Fondue Night

August 16, 2008 started out being a glorious morning. It was a gorgeous, sunny day. We were in STL, slept in a bit from the amazingly-awesome (yeah, I know that's not a real compound word) Brad Paisley concert the night before. My mom woke us up around 9:30 and she and my step-dad treated us to breakfast. After a delicious meal, we went down to the Festival Of The Little Hills and stopped in to see my friend Jamie. That night we were supposed to celebrate my dad's 51st birthday with my brother, step-sister, half-sister, and step-mom. On the way home from Jamie's store, we received a call that turned our lives upside down. My father-in-law, who was only 50 years old, passed away very unexpectedly.

Since then, things have just been insane. We've (especially Matt) have had to deal with things we never thought we'd have to at 26 years old. Neither of us have ever been people to take things for granted, but I think now more than ever we really understand the importance of living every day to the fullest.

Tonight we had Matt's mom, sister, and older brother over for fondue. (My younger brother in law had to work.) This was most definitely a meal my father-in-law would have enjoyed, it was the perfect amount of family zaney-ness. My MIL and SIL really enjoyed everything, my BIL however was going crazy, he was way too impatient to wait for all of his food to cook. All in all though, we had a blast! My SIL is almost as picky as I am and I was really nervous she wouldn't like anything, but luckily she did.


Tonight was delicious and so much fun. I cant wait to do it again. I want to dedicate this post to my father in law, Mark. We missed you tonight and will miss you always, but know you are watching over us.

Fondue Night:
Three Cheese Fondue
Coq au Vin Broth
Basic Chocolate Fondue

Best Formula Three-Cheese Fondue
Source: allrecipes.com




1 Cup White Wine (Sauvignon Blanc is suggested)
1 1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Gruyere cheese - shredded
Sharp Cheddar cheese - shredded
Emmentaler cheese - shredded1 clove of garlic


Combine the cheese and flour in a bowl. Rub garlic over inside of fondue pot -or- saute it in the pot . Simmer wine and add cheese/flour mixture to wine. Stir in a zig-zag motion until cheese is smooth. Serve with French and Sourdough Bread and Apple Slices.

Coq au Vin Fondue
Adapted From: The Melting Pot/Recipe Zaar




2 14oz cans reduced-sodium beef broth
1 14oz can fat free veggie broth
2 Knolls vegetable bullion cubes
1 - 1 1/2 cup Pinot Noir
1 tbsp fresh minced garlic
2 green onions, sliced

Dippers:
Chicken
Steak
Broccoli
Carrots
Mushrooms


Dipping Sauces:
Peanut
Terriyaki
A1
BBQ



Heat beef and veggie broth in fondue pot (I have an electric), bring to boil. Add all other ingredients, bring to boil. Place individual pieces of desired meat or veggies on fondue fork and put in pot until correct temperature has been reached. Take the necessary precautions so you don't eat raw meat. Dip Meat in Various Sauce

Josiah searching for his steak:




Fondue is fun and apparently makes people make funny faces


My MIL, me and my SIL



Starvin Marvins! They want their food!




mmmm... dessert.....
Rice Krispie Treats, Marshmallows, strawberries, fresh and canned pineapple, and nanners




Simple Chocolate Fondue Recipe:


4 16oz bars bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1/2 - 3/4 cup cream (I used half and half)


Pour cream in fondue pot, simmer. Add chocolate and stir til smooth.





Matt and his mom...

My New Favorite Treat

We had so much left over chocolate fondue, I was trying to think of ways to use it besides just eating it or freezing it. I'm not quite sure where I got the idea for Chocolate Banana Pops, but I decided to make some and let me tell you, I'm so glad I did. Besides the fact the are super easy to make, I figure they're a healthier dessert than a big old bowl of ice cream or piece of cake... and they taste so, so, SO, good!

