mom's

After the Christmas Eve service, Dale and I went to Mom's for dinner. We started with some lovely hor d'ourves of brie cheese and jelly on crackers. For dinner we had cheese fondue and steak. Brownies for dessert.

Christmas 1990 - Pete's Ready to Eat

Time for fondue.

Christmas 1993 - Pete

Pete stirs the fondue cheese.

Christmas 1993 - Mom

Here's Mom drying out the bowl for the fondue bread. Check out the TV on top of the fridge. I remember thinking at the time that I wouldn't want to watch anything on a screen that was much smaller than that. Funny, just the other day I watched an episode of Family Guy on my iPod.

Fondue Part 2

Fondue on Christmas Eve has been a family tradition for as long as I can remember. I decided to do a little research on this thing I've eaten for 45 years on December 24. Here's what I found out...

According to James and Kay Salter in their book Life is Meals, the town of "Gruyeres is about seventy miles northeast of Geneva as you head into the heart of Switzerland. It produces one of the two cheeses - the other being Emmenthaler - that are the basis for fondue, which comes from the French verb fondre, 'to melt.' "(p. 391) Also, "Fondue likely originated in remote mountain villages during winters when food was scarce and people softened their old, hardened cheeses over a fire, scooping from the pot with pieces of bread." (p. 391)

I know that my mom uses Gruyere cheese and a basic swiss cheese, but I'm not sure if the swiss she uses is Emmenthaler. Here is the recipe she uses:

Alpine Cheese Fondue

1 clove garlic, cut in half

½ pound natural Swiss Cheese, shredded

½ pound Gruyere, shredded

3 Tbsp flour

2 cups dry white wine (Chablis)

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Dash Pepper

Dash Nutmeg

2 Tbsp Kirsch or cognac

1/8 tsp salt or to taste

French bread.

Rub inside surface of ceramic fondue pot with garlic; discard. Toss shredded cheeses with flour. Heat wine on the stove until small bubbles show on the bottom of the pan. Stir in lemon juice and handfuls of cheese, stirring constantly, after each addition, with wooden spoon until cheese melts. Stir in spices and kirsch or cognac. Pour into fondue pot, temperature on the lowest setting.

Fondue

My family has been doing fondue on Christmas Eve for as long as I can remember. We used to fondue meats in oil for many years but for about the last 10 years we have not been doing that as our tastes have changed and the oil now tends to be a gut bomb on our digestive systems. Now we tend to just do a cheese fondue sometimes a chocolate fondue as well. When Sam was home for Christmas a couple of years ago his wife Becky prepared the whole fondue shebang starting with cheese (bread being the dipping item), then meats (mostly beef and scallops) in oil, and finally chocolate fondue with fruits. Again, we've been doing it as long as I can remember so it was quite a trip down memory lane.