For New Years Eve we decided to stay in with our little ones, but I wanted to make it special so I decided to make it a Fondue Night.
It’s been years since I’ve done fondue, and I was only able to find one drywall dust covered fondue set shoved behind boxes of books and outgrown toys in our basement storage area. Our plan was to have cheese fondue and meat fondue and then wrap up the evening with chocolate fondue. One fondue pot was clearly not going to suffice.
So I made a trip to Crate & Barrel. I could seriously live in that store. In addition to a Christmas tree skirt and ornaments for 75% off (SCORE!) I found this adorable white cast iron fondue pot and his little brother, the chocolate brown dessert fondue pot (no link available, sorry!)
That night we had a Family Fondue Fiesta! And I thought I’d share the recipes with you.
Cheese Fondue (compliments of my friend Lucy)
1 garlic clove, sliced in half
1-1/4 cup dry white wine
10 oz Guyere cheese, shredded
10 oz Emmanthal cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Kirsch (this is a liquor)
2 tsp cornstarch
2 loaves Italian bread, cubed
Rub inside of saucepan with garlic. Add wine and bring to a boil.
Meanwhile combine Kirsch and cornstarch in a small bowl. Set aside.
Add the cheeses to the wine and lower the heat a bit, stirring constantly in a figure eight pattern. When they are melted, (they will not be combined) stir cornstarch again and slowly add it to the pot while stirring. Cheeses will bind to the starch, and then it will be creamy and smooth. If it’s too thick, add a little more wine.
Transfer to fondue pot to keep warm. Serve with bread cubes.
Meat Fondue
For the meat fondue, we didn’t do anything special. We just dipped raw
shrimp and cubes of chicken and beef into hot oil, seasoned with salt
and pepper. Next time I’ll try to make some dipping sauces for the
meat.
Chocolate Fondue (I have no idea where I got this recipe.)
10 oz. semisweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
Stir first 3 ingredients together in a saucepan over low heat until chocolate melts. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Transfer to fondue pot to keep warm. Serve with fresh fruit, pound cake, marshmallows, and Oreos. YUM!
Well, besides the fact that I’ve never heard of Emmanthal cheese, it sounds wonderful! And what a great idea. My son loves fondue – maybe I’ll do this for his birthday!
That is SO much fun!! My hubby’s boss took us out for to a fondue restaurant last year and I loved it!!
Steph
Oh no no no no. The kids didn’t dip in the hot oil. We served them from it. They only dipped in chocolate.
oh how fun!!! this is one of those things that i hope to be able to turn into a tradition with the kids some day.
It all sounds great. I love fondue! And making it at home sounds so much more cost efficient than doing it at the Melting Pot. (But the Melting Pot does all the work for you so it’s probably an even trade. And they have nothing to set on fire. Not that I would or anything. Just sayin’.)
you are so brave — i’m not sure i’d trust my kids with pointy sticks around hot, bubbling oil….
You know I thought of doing this with my daughter and some of her friends for her birthday ….I will have to remember this idea.
Mmmmm… I love fondue!
We LOVE fondue! It not only tastes like Heaven, but it’s a meal everyone can participate in, which makes it fun. Thanks for the cheese recipe; we haven’t tried that (or shrimp! YUM)
We LOVE fondue! It not only tastes like Heaven, but it’s a meal everyone can participate in, which makes it fun. Thanks for the cheese recipe; we haven’t tried that (or shrimp! YUM)
We LOVE fondue! It not only tastes like Heaven, but it’s a meal everyone can participate in, which makes it fun. Thanks for the cheese recipe; we haven’t tried that (or shrimp! YUM)
We LOVE fondue! It not only tastes like Heaven, but it’s a meal everyone can participate in, which makes it fun. Thanks for the cheese recipe; we haven’t tried that (or shrimp! YUM)
We LOVE fondue! It not only tastes like Heaven, but it’s a meal everyone can participate in, which makes it fun. Thanks for the cheese recipe; we haven’t tried that (or shrimp! YUM)
We LOVE fondue! It not only tastes like Heaven, but it’s a meal everyone can participate in, which makes it fun. Thanks for the cheese recipe; we haven’t tried that (or shrimp! YUM)
We LOVE fondue! It not only tastes like Heaven, but it’s a meal everyone can participate in, which makes it fun. Thanks for the cheese recipe; we haven’t tried that (or shrimp! YUM)
We LOVE fondue! It not only tastes like Heaven, but it’s a meal everyone can participate in, which makes it fun. Thanks for the cheese recipe; we haven’t tried that (or shrimp! YUM)
Sounds wonderful! What a grat idea! I think my kids would love that!
OH, YUMMMMMM. I could’ve licked the cheese pot clean for you.
Nothing’s as festive as meat boiled in oil, is it? Seriously, I LOVED fondue night when I was a kid and would love to bring back the tradition. I’m thinking there was a sauce that was like dijon and sour cream combined. Hmmmm …
That is our cheese fondue recipe too! I got it out of an old fondue book I got at a garage sale, the cheese is expensive though and they sell a ready made package in the deli section for way cheaper and the consistency is good. Now what to do with that big bottle of kirsch, haahaha
That is a fun idea. My mom used to make fondue all the time…it brings back great childhood memories!!!
This does sound like fun. I think my kids would love it. Thanks for the recipes!
Vivian
What a great idea! I’m even inspired to host a New Year’s get-together.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had fondue. That sounds really good.
My family loves fondue and we usually do this at least a couple times a year. My absolute favorite is a recipe we use for crab fondue and dip bread in it. Yummy!!!
for the meat fondue, a chicken broth works great. And then you get the butcher to cut your meat into thin slices, like deli slices(from a semi frozen or frozen piece of meat as it is easier to cut thin slices)!
I have tons of great dipping sauces that are Mayo based (ie a Curry, a mustard, a garlic etc). Also the meat fondues (with oil or with broth) should be cooked in a metal fondue pot. And with the broth, ad a handful of rice and at the end of the meal, you can eat the soup. IT IS AMAZING!
For the Cheese fondue, 1/4 cup for Kirsh is a lot. Not too many people like the taste. I would make the fondue and then add a little at a time and mix it in to taste…It is also a good thing to drink with it, if you like it! I personally like it IN the fondue not as a drink! Also, you should make the fondue directly in the pot so you don’t have to transfer it!
Some people sometimes serve the cheese fondue with Pears, which go really well, or cooked potatoes (though I find that WAY TOO heavy )
Next you need to try Raclette!
I came via Sandier Pasture. I grew up in Switzerland and we make all of the fondues!! Ok I practically wrote a novel, sorry! I am just a lover or the fondues!
I LOVE fondue! I did half white/half milk chocolate for Lydia’s birthday! YUM.
Sounds yummy! I’ll have to try the cheese. I did a chocolate fondue yesterday with strawberries and pretzels to dip – it was yummy! I still need to figure out how to get my Chocolate fountain to flow properly, but it is fun too.