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Give me your best fondue recipes/ideas.


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You know, we didn't have a particularly homey family growing up; but my siblings and I all have fond memories of rare occasions when my mom did fondue. She simply did chunks of beef and a pot of oil. While your little hunk of meat was cooking, we ate baked potatoes or whatever. But somehow my mom managed to make this like a party meal. It was a lot of fun.

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I recently bought an electic fondue pot (love it!! it's my Christmas gift - early). We are going to make it our new NYE tradition.

 

We made a cheese fondue with cheddar and gruyere cheese. Garlic, white wine. I googled recipes and just did it to taste.

 

Then I made dessert with equal parts milk chocolate chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips and whole cream.

 

I'm gluten free, so we didn't use any breads. For the cheese fondue, we used broccoli, carrots, red peppers, cauliflower, and snap peas. For the chocolate, we used strawberries, pineapple, apples, and marshmellows.

 

We haven't tried any meat yet, but I'd love to know how to do it. Baked potatoes in the meantime is a great idea (I have little ones).

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We do fondue for Christmas Eve each year, and this is our must-have recipe.

 

It's from Rachel Ray but please don't let that fact knock it out of contention!

 

We've had very expensive fondue in the Alps that honestly wasn't as good.

 

Smoked Gouda Fondue with Bacon and Almonds – Rachel Ray, Food Network

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

1 pound asparagus

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, plus some for drizzling

2 shallots, thinly sliced

1 pound white mushrooms*

Salt and black pepper

2 to 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, eyeball it

1 1/2 pounds kielbasa

1 cup drained cornichons or baby Gherkin pickles

2 red pears

4 teaspoons lemon juice, divided

1 baguette, sliced

6 slices thick cut bacon

8 ounces Gruyere, shredded

1/3 pound, about 6 ounces, smoked Gouda, shredded

1 rounded tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 large clove garlic, smashed away from skin

3/4 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup smoked almonds, coarsely chopped

* If you like, score the tops of a few of the larger mushrooms with a paring knife. It will dress up the serving platter when mushrooms are cooked.

Heat 2 or 3 inches water in a medium frying pan until it boils then salt it and add the cauliflower. Cook 3 minutes, then remove from water with tongs or spider to a colander.

Cool under cold running water. Trim asparagus of tough ends and add to salted water, cook 3 minutes, remove and cool in the same manner as the cauliflower. In a second skillet, while cauliflower and asparagus work, saute shallots and mushrooms together in 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil over medium high heat until tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper and add red wine vinegar to the pan and cook it out, 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Preheat broiler to high and a grill pan or large nonstick skillet to medium high. Drizzle sausage casing with extra-virgin olive oil and prick skin in a few places with the tines of a fork. Grill kielbasa on hot grill pan or in large nonstick skillet 6 to 8 minutes until casing is crisp. Remove sausage and cut in 2-inch chunks on a bias.

While sausage cooks, pile veggies on a platter and add cornichons and chopped pears coated with 2 teaspoons lemon juice. Broil bacon on slotted pan until crisp. Drain, cool and chop. Make the fondue: combine cheeses in a bowl with flour. Rub the inside of a small pot with smashed garlic then discard. Add wine and remaining 2 teaspoons lemon juice and bring up to a bubble over medium heat. Reduce the heat to simmer and add cheese in handfuls. Stir constantly, melting the cheese in batches. Stir in a figure-eight pattern with wooden spoon. Transfer the fondue to fondue pot and top with chopped bacon and smoked nuts.

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I'm jealous. :) The nearest Trader Joe's must be 6 or so hours away.

 

Then I hope you'll forgive my obsessive TJ evangelism. I never knew what it was until they built one near me. It has changed my life. We do fondue every Christmas Eve. This is the first time I noticed it at TJs. Yes, I've already tested it AND stocked up to be sure to have it. It has Emmental, Comté and Gruyère cheeses.

 

We also do chocolate fondue for dessert with strawberries, bananas, and cake.

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I grew up with cheese fondue. My husband's family (whose fondue pot we inherited) did skewers of meat in oil. For whatever reason (probably because I am chief cook) we have been doing cheese, the basic Joy of Cooking recipe, on Christmas Eve. Then last year my college aged son confessed that he was not particularly keen on fondue. :001_huh: So it is time to mix it up.

 

I borrowed a fun cookbook from the library, Not Your Mother's Fondue. I am thinking of doing Shrimp in Spicy Garlic Beer Fondue or Greek Feta and Shrimp Fondue in Mediterranean Tomato Broth. I'll report back after Christmas.

 

My son is not a big cheese eater. A little cheese is fine, a lot is not his thing. I suspect that something other than a cheese-centric fondue will be a hit.

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