Fondue Date Night

I absolutely love the Melting Pot and ever since going there I have wanted to make fondue at home. Well wait no more! As an early birthday present my mom bought me a very lovely fondue pot so last night Brandon and I broke it in with a fantastic cheese fondue recipe that he found and tweaked. So this is a Chef Brandon recipe, but it was so so phenomenal I had to share it. The original recipe called for aged Gouda but Brandon decided to substitute it for Munster and Parmesan and it was a great decision. This fondue was so flavorful and tasty and I think that Gouda would’ve been too strong of a flavor. We used potatoes, (cooked) steak, blanched broccoli, tomatoes, and French bread as dippers. We had green apples but forgot about them but green apples are probably one of my favorites for dipping into fondue. We had so much fondue, this recipe would be perfect for four people, but since we had leftovers I made a grilled cheese sandwich the next day! This may be one of the best fondue recipes I’ve ever had you must try this!!!

Caramelized Onion, Bacon, and Cheese Fondue

Caramelized Onions
1 large thinly sliced yellow onion
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
Olive oil

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium low heat in a large sauté pan.

2. Add onions and thyme, season with salt and pepper. Stirring occasionally, cook the onions until they turn golden, 30 – 45 minutes. Remove pan from heat.

Fondue
Six slices of bacon, chopped and cooked until crisp, drain on paper towel
3/4 pound Munster cheese, grated
1/4 pound Parmesan cheese, grated
1-1/2 Tablespoons flour
3/4 cup white wine

Directions:

1. Toss the cheese with the flour in a bowl.

2. Heat the wine slowly in a medium saucepan – do not boil. Add the cheese slowly, allowing it to melt between additions.

3. When the cheese is melted, stir in the bacon and 3/4 onions (reserve some of the onion mixture to garnish the top of the fondue.) If the mixture becomes too heavy to stir, a bit more wine slowly. If the mixture becomes too runny add more flour a 1/4 teaspoon at a time.

4. Transfer the melted cheese mixture to a warm fondue pot, fill with water to heat, and top with remaining onions and serve immediately with the accompaniments.

Serve with potatoes, vegetables, cooked meat, and bread



And now for DESSERT!!!


You can’t make fondue without having dessert fondue! We also made a ½ batch of chocolate fondue, it is so easy and so yummy! I know that milk chocolate seems more desirable but it is way too sweet, semi-sweet chocolate or dark chocolate is what I usually stick with. The basic recipe is just the chocolate and the whipping cream but if you want to doctor it up feel free to add additional yummies like peanut butter or nuts. I have some marshmallow cream I am dying to try with some crushed up graham crackers!


Chocolate Fondue

Ingredients
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
12 oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup to thin if fondue begins to thicken


Serve with fruits and desserts such as rice crispy treats, brownies, and cheesecake.

Directions

1. Heat whipping cream over medium high heat until cream comes to a low boil.

2. Remove the pan from the heat and add chocolate. Let the chocolate stand in hot cream 3 to 5 minutes to soften, then whisk chocolate together with the cream.

3. Stir in additional add ins and transfer the fondue to a fondue pot or set the mixing bowl on a rack above a small lit candle.

If fondue becomes too thick, stir in reserved cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, to desired consistency.