Do you own a fondue pot that you’ve never taken out of the box?
Maybe I can give you the inspiration to dust that baby off and have some fondue fun!
Let’s just change the name to SUPER FUN-DUE, k?
No?
Ok.
Fondue (a.k.a. super fun-due) is hands down one of my favorite eating activities on the planet.
I know a lot of people prefer chocolate fondue.
Me? Not so much.
There’s just something about cooking various meats on a tiny skewer at my dining room table that makes me have a crazy good time. Every time.
Here’s How-To Fondue:
I’ve put together a basic guideline to follow if you’re new to fondue-ing. This is how I roll – but you can get creative and change things up to make it fun for your party!
Keep it simple. Pile up a couple of plates of protein – I usually like to have a lean cut of cubed sirloin and fresh shrimp that I’ve peeled and deveined myself.
Then, do a huge platter full of veggies – grape tomatoes, garlic, mushroom, green onion, white onion, parsley, and arugula. Lightly dress the arugula with lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt, and cracked black pepper – this will cut out some of the bitterness that arugula can sometimes have.
The whole cloves of garlic aren’t strong once you cook them in the oil. If you like roasted garlic, you’ll love this! Trust me.
Sounds pretty healthy so far, right?
That means it’s time for the fun part.
I always have at least 2 dips to go along with the lean proteins – The shrimp pairs beautifully with this Creamy Parmesan Mustard Dip that I posted on the blog last week.
The beef is great dipped in a simple blue cheese spread. Just combine blue cheese crumbles with sour cream and that’s it! Who doesn’t like beef and blue cheese? Classic.
Of course, if you don’t care for these flavors you can use any other dips that would suit your taste buds.
After you’ve heated the oil in your fondue pot, you’re ready to chow down.
Pardon my iphone pics. I was obviously more into eating my masterpieces than photographing them.
A fun thing the hubs and I like to do is make interesting little bites for each other. He always manages to give me a creation that I would never have thought to make for myself.
With all of these different ingredients and flavors, you’ll find yourself totally and completely stuffed before you ever get bored.
Looking for a little something extra to serve with your fondue?
Assorted cheeses and crackers or a crusty loaf of bread go great with this “small bites” type of meal. I served Smoked Salmon Cheese Balls and crackers for our last fondue party.
OH… and don’t forget the wine!
Cheers!
Rachael xoxo
- 1 pound lean sirloin steak, or any cut of beef you prefer, cubed
- 1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
- 1 (8-oz) container whole white mushrooms, cut in half
- 1 bunch parsley, stems removed
- 1 bulb garlic, cloves peeled and kept whole
- 1 bunch green onion, cleaned and cut in half
- ½ white onion, sliced
- ½ to 1 package of arugula
- extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
- lemon wedge
- canola oil for fondue pot
- Place cubed steak and shrimp on separate plates. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
- Arrange tomatoes, mushrooms, parsley, garlic, green onion, and white onion on a large platter, keeping a good amount of room for the arugula. Place arugula in a large bowl and lightly dress with a small amount of olive oil, pinch of sea salt, cracked black pepper, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Gently toss to combine. Place arugula on the vegetable platter.
- Refer to your fondue pot instructions and add canola oil to the fondue pot. Once the oil is heated, place the steak and shrimp on skewers and cook the meat in the oil (Note: You can tell when the shrimp is cooked when it starts to turn pink). It’s important to make sure you have a fondue pot that gets hot enough to cook raw meat. Next, you can cook the garlic and any vegetables in the oil that you wish to.
For the beef – Try mixing together blue cheese crumbles and sour cream. Just add sour cream to your blue cheese until the desired consistency is reached.
For the shrimp – Go to www.simplyfreshcooking.com to find the perfect Creamy Parmesan Mustard Dip recipe!
Tips: Get creative with your fondue bites. Combine different ingredients and get a different bite every time. For example – Try beef with blue cheese dip, tomato, and arugula. Next, you could try shrimp with creamy parmesan mustard dip, cooked mushroom, cooked garlic, and a bit of green onion. You’ve got a lot of ingredients to work with, so keep experimenting and have fun!
