Get together with friends around the ultimate sharing dish – a classic cheese fondue. Hosting friends for fondue is a fabulous way to celebrate the holidays as a group. Steamed red-skinned potatoes, grilled Tuscan bread chunks, and pear slices are all great for dipping in fondue cheese.

Fondue cheese is said to have originated on Alpine farms as a way to feed a family inexpensively; the original version was simply stale bread dipped in melted Gruyère. Swiss fondue became so popular that it was named the national dish of Switzerland in the 1930s.

Now, this concoction of melted cheese is a decadent way to celebrate chilly winter nights. It features melted Gruyère along with other Swiss cheese; Emmentaler, Vacherin Fribourgeois, Appenzeller, and Raclette are blended in, depending on the region and personal preferences. Splashes of kirsch and wine and a bit of garlic are the traditional seasonings, but you can add chopped herbs, a swirl of mustard, or a spoonful of toasted spices if you like.

Eat the cheese by dipping accompaniments like chunks of bread, cooked potatoes, sliced apples, pears, cornichons, pickled pearl onions, and salami into the pot. Be careful when dipping: The person who loses their garnish in the pot usually has to pay a penalty to the rest of the people at the table, like buy a round of drinks or clean up after the meal.

After you eat the melted fondue cheese, the layer at the bottom of the pot cooks into a crust called a religieuse, a reward for the table eaten at the end of the meal.

Ingredients

1 garlic clove, halved

1 pound Gruyère cheese, grated

1/2 pound Emmental cheese or other Swiss cheese, grated

1 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornflour

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons kirsch

Freshly ground black pepper

Freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

• Gather your ingredients.

• Rub the inside of a cheese fondue pot or medium enamelled cast-iron casserole with the garlic clove; discard the garlic.

• Combine the grated Gruyère and Emmentaler with the wine, cornflour, and lemon juice in the fondue pot and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the cheeses begin to melt, about 5 minutes.

• Reduce heat to low. Add the kirsch and a generous pinch each of pepper and nutmeg and cook, stirring gently, until creamy and smooth, about 3 minutes; don't overcook the fondue or it will get stringy.

• Serve at once with accompaniments like chunks of bread, cooked potatoes, sliced apples, pears, cornichons, pickled pearl onions, and salami.