The blue cheese/bread crumb mixture didn't melt into the fennel as I was expecting at all -- it just lay there on top. The fennel was okay. I'll look for another recipe for fennel.
Everyone at the family thanksgiving were impressed and it was so simple to make.
I felt the Gorgonzola completely masked the flavor of the fennel and did not go well with the licorice taste of the fennel at all.
This was the first time I ever cooked fennel. We have always eaten it thinly sliced and very cold as an appetizer. I followed the directions except had to add a bit more broth and cook longer because I used a simmer that was too slow. We served it with a slice of left over pizza and it was a great combination. I plan to serve it at Christmas to surprise the children.
although this has potential to be very good... it just didn't work out that well. Maybe putting more cheese on would help but I just was not a fan.
I personally loved the combination of the gorgonzola and fennel. My husband found it to be a winner too. I prepared it for some friends and well some loved it others didn't like the combination of the cheese with fennel but I think it's because they aren't fennel fans to begin with....
We don't like gorgonzola so I used parmesan. We absolutely love fennel I grow it. I always order it in my CSA box when they have it and have cooked it dozens of ways. I plan to make it again trying until I find just the right cheese so complement and not combat the flavor of the fennel. I also plan to cut the broth down and add some white wine. I think shallots halved and cooked with it would be nice and possibly some fresh bacon bits on top.
My son-in-law has made this or every Thanksgiving for several years. It is always a big hit with usually none left. The downside is that he lives in Oregon and fennel is very expensive this time of year. He went to school in Santa Barbara California where it grows abundantly along the highways so it is a bit painful to think that there it is free and it is about 4.00 per pound in Oregon.
This was an excellent and easy use of Fennel. We topped this with a mix of Gorgonzola and Feta with Fresh Garlic. The Feta helped tone down the Gorgonzola and allowed the delicate sweet Ainse flavor of the fennel to come through.
