Happy New Year! Winston and I are nursing, yet another, annual New Year’s Day hangover! Luckily, my annual NYD hangover remedy is plates of  Japanese food at my dear friend Michiko’s house at her annual New Year’s Day party. She’s hosted the party for 40 years(!!) and makes the most delicious sushi, grilled sesame chicken and cucumber and crab salad. I’m now home, full, rested and ready to face the work day tomorrow.

This year’s New Year’s Eve was full of friends and laughter – what I hope for more of in 2013. In attempt (key word) to have a quiet night with friends by the fire, I made a big spread of cheese fondue with plenty of treats to dip – steamed broccoli and potatoes, crusty bread, yellow and red pepper, asparagus, apple and cured meats. We set up fireside with too much wine and bubbly. I highly recommend this set up while it’s chilly outside. It’s extremely easy and a lot of fun to kickback and enjoy over a bubbly pot of cheese. My recipe is below!

2012 was a really great year and I’m working on setting my mind to some new goals in 2013. With that in mind, I’m going to hunker down and work on some healthy and hearty recipes to share this January. Stay tuned!

Easy Cheese Fondue

• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 1/2 cups white wine
• 1 tablespoon corn starch plus 2 teaspoons additional white wine
• 3 cups shredded Gruyere Cheese
• 3 cups shredded Jarlsberg

Cut the garlic clove in half and rub its oils all over the inside of the fondue pot. Place fondue pot directly on top of the gas burner. Bring the wine to a simmer and gradually add the shredded cheese. Once it is melted, add the mixture of additional wine and corn starch to the pot. Transfer to the fondue pot burner.