Fondue with the Foodies

Last night was our bimonthly foodiefest. Our selected theme was Fondue. I personally had never eaten let alone prepared fondue and according to my friends seemed a bit nervous during the creation of my portion of the menu.

The word Fondue is derived from the french word “fondre” which means “melt”. Our menu for the evening~

~ Cheese fondue with crusty French bread dippers

~ Beef cooked in oil with dippers of Peanut, Mustard or Red Sauce

~Chocolate fondue and Raspberry fondue with Angel food cake, fresh strawberries & peaches for dipping

All consumed with a variety of wines.

Fondue Anyone

The preparation began with the sauces for the meats.

Most Yummy

A little wine helps to thin the sauce

Foodie's

My contribution to the meal with the cheese fondue. I went with a traditional recipe of natural Swiss and Gruyere. I shopped that same day for the freshest ingredients. Note to self: keep cheeses away from the energetic pet dog who enjoyed biting into it. Thankfully she was discovered before too much damage was done!

The recipe instructions say to heat the wine until the surface is covered with bubbles. This was fun to watch…

Look at those tiny bubbles

It is so nice to get together with friends and cook, eat and drink. I really can’t think of a better way to spend the evening.

The table is set, the guys are here and the prep is done. Time to eat.

The communal meal of eating Fondue apparently has some regulations although I am not to sure that we followed them. Essentially it follows the concept of “double dipping”. You are not suppose to get your piercing fork contaminated.

Cheese Fondue starts us off

If your like me you have no idea that the meat comes to the table raw and gets cooked in oil at the table. You then use your choice of dips to accompany the meat.

This is Doug

: Beef cooked to order

After we have dined sufficiently on the appetizer and the main course we are ready to indulge in the simple pleasures of dessert. Back to the stove to prepare the chocolate and the raspberry fondues.