Yesterday was National Fondue Day! I have GOT to get me one of those cool calendars that tells you all this OH-SO important info! Mine just has boring stuff like full moon and Administrative Professionals Day. (No offense to you administrative professionals out there!)
Anyhow, I was SO happy to hear this, because my sweet momma just bought me my very own olive-green, 1970’s Fondue Set from an auction! WOO HOO! Oh, AND gave me her fake wood and stainless steel one as well. Double blessing!
I hurried home from my grandparents to prep all the food, super excited for this supper.
Hmm.
Now I know why Fondue went out in 1970.
1) They are a TON of work with a whole lot of mess! I didn’t know you had to make everything on the stove and then transfer to your pot! Double dishes. Ugh.
2) It makes supper-prep take longer, and it makes supper take an HOUR longer than normal.
*Note to self: no fondue on a school night!
3) I don’t have a 3, but my OCD wouldn’t leave a list of just two, so I will use number 3 to say thank you to my 4 little Ferguson Facebook friends, Steph and Jordan for their great Fondue suggestions!
A word of warning, I have a new camera, because my old one died and I have NO earthly idea how to work it. These photos are AWFUL, orange and disgusting, but alas, it will just have to do until I can figure out how to shoot with my White Balance set to Tungsten. This is PRECISELY why I take photos outside. Ok, consider yourself warned, NOW we can move on.
So, after that long list of complaints, well, 2 actually…….you’d think I would never want to Fondue again, right?!
WRONG!
It was SO stinkin’ fun!
The kids were very curious as to what I was making, and when I told them it was like a cheese dip party, they could barely contain themselves. THEN, when they found out they were going to be allowed a little bit of dessert fondue as well, they rushed to the play room screaming and jumping up and down. They promptly dressed to come to “Tonya’s Diner” and waited to be seated.
My kids had a BLAST, saying over and over that this was the Best Supper EVER!
Even Pax thought it was finger-lickin’ good!
Speaking of licking, I am embarrassed to tell you this happened, or that Dale and I allowed it, but they LITERALLY licked their plates clean.
Poor Chocolate-deprived souls.
It really was the best chocolate sauce I have ever made! I didn’t lick my plate, but I did lick my fingers! 🙂
Here are the recipes I used tonight, one I combined a few from google, and made up my own. And one, I found in the 1970’s booklet that came with my set.
Smoky Cheese Fondue
7 oz of Smoky Gouda, sliced thin (please remove wax, who knew? lol 🙂 )
5 oz. of cheddar cheese shreds
2 T. flour
1 cup milk (more if it gets too thick)
2 T. finely chopped onion
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
4 garlic cloves, pressed
Pinch of cayenne and a dash of salt
Mix cheeses with flour until well coated. In a sauce pan, heat up milk and onion to not quite boiling. Stir in the cheese a little at a time, stirring until all is melted and smooth. Add Worcestershire sauce and seasonings to taste. Transfer to fondue pot and light burner, keeping warm until serving time. Prep meats, veggies and bread.
We did tender-crisp steamed green beans, cherry tomatoes, black forest ham cubes, grilled steak cubes, and whole wheat bread chunks. Oh, and broccoli which is not pictured because I steamed it too long to dunk, so we ate it on the side. YUM! Smoky and delish!
Now for Dessert, because National Fondue Day is worth breaking rules for!
I halved this, because I didn’t want the kids to have a lot of sweets, and I didn’t want tons of leftover sauce. Now if this had been a caramel fondue, that’s a WHOLE different story. I’d have made a big batch to drink, I mean consume later on in the week.
Mmmm, caramel.
Enough about that, on to chocolate….and how perfect! I had just gotten some amazing strawberries at Aldi’s today before I knew there would be dessert tonight!
Sweet strawberries and creamy chocolate…..A match made in heaven!
Creamy Chocolate Fondue
1 cup cream ( I did a mixture of sour cream and milk, until it was thick and creamy like cream. Works every time!)
1 pound semi-sweet chocolate chips or bits
1/2 cup sugar
2 T. butter
1 tsp real vanilla
Melt butter in double broiler. (or if you are me and have none, a glass bowl over a pot of water) Add chocolate chips, stirring until melted and smooth. Blend in the sugar. Add cream, a bit at a time until all is blended, shiny and smooth! Pull from heat and add vanilla. Transfer to a low heat fondue pot.
Serve with graham crackers, marshmallows, pretzels, cookies, or fruit.
(Remember, I halved this and we still had PLENTY leftover! Use your judgment based on crowd size and sweet tooth.)
Happy Day After National Fondue Day!
~T
4 little Fergusons 