Growing up, fondue was a special treat in our house. Christmas Eve dinner to be exact. I can't blame my mother, she didn't want to give her 6 kids spears more than once a year. All of us kids looked forward to our once-a-year-special-dinner. We kept things basic when we'd do fondue--cubed bread, cubed ham, broccoli, and chips.
As we've gotten older, we still show up for Christmas Eve (those of us that live close enough to our parents) and our tastes have expanded to dip more things! The amount of people at our table has also expanded. . .doubled, tripled. . .lots of people!!
For my fondue party, I stuck with basics, as well as threw in a few other things--some steamed potatoes, mushrooms, apples slices. . .the options are limitless! Everything's good with cheese, right?
We also got adventurous and tried a broth fondue to cook meat with. That was fun, cooking your meat there at the table. While we did both chicken and beef, as an afterthought we decided to just do beef next time. None of us got sick from under-cooking our chicken, but it's probably better to be safe, right?
We also had 4 different dipping sauces--a honey mustard, green goddess, and some bbq sauces. The green goddess dip was wonderful just dipping chips and veggies in it. Yum! But the best part, in my opinion, was the cheese fondue. So yummy, one of the best white cheese fondues I've had!
CHEESE FONDUE
From: The Melting Pot Cookbook
Posted at: http://recipesofacheapskate.blogspot.com
- 1 1/2 t finely chopped fresh thyme
- 1 t finely chopped garlic
- 1 T unsalted butter
- 2 c heavy cream
- 8 oz Cambozola, Brie, Blue or aged English Cheddar cheese, finely chopped/shredded (I used the English cheddar)
- 1/4 t ground pepper
- extra white cheddar cheese, to make sure it's cheesy enough--may not need, depending on how cheesy you like things :)
Cook the thyme and garlic in the butter in a small saucepan over med-low heat for 2 mins or until garlic is soft: do not brown the garlic. Add the cream and increase the heat to med-high. Bring to a simmer. Decrease heat and simmer until the cream is reduced by 1/3, stirring frequently. Stir in the cheese using a fork. Cook until the cheese is melted, stirring constantly. Sitr in the pepper. Pour into a warm fondue pot and keep warm over low heat. Serve with: assorted veggies--slightly steamed (broccoli, mushrooms, potatoes, and snap peas are good), cubed ham (warmed), cubed bread, slightly dried so it doesn't fall apart into the fondue, and chips. MY NOTE: I doubled this recipe, because we were serving 6 people with it. And I had plenty of leftovers!
BROTH FONDUE
Posted at: http://recipesofacheapskate.blogspot.com
- equal parts white grape juice (or white wine) and chicken broth
- assorted seasonings--minced green onions, garlic, pepper, thyme, etc.
Heat mixture to boiling. Keep right near boiling while in the fondue pot to ensure meat gets cooked thoroughly. Cook diced meat in the broth and serve with dipping sauces--honey mustard, green goddess, and bbq sauces are good choices.
What a fun party! Thanks for the cheese fondue recipe, I've tried making it before and it turned out all gloppy.
ReplyDeleteCool tradition, love the recipe :), Miriam@Meatless Meals For Meat Eaters
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