Cheese Fondue

We generally have this the night we decorate our tree and often on Christmas Eve. This version isn't really genuine. It is suited to the palates of philistine children who have been reared by wolves at the mall and have not trained their palates to more sophisticated flavors.

1/2 cup apple cider (or juice or milk, unless you want the grown up version, and then you use a dry white wine)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup shredded cheese (we use swiss, but for children reared on McDonald's food you could use half American Cheese. Just please don't tell us about it).
2 Tablespoons flour
1 can, yes, I am sorry, a can, of condensed Cheddar Cheese soup Some things just can't be fixed.

In a saucepan or fondue pot, simmer wine and garlic over low heat. Combine cheese and flour; gradually belnd into wine (or apple cider). Heat until cheese melts, stirring occasionally. Blend in soup, heat until smooth, stirring constantly.

Serve with bread squares (we stock up on day old bread, and we especially like pumpernickel), small bits of sausage, ham, mushrooms, onion, pickles, and have olives on the side. When I have time I like to bake a really nice, crusty brown loaf of sesame buckwheat bread to have with it. You can have the recipe in January if I don't forget it by then.=)

If the fondue gets too thick, thin it by whisking in more apple cider over a low heat.

Note: We used half swiss and half cheddar and all apple cider (no wine) and my young wolflings still complained that it was too strong. Which did leave more for us.

Oh, yes, we triple this for our family.