Lunch: Chips with Blue Cheese Fondue

Ingredients

8 ounces your favorite blue cheese, such as gorgonzola or buttermilk blue (or a combination of your favorites), crumbled
5 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
1 sprig fresh rosemary
Kosher salt
1/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper
5 fresh chives, snipped, optional
Lola Chips with Rosemary, recipe follows

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine the cheese and cornstarch. Toss to coat. Set aside.
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, add the oil, garlic, shallots, and rosemary. Season with a pinch of salt and cook until the shallot and garlic soften slightly, about 1 minute. Add the wine and simmer, about 1 minute. Whisk in the cream, pepper and cayenne pepper. When the cream mixture begins to bubble, remove from the heat and strain over the blue cheese, whisking to incorporate. Remove from the heat and stir in the chives if using. Serve in a fondue pot next to a big pile of Lola Chips with Rosemary.
In a medium pot, pour enough oil so that the oil comes 3 inches up the sides. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 350 degrees F. (If you don't have a thermometer, a cube of bread will brown in about 3 minutes.)
Slice the potatoes thinly on a mandoline. As you slice them, put them in a bowl of cold water to cover.
Drain the potatoes and pat dry. Working in batches if necessary, cook the potatoes in the oil until they are golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic if using, along with the potatoes. Remove the potatoes from the oil to a large paper towel-lined bowl and season them with the rosemary and salt, shaking the bowl to distribute the seasonings evenly.
Cook's Note: Rosemary on potatoes is so good, and hot crispy chips with rosemary and some sea salt are the best. I think of sea salt the way I do extra-virgin olive oil, as something to finish with. I use Maldon Sea Salt, which has a nice flaky texture.

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