Brie and Pesto Fondue

Once a month, I attend Recipe Club.  Its a group of women from Relief Society, the women's organization of my church, and we get together the second Tuesday of every month to eat, swap recipes and socialize.   We pick a theme for the month, and everyone brings something that fits the theme.  We then gorge on wonderful savory and sweet dishes while we sit around and chat for hours.  Its delightful!  We email the recipes to our host, and she then sends out mass emails to everyone with all of the recipes.  Sometimes we bring tried and true recipes we want to share, and other times we experiment and try something new and exciting. Sometimes the experiments are wonderful and sometimes they are less than delightful.
I experimented this month.  Our theme for February was "Dip It."  I thought this would be a perfect time to try a new fondue.   I was right.  I made this yummy Brie and pesto fondue that was melt in your mouth good!  So good that decided that I needed to share this recipe to more than just my friends in recipe club.

Brie and Pesto Fondue

¾ lb (3 cups) Brie cheese, softened (can substitute Camembert or Explorateur cheese)

1 ½ c ginger ale (original recipe calls for white wine, but we don't drink!)

1/3 c pesto sauce

½ lb mozzarella cheese, diced into ¼ inch cubes

1 TB corn starch

1TB water

Salt and Pepper to taste

1.   Scrape the top rind off Brie, scoop out interior cheese. Discard bottom and side rinds, set aside.

2.   Combine ginger ale and pesto sauce in a heavy 2qt saucepan and whisk well. Bring to a simmer over low heat.

3.   Add Brie and mozzarella by ½ c measures, stirring constantly with a whisk in a figure-eight pattern. Add additional cheese after the previous addition is melted.

4.   Combine water and corn starch in small bowl. Add to fondue to bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.  Cook over low heat for 1-2 minutes, until fondue has thickened.

5.   Transfer to fondue pot and serve with crusty bread, broccoli, cauliflower, gnocchi, cooked tortellini, or bite sized pieces of cooked chicken.