Fondue, do you?

Cooking Discussions Cooking, Cookbooks, Ingredients
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In our family, festival of lights is celebrated with a good deal of fun memories. My parents, from diff backgrounds, looked for ways to celebrate everything inclusively, including a very non Kosher eight crazy nights, when the fondue pot came out of its dusty box, oil was poured and a variety of meats were browned, dipped and enjoyed with us kids excited over such an adult way to eat food. Hot oil, pointy forks, countertop eating…not exactly safety dining with 3 wild kids. That fondue pot outlived my folks and many of my relatives but it still exists as a spider plant potholder in my den. Over time, we started making cheese fondue and adding a few vegetable and bread dippers to the meal.

Fast forward…the tradition redone…

I bought a fondue pot years back and during the holidays pull it out for cheese fondue. This weekend, our casual fondue party starts with

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/cheese-fondue-recipe-1906678

dippers typically include:
bread, apples, pears, yukon potatoes, broccoli, mini chicken meatballs, onion rings.

These days, we move on to a stovetop fondue made from Sunday gravy. We dip stuffed shells, garlic bread bites, mini sausage and rice balls.

Lastly is a requested S’more or dark chocolate fondue for dessert. Dippers include large strawberries, graham crackers, shortbread cookies, large marshmallows.

Until we are fondued-out another year. But it got me wondering…

Do you enjoy fondue? What are your favorite fondue ideas?

Rooster

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Take this dish to a fondue pot.

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Nope. Never liked it. Not even back in the 70s.

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Well, alrighty then. Note to self, ha!

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I have a fondue pot at home too…actually 2, the other was stainless steel like a normal pot, I use it for cooking.

Cheese fondue, about once every 2-3 year. OK but not a very big fan. (I prefer raclette more.)

Fondue bourguignonne (with oil), friends like it… I hate it. You got home smelling bad with the smoke. Some of the dips can be nice. But most of the time, people just bought them ready made in supermarket.

Chinese fondue, I like it, but usually have that in a restaurant and with friends. Basically a boiling broth by adding meat and vegetables or even noodles to “boil” them. In the same logic, I like Shabu Shabu too, Japanese fondue, about the same principle.

The problem with fondue, you always get burnt in the mouth and suffered the next day.

I would like to try chocolate fondue… great with fruits, strawberries especially.

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Love it, but sensibly or not, it usually ends up seeming like more trouble than I feel like dealing with, so I end up just going for a “toasted cheese” sandwich (open-faced , broiled or toaster-ovened) when I want a “melty cheese with bread” fix… I miss the flavor of the wine in that, but now that I think of it, I suppose a glass to drink with the sandwich would come pretty close…:grin:

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We did cheese fondue at home one night during my recent travel food fest… homemade bread was the dipper highlight. Lightly steamed broccoli and cauliflower were the other faves.

We also went out for fondue, and kiddos proclaimed the home fondue better - the outside stuff was too boozy and garlicky (we had to redo it once).

Bread is by far my favorite dipper. A homemade loaf from Lahey or the quicker Alexandracooks version are so worth the minimal effort for something like this!

I like the idea of dessert fondue more than the actual thing… it always ends up too sweet, with higher risk of dippers falling in :joy:

TJ’s fondue is back in microwaveable bowls, two varieties :roll_eyes:

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As for cheese fondue, mostly fondue Savoyarde here. Cheese used can be Comté, Beaufort, Gruyère (from Savoie), Emmental (from Savoie) or Abondance (usually 3 of them and 1/3 of each). White wine (or with some recipes, kirsch) and garlic is added. Sometimes nutmeg is added too. Only eat with bread. Salad served at the side with mustard vinaigrette.

There is also fondue from Alsace, cheese used are Munster, Tomme d’Alsace, alcohol: Sylvaner with Kirsch with garlic, nutmeg, smoked bacon.

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I wonder why the corn flour.

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Thickener? I don’t see the need for it. I don’t always use booze either because it can overpower or ruin the cheeses specific flavor.

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I love Sichuan hotpot, and I can get it around here for about $20/pp. Making it at home would likely be more expensive, more work, and not as good. So even if I had a fondue pot, which I don’t, it would probably never leave the high cabinet, along with the waffle iron, the juicer and the George Foreman grill.

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Curious, how? Meat fondue or cheese fondue? Because the only cheese in the recipe is Parmesan, not fondue friendly.

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Given that, I can’t see the point of bothering.

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It’s a meat and tomato sauce gravy when ready for the dippers. Just a fun way to use the fondue style.
After you dip you can sprinkle the parm cheese on top or roll it in your own small dish.

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OK, it’s a fantastic recipe!

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Aside from slightly thickening it (and the “thickening” aspect really isn’t necessary imo), it also seems to help “smooth” it out somewhat, helping to prevent the slight separation of the wine that otherwise seems to happen while it sits at the table. In the small amounts I’ve always used, it doesn’t interfere with the flavor and saves the bother of having to stir it “vigorously” enough to reincorporate the small amounts of liquid that sometimes pool on the surface when I don’t use it…

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I have a pot. I think I’ll try one of these ideas.

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I bought an electric fondue pot last year during Black Friday. Weve used it 3x for cheese Fondue. It’s a fun interactive meal with our kids (young teens). We set it up on the coffee table and enjoy while we watch a movie. The recipe I use is equal parts swiss and gruyere with a splash of wine, mustard powder and a bit of corn starch.

Dippers are some variety of some kind of bread, blanched broccoli, boiled baby potatoes, blanched cauliflower, cooked smoked sausage, and roasted chicken.

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as a cheese lover, fondue was a regular thing back in the good old trendy fondue days. i even made my own after finding the requisite kirsch. there’s a restaurant (chain?) near my parents’ home in Southern California that sells appetiser, main, and dessert fondues. you can get three courses for a prix fixe and it’s always a tough call which things to choose. it’s been about five years since i was there and every now and again i think about it. when i was in Turin this year, i saw a notice for a fondue place but, as I walked by, I saw someone having it and it was tiny and silly looking after California so I didn’t bother. Turin, of course, has many restaurants serving bagna cauda. I’m adventurous and love anchovies, but I’m underwhelmed by the dish. I’ve always fancied having raclette but the opportunity hasn’t come up. Hard to say if I’d rather have a cheese or a chocolate fondue - you can keep the broth ones. Your post does remind me, though, how much I actually enjoy melted cheese, or melted chocolate so thanks for the recipes. I’ll do my best to come up with my own and I already have an idea for an orange chocolate fondue with some grand marnier in there!

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