THE TASTE OF HISTORY

It's not quite the way the Swiss would do it, but as a mid-winter, mid-week supper, this rich combination seems a genuine "comfort food," part of East Hampton's collective memory derived from the Ladies Village Improvement Society's 1896 cookbook.

CHEESE FONDUE

2 cups milk
1 pinch baking soda
1 cup very dry bread crumbs
1/2 lb. dry cheese, grated
4 eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp. melted butter
1 pinch mace
Salt and pepper

Stir soda into the milk, and soak the crumbs in the combination. Beat in eggs, butter, and seasonings first, and lastly the cheese.

Butter a pudding dish, and pour in the mixture. Strew the top with fine crumbs, and bake, covered, a half-hour. Brown quickly; eat soon, for it will fall in cooling.

Mrs. Ann Parsons