Chocolate Banana Pops



4 large bananas
Melted Chocolate (I used left over Mexican Chocolate Fondue)
Crushed peanuts, cereal, candy, or crackers (I used peanuts, Kashi Go Lean Crunch, and Cinnamon Wheat Thins)
8 Popsicle Sticks or Skewers
Wax Paper
Baking Dish (I used 13x9)

Line dish with wax paper. Cut bananas in half and insert skewer and place in baking dish. Place in freezer uncovered for about 2 hours

After bananas have been in the freezer, melt chocolate and pour into baking dish or bowl. Roll banana in chocolate to coat. Roll in crushed topping of your choice.

Place back in dish and put in the freeze. I like to let mine sit overnight, I keep the dish uncovered for a few hours and then I put the lid on.

Cinco de Mayo

Hope you had a fun Cinco de Mayo! I ran into my friend Kari in the afternoon so we decided to go grab a beer and I got a cool beer poncho....... (!!!)



For dinner, I made Julie's fabulous chicken enchiladas, black beans and rice seasoned with baby bam and a little bit of lime juice, and I made Mexican Chocolate Fondue. The fondue was so good, the only problem is we have wayyyy to much leftover. (although, too much chocolate is never really a problem) :)

Mexican Chocolate Fondue
from Rachel Ray




1 Cup Heavy Cream
1 1/3 cups (8 ounces) chocolate chips *I used Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon chile powder + more to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon + more to taste
Pinch salt


1. Melt chocolate. Add all ingredients. Stir until well blended

2. Devour

Rachel Ray suggests using cinnamon donut holes for dippers. We used pineapple, apples, bananas, and homemade cinnamon and sugar chips.

Fondue This

I had Swiss and Extra Sharp Cheddar left over from our last fondue night. Luckily, I found this recipe on Julia's blog that called for Swiss and Cheddar.

Melting Pot Cheddar Fondue
my modifications in italics

3 to 3 1/2 oz beer (I added quite a bit more b/c I added an extra 1/2 cup of cheese)
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
1-2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, however much you prefer, it can be strong.
2 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese1 cup Swiss cheese (I added 2 cups Swiss in order to use up the rest of my cheese)

Grate cheese and mix in some flour to very lightly coat the cheese and keep it from clumping.

Mix beer, mustard powder and garlic in the fondue pot, bring to a simmer.Add in cheese in small batches, and stir until the consistency is right. Add in Worcestershire sauce and continue stirring until thickened.

Serve with whatever dippers you prefer. We used sourdough and granny smith apples.

A Nice Night at Home

Last night we decided to keep it low key. We rented a move, had cheese fondue, and made a nice big salad.



The salad I had in mind was one from my friend Nemmie -

Ten Restaurant's Signature Chopped Salad.

I had heard so many good things about this from my friends Jules, Amanda, Leslie, and of course Nemmie but there aren't words to describe the taste. It's fabulous. For the recipe and a picture of the salad please go here.

When my dad and step-mom came up she made an awesome cheese fondue. I need to call her and ask for the recipe. Last night however I searched the internet and found a recipe from allrecipes.com. I combined the original recipe with some suggestions from the reader reviews. This was very good. The only thing is I forgot to buy the Sauvignon Blanc, so we just used a Riesling. I think I used a bit too much Riesling but it was still delicious. We almost devoured the entire bowl.

I didn't measure out the exact amounts, just eyeballed it since there were only 2 of us.

Best Formula Three-Cheese Fondue

1 Cup White Wine (Sauvignon Blanc is suggested)
1 1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Gruyere cheese - shredded
Sharp Cheddar cheese - shredded
Emmentaler cheese - shredded
1 clove of garlic

Combine the cheese and flour in a bowl.
Rub garlic over inside of fondue pot -or- saute it in the pot
Simmer wine (Since I have an electric fondue pot, I just poured the wine in the pot and let it simmer.)
Add cheese/flour mixture to wine. Stir in a zig-zag motion until cheese is smooth.

We dipped french bread in this but the original recipe also suggest Granny Smith Apples. For the original recipe go here. Just make sure you read through the suggestions if you decide to make this.