THEY SAY EVERYTHING is bigger in the Lone Star State, but when it comes to New Year's Eve, the Houston-based duo behind the lifestyle brand Mirth play it more low-key. "I'm embarrassed to admit that the party doesn't always make it till midnight, confesses Katie McClure, who hosts a fondue dinner with her sister, Erin Breen, every December. But that's just the way they like it.
"It's not a huge shindig," says McClure of the gathering. "We're casual people. This isn't a formal, overly planned event but still feels special because it's something different and fun." McClure lived in Switzerland for a couple of years and fell in love with the country's fondue tradition. "It's a very interactive way of eating and makes the meal last awhile," she says. "Dinner isn't over in just two seconds." There is also a family element melded into fondue that feels just as Southern as it does Swiss: Everyone has their own cherished recipe and unique way of preparing the dish. "That's how your grandmother and your mother made it, so that's how you do it," says McClure.
This story is from the December 2022 edition of Southern Living.
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This story is from the December 2022 edition of Southern Living.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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Forging a Legacy - A Fredericksburg, Texas, couple is creating a new class of heirloom cast-iron cookware
When Jay Mallinckrodt pitched the idea of crafting cast-iron cookware to his wife and business partner, Heather, in 2020, she was hesitant. I immediately said no, she recalls with a laugh. But I finally agreed as long as we made something that we would actually want to use ourselves. Like many others during the initial throes of the pandemic, their multigenerational family operation, Heartland Enterprises (which specializes in machining parts for jet engines and gas and oil equipment), was seeing a lull. “No one was flying; no one was drilling, says Jay. So we had time to try something different.
A Butterfly Haven - In the Texas Hill Country, a conservationist is helping monarchs adjust to the changing world
Twenty-four years ago, Monika Maeckle bought a small property on the Llano River in Central Texas as an escape from fast-paced San Antonio. A journalist and marketing professional by trade, she didn't at first realize the value of the location on which she and her husband would later build their ranch. She also had no idea how this decision would eventually transform her life.One October evening a few years later, a friend invited Maeckle to their nearby house, which sat on a watershed with several large cypresses. All these butterflies dropped from the sky and started to gravitate toward the trees, she recalls. Stronger people who could swing a big 12-foot-long pole began trying to capture them, and we waited. By the end of the evening, we'd tagged a couple hundred butterflies, and I left there enchanted.
Oktober Feast!
While I respect your right to serve spooky food in October, you won't find any gory grub at my house this month. Instead, I'm hosting a gathering that's inspired by biergartens across the pond. The focus of the menu is a fondue made with Gruyère cheese and crisp Riesling-like beer-cheese dip but more elevated. It's served with a smorgasbord of dippers such as smoked sausage, grapes, apples, and a few amped-up store-bought snacks, like Mustard-Glazed Pretzel Bites and Smoked Paprika Potato Chips. (Just one taste, and you'll want to add this spice to every bag you open.) Pour yourself a Cider Shandy, and get ready for a good time. Prost, y'all!
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