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YUM! I have a fondue pot, but it is straight out of the 70s. I don’t think it would heat oil up hot enough to fry with the little tea light as the only heat source.
I LOVE blue cheese and steak together. I even got my 5 yr old & 6 yr old daughters hooked on it. *drool*
You must go get a new one, Jamie!! I think you can get them for around $20-$30 at the most at Target.
WOW! I can’t believe kids that young would go anywhere near blue cheese! You must be an awesome mama!
I have one fondue pot. It is a tiny one just for chocolate that was probably $9.99 at a drugstore
But, if I ever become a grown-up and get a real, genuine fondue pot, this is where I’m going to start!
Yay!
Cheese, chocolate, oil – I love all FUNdue! Great post!
Hahaha, thanks for humoring me, Anna!
I love the idea of a fondue party!
I love fondue-ing at home… er, sorry, FUNdue-ing! I do struggle with what to pair the meat with but you solved that problem! Thanks for sharing!
PS- one tip I found very useful if you are having a group of guests over for fondue… get extra skewers at Goodwill or any thrift store. You can almost always find a fondue pot and skewers there for just a few dollars.
I love this idea, Mike! Actually, why not just have multiple fondue pots while you’re at it?!
Great post! Too funny because I’m hosting a Fondue week the beginning of February! You read my mind! I hope you’ll share this with me in February for a chance to win a few great fondue prizes!!!
Your fondue posts were awesome, and I got soooo many ideas!
Love this little tutorial! I’ll have to try my hand at some savory fondue soon!
I hope you like it, Jessica!
I must admit this post makes me sad…sad because I DON’T have a fondue pot and now I want one!!! This looks soooooo yummy…would be great for Valentine’s Day dinner with my husband!
I hope you get yourself one and give it a try!
I absolutely LOVE fondue but haven’t had an oil fondue since I was a kid. I think I’m going to check out the flee market this weekend and see if I can find a a wicked retro fondue pot
When we were kids my mom used to put cubes of cheese that we would dip in batter before frying them in the oil. The cheese would be melted and the outside crispy … delicious!
Uh yeah, fried cheese… Love!!! My mom used to do that, too! I have no clue why I haven’t done that myself yet.
This would be so fun for Valentine’s Day. How nice to have an electric fondue pot.
You’re right, just perfect for V-day! We usually surround ourselves with candles when we fondue, so it’s pretty romantic.
I am a fan of fondue but haven’t done it at home. It’s been a while so maybe I need to try this out. I am a fan of cheese fondue (well cheese in general!). I love the idea of blue cheese dipping sauce for beer. Yummmmy!
I really need to get on the cheese fondue train… for realz already!
I do have a fondue pot…. I have used it, but not in years. I keep saying that we should use it, but we haven’t lately… Thanks for the inspiration!
You’re welcome! I hope you do get it back out.
Years ago, my mom took me to fondue for my birthday and I loved it! Since then, I have only done chocolate fondue and should definitely make it a point to do more fun-do-ing
Your creamy parmesan mustard dip sounds to die for!
Thanks Julia! As long as you’re fun-do-ing in some sort if way, I’m happy!
Rachael this looks absolutely fantastic! Well Done you.
I love to see comprehensive recipes for a “lifestyle of eating” rather than just a recipe for one dish. It’s lovely to see you recommending all these different ways of doing it and accompaniments
Hope you are well, take care
xx
So sweet, thank you! You do “lifestyle eating” very well, so I appreciate the compliment!
Wow! This looks fun! I’ve seen things like this in street cafes in Singapore and the like, but it never occurred to me to do it at home. Great idea. Fab post. Thank you! 8-D
You’re welcome! And thanks for stopping by, Louise.
What an awesome and helpful how-to! I am totally guilty of owning a fondue pot that’s collecting dust…but I think it’s time to fire it up. You can’t go wrong with melty fondue
Yay, Colleen! Thanks for stopping by!