Do you Fondue??

Valentine's Day is the perfect day to Fondue.
(So is the Saturday after Valentine's Day, if you were sick on the actual day!)

It's pretty. It's yummy. It's easy to prepare together.

And best of all.... it is just the 2 of you.

NEVER eat out on Valentine's Day.
(Unless, of course, you like to share your lover's evening with hoards of other people!!)
Oh no, never eat out on Valentine's Day.



Stay home and make cheese fondue.

Put your guy in charge of the meat fondue.
(Raw meat alert!!)

And the chocolate fondue... well make that together.
I forgot to take a picture of the chocolate, so just the dippers are here,
but they still look mighty yummy.

We like to use 3 different pots so we don't have to clean anything in between courses. And, each pot is a little different.
The green pot is for cheese. It is a light weight metal and has a stand that will accommodate the sterno container.

The bigger black pot is for the meat fondue. It is a heavy pot that sits on an electric burner. This is important because sterno just doesn't produce enough heat to keep the oil good and hot.

And the little black pot is for chocolate. It requires nothing more than a tea light to keep the chocolate all warm and yummy.

And how about a recipe or two?!

Classic Cheese Fondue is easy to make. The trick is to use a combo of Gruyère and Emmentaler cheeses. Click here for the recipe. (This recipe makes enough for about 6 people.)

Chocolate Fondue is equally easy. Try this super simple recipe. (Also serves about 4-6 people.)

The sauces, I think, are the trickiest thing to make. And they take awhile (which is precisely why I put my guy in charge of them!!) His solution was to use 1) ready made tartar sauce, 2) ready made BBQ sauce, 3) ready made sweet and sour sauce, and 4) his own homemade honey mustard. I would give you that recipe too, but it is his "secret recipe". So secret, in fact, that I don't even know what it is!

And, of course, you will need a tempura recipe for the meat and veggies. (We dipped some the the veggies into the cheese fondue and saved some for the tempura). Click here for a tempura recipe.

I guess that is just about everything I know about fondue!!
Except for this one little tid-bit: DON"T eat the fondue off your skewer, especially if you are enjoying it in a group!!! It's the fondue equivalent of double dipping. Use your little plate and fork.

Here's to fondue.