Pasta a la fondue

"...and on a mountain, all of grated Parmesan cheese, dwell folk that do nought else but make macaroni and raviuoli, and boil them in capon's broth, and then throw them down to be scrambled for; and hard by flows a rivulet of Vernaccia..." -- The Decameron, describing a place I would like to go to.


Since man first crawled from out the primordial ooze (sorry, Dean Grudin), he has struggled with the most difficult of questions: "What to do with all of those random bits of left-over cheese from other meals?" Today's simple, only slightly absurd, empty-kitchen-inspired solution: modify a fondue recipe, and serve over pasta.


So: melt a tablespoon of butter and saute 1 shallot until nice and soft. Grate the following cheeses into the smallest size your grater will allow (for easiest melting): ~ 5 oz. gorgonzola, ~5 oz fontina, and ~2 oz asiago. Add the grated cheese along with half a cup of half-and-half to the shallots, and melt over low to medium-low heat. Thrown in a few pinches of ground pepper and salt, and finally add two tablespoons of whisky (you know, to thin the sauce a bit, give it a little backbone, and contribute to the Scottish-fondue authenticity). Serve over elbow macaroni, and enjoy.


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Verdict: Nice. Nothing to write home about, but a bit less heavy than my usual pasta gorgonzola, and with a nice mix of flavors. Next time, I'll skip the salt and add a bit more pepper, but otherwise if I ever happen to have that particular combination of cheeses again I know what I'll be making.


[Update -- Leftovers from this dish: substantially less tasty than the meal itself. I mean, there's almost always at least some drop-off in quality after a few days, but more flavor seemed to leave this pasta than usual.]