Cheese Fondue

I love my family's tradition of cheese fondue every New Year's Eve...but there was always the stress of finding a decent recipe that was easy, melty, and non alcoholic.  I finally found it!  Bettie found the recipe online in preparation for her birthday.

1 lb. medium aged gouda, coarsely shredded

3 c. heavy cream

White pepper

1. in a medium saucepan, simmer the heavy cream over moderate heat until reduced to 2 cups, about 15 minutes.
2. Whisk in the Gouda until melted.
3. Strain the cheese sauce through a fine sieve set over a heatproof bowl or fondue pot and season lightly with white pepper.

Hints and variations:

*We used a mix of gouda and smoked gouda.  Did you know the brown edge of the smoked doesn't melt?  It looks like worms.  Cut them off or strain.  We didn't strain it when we did it.

*Serve with crusty bread like french and veggies like celery, broccoli, cauliflower.

*I used a crockpot that sits on a hotplate for my fondue pot.  You could put it in a bowl and microwave it every so often to re melt.

*The leftovers separated in the fridge...lots of oil floating on top.  We just added a bit more cream when we warmed it up.