Life Changing Baked Fontina

This is the recipe I referred to at the end of my caramel corn post. This recipe is honestly nothing short of amazing. It sounds so basic that I probably would've just overlooked it, but Pink Parsley's incredibly rave reviews, coupled with the fact that one of the friends we celebrated NYE with is an absolute confessed cheese-oholic pushed this onto my "to try" list.

Little did I know how this cheese would change our lives.

I can be dramatic, but this is different. I swear.

There were "oohs" and "ahhs" from about everyone there, along with the occasional explicative (in a good way).

I got a number of "I love you"s.

Even my husband told me he didn't think he could love me more than he did up until after he tried this.

(To be clear, Nate and I have a deep love that I didn't think a pot of cheese could change. I was wrong. But after eating it myself, I kind of actually understand.)

Baked Fontina

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds Italian Fontina, cut into 1-inch dice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 Tbs minced fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tsp minced fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 crusty French baguette

Preheat the broiler and adjust the oven rack to 5-6 inches from the heat source.

Scatter the Fontina cubes evenly in a 12-inch skillet or cast-iron pan.  Drizzle with the olive oil.  Combine the garlic, thyme, and rosemary, and sprinkle evenly over the cheese.  Sprinkle with the salt and pepper.

Place the pan under the broiler for 5-6 minutes, or until the cheese is melted, bubbling, and starting to brown.

Serve family-style:  right out of the oven with crusty chunks of bread for dipping.

Source: The Barefoot Contessa "How Easy is That?" and Pink Parsley