Food: Baked Fontina

This summer I vowed to explore all those cookbooks that have been collecting dust on my shelf. It's an addiction of mine that I completely admit to. No matter how many months (err years...) go by without me trying one of them out, it inevitably grows larger each year. So this season I put a stop to such nonsense and have been doing quite well! This weekend I tried a recipe for Baked Fontina from the Barefoot Contessa's How Easy Is That? cookbook. I've had this book for two years now and am only just now finding out just how easy her recipes really are. This took all of about seven minutes to mince, slice and cube the four main ingredients, take a look at my results below!

I was lucky enough to have all the herbs required in my garden, saving me a few bucks!

After cubing the cheese put it in an oven safe dish (I used an iron skillet) and sprinkle the cheese with the herb garlic mix.

And a few minutes later it was done! This is a great recipe to use if hosting a party, little effort on your part and because of how rich it is, it goes a long way!

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds Italian Fontina Val d’Aosta cheese, rind removed and 1-inch-diced

1/4 cup good olive oil

6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves

1 teaspoon kosher salt (I used half and was thankful!)

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 crusty French baguette

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Directions

1. Preheat the broiler and position the oven rack 5 inches from the heat.

2. Distribute the cubes of Fontina evenly in a 12-inch cast-iron pan. Drizzle on the olive oil. Combine the garlic, thyme, and rosemary and sprinkle it over the cheese and olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper and place the pan under the broiler for 6 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling and starts to brown.

3. Serve the baked Fontina family-style right out of the oven in the cast-iron pan with crusty chunks of bread for everyone to dip.