Fondue It Yourself

This weekend Adam and I have had some fun with fondue the past few nights! Jo Ann and Frank gave us a fondue set, and I started putting it to good use at some of my Mary Kay shows doing Fondue Fundraisers! So after getting my fondue set back from a very fondue-zealous hostess, I decided to give fondue a go at home. If you recall, Adam and I went to the Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant, for our Anniversary this past year. I was really surprised that Adam liked the Melting Pot as much as he did because he used to make the comment that he didn't want to pay that much money to cook his own food, but we had fun. It is a fun and different dinning experience.
I basically wanted to experience the Big Night Out dinner at our house! So I borrowed a delicious cheese fondue recipe from my MK hostess and then found a broth recipe for cooking meat and a wonderful chocolate fondue recipe online. You can actually find websites that will tell you how to make the Melting Pot's recipes! Like I said, Adam and I have been fonduing for a few days now because I didn't realize that the recipes were for larger groups (about 4-6 people), but it has really been a bonding experience over dinner! All of the following recipes can be cut in half and still feed 2 people easily! It cost me roughly the same amount to buy all the food and supplies for 3 courses as the Big Night Out, but it serves two to three times the amount of people. My suggestion is to Fondue with Friends and have everyone bring something to cut down on the cost, or you can just eat fondue for 3 days like we are!

Cheese Fondue (Traditional Swiss Fondue)

Ingredients:

1/2 lb (8 oz) Emmenthaler cheese
1/2 lb (8 oz) Gruyere cheese
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 cup dry white wine
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp Kirsch
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 clove garlic
nutmeg (optional)

Directions:
Shred cheese. Shake cornstarch and shredded cheese in a bag. Rub a 4 qrt sauce pot with clove of garlic. Mix wine and lemon juice in pot over medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Gradually add cheese, stirring constantly in a zig zag pattern. DO NOT LET IT BOIL! Stir until creamy. Once smooth, add Kirsch and dry mustard. (Optional: add pinch of nutmeg).
Transfer to fondue pot.

Dippers:
Italian/French loaf
Granny Smith Apples
Veggies

Note: I used dry white cooking wine instead of the real deal, but feel free to use the good stuff! Also, Kirsch can be found in most liquor stores. It is a cherry flavored mixer, but used mostly for fondue making! Also, I did not use nutmeg, since I am very sensitive to the flavor!

Milk Chocolate Fondue

Ingredients:

12 oz chocolate (I used a 12 oz bag of Ghiradelli Milk Chocolate chips)
1 cup whipping cream
2 Tbsp on brandy, rum or flavored liqueur (I used 1 Tbsp on the Kirsch from the cheese recipe!)

Directions:

Melt chocolate and whipping cream in a pot on low heat. When melted completely, add brandy, rum, liqueur or Kirsch. Mix in well and then transfer to fondue pot.

Dippers:
Strawberries
Bananas
Rice Crispy Treats
Cheesecake
Marshmallows
pound cake
Brownies

We used a Court Bouillon recipe found on Helium.com. It wasn't to die for but it wasn't bad! We may try the Coq Au Vin recipe next time.