Fondue for First-Timer!

[christinew]

Help me fellow cooks! I am going to be using my new fondue set tomorrow and I have the basic cheese recipe however I'd love to know if I could, besides the toasty bread pieces, steam veggies and saute some chicken and beef to dip into the cheese. Am I way off track? Does this sound gross http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/eek.gif ?

Can't wait to hear what you have to say. Need remedial fondue training http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/confused.gif

Christine W

[christinew]

This is ilegal.....but I need help!

[Beth]

Use what you like. We have done shrimp and sausage too, but sausage makes a heavy meal, so don't overdo it. My husband likes fresh mushrooms, and I have seen apple slices suggested. Also strips of bell pepper, grapes, broccoli (raw or lightly steamed, but keep it a bit crisp).

[Vanessa]

Wine-Tarragon Fondue
Partially cook the vegetables for easy spearing.

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 medium carrots, bias-sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cups cauliflower flowerets
1 recipe Tarragon Dipping Sauce
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 cups dry white wine
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons sliced green onion
1 tablespoon snipped fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon, crushed

Cut chicken into bite-size pieces. Cover and chill up to 4 hours. In a medium saucepan cook carrots in a small amount of boiling salted water for 5 minutes. Add cauliflower; cook for 2 minutes more. Drain, cover, and chill.

To serve, prepare dipping sauce; set aside. On a serving platter arrange chicken, carrots, cauliflower, and zucchini.

In a fondue pot combine wine, broth, green onion, and tarragon. Bring to a gentle boil. Spear pieces of chicken and vegetables with fondue forks; dip into bubbling broth. Cook vegetables for 1 to 2 minutes and chicken for 2 to 3 minutes or until no longer pink. (To maintain the temperature, don't add too many pieces of food to the broth at one time.) Dip cooked chicken and vegetables into sauce. Makes 8 appetizer servings.

Tarragon Dipping Sauce: In a small, heavy saucepan prepare one 0.9-ounce envelope hollandaise sauce mix according to package directions. Remove from heat; stir in 2 tablespoons dry white wine and 2 teaspoons snipped fresh tarragon or 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon, crushed. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes. In a small mixing bowl fold hollandaise sauce into 1/2 cup plain yogurt. Serve at room temperature. Makes about 2 cups.

[JanetB]

FoodTV has the most fondue recipes and tips that I could find. You might want to try their site.

[MrsReber]

Veggies and cheese? Sounds great to me! Maybe you shouldn't listen to me since I put cheese in absolutely everything. My mom used to make us cheese fondue all the time (swiss cheese and wine- yum!) and all we ever used for dipping was bread. I could see some crispy broccoli, though. And my husband just asked if I had all the kitchen stuff I needed......a fondue pot may be in order.

[lindrusso]

When I make cheese fondue I do bread, broccoli (lightly steamed as you mentioned) and apple slices - the apples are great! I have never done meat with the cheese fondue because, for me personally, it just seems to heavy. I figure I need tobalance out the fat of the cheese with more healthy, light options. That's not to say that meat wouldn't taste darned good!

I too need a new fondue pot....mine is missing a leg and the top...

[christinew]

You guys are the greatest.

Vanessa-Thanks for the great recipe.
Janet.....I love the foodtv.com site so I will check there too. Good call

Beth and MrsReber...Great side suggestions.

LindRusso...how on earth did your pot lose the leg!?

OK, What do you think about apples, mushrooms, peppers, broc, cauliflower, and bread? What am I missing?

cheers,
Christine

[lindrusso]

It's pretty late so I'm sure you've done your fondue by now, but that sounds great!

Oh, and I had an electric fondue pot with plastic legs. One of the legs just cracked off.

Anyone care to comment about what type of fondue pot to get? I like the burner kind because you can use it anywhere and it's more "atmospheric" - is that a word? But, the electric kind creates a more even temperature that can easily be turned up or down.

Mrs Reber - now is definitely the time to buy a new pot. I've seen soooo many choices - I think fondue is experiencing a come back. I'm thinking of Target's stainless steel pot. I've seen other stainless steel ones, but they were over $100 - ouch! Or maybe the La Creuset (sp?) - they have a white one and I bet THAT one would last forever!

[SHERRY]

I just saw a review in our local paper for a stainless steel pot that Target carries. Rated as a best buy. With a price like $69.00 I would give it a try!

Best thing about it is it has a glass insert.

[This message has been edited by SHERRY (edited 01-08-2001).]

[JJeannette]

From what I've been reading lately, you might want to think about getting two fondue pots---the metal one for oils and broths and a ceramic one for cheese and dessert fondues. If I remember correctly the metal ones tend to get too hot for the cheese and the ceramic ones don't get hot enough(or will break from the heat).

[emilycat]

Originally posted by JJeannette:
From what I've been reading lately, you might want to think about getting two fondue pots---the metal one for oils and broths and a ceramic one for cheese and dessert fondues. If I remember correctly the metal ones tend to get too hot for the cheese and the ceramic ones don't get hot enough(or will break from the heat).

That's right....if you think you'll want to make both kinds, it's best to have two different pots.
Williams-Sonoma has the copper and stainless steel pots with a porcelain insert so that you can make broth/oil and cheese/dessert fondues.
I have the Le Creuset, and although it's not exactly brimming with character (just plain blue), it's really sturdy and durable and I like it a lot. I'm hoping someday to find a hand painted ceramic one in Europe like the one my mom has...

Emily

[Leanne]

I have 3 pots - one electric, 1 stainless steel, & one very small porcelin. I like them all. Electric is good for temperature control - the stainless gets too hot sometimes.

I double emily's recommendation - the williams sonoma one that is copper, but has the porcelin insert. If I had it to do over again - it's the one I would buy.

Stand alone is better than electric b/c you don't need to be near an outlet & worry about the cord, etc. The stainless one gets hot enough to cook with oil - which is what I was worried about when I bought the electric.

And, you definitely need porcelin for chocolate fondues - I've used the stainless & it just stayed too hot.

[Gina O]

I agree that you need two different pots for the different types of fondues. I have the Williams-Sonoma copper pot with the ceramic insert. I love it tons, use it frequently, and don't even mind polishing it after each use. (It is not necessary to polish it each time, but when I decided to do my kitchen in copper I resigned myself to the fact that I better get used to polishing).

On of the things I really like about it, is that when used with the Chantal burner paste sold at WS, it heats really well. When doing cheese and chocolate, you use both pots with water in the copper and the fondue in the ceramic. The double boiler keeps the food very hot and heats evenly.

I know this one will last the rest of my life, and if it didn't I would buy the identical one again. Gina

[lindrusso]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll have to ponder this one a while! We don't do fondue all that often, so I'm leary of spending too much money. However, I also know that buying cheaper isn't always a bargain if you have to keep replacing it - we've been through two fondue pots already! Hmmm....

[Grace]

Leanne and Gina:

Thank you both for the great advice. I just got an electric fondue pot for Xmas (I had asked for electric based on what Alton Brown from FoodTv had said), but I think I'll need more than one if I want to do cheese and main course (with broth, of course) and chocolate dessert! I will DEFINITELY get the copper one with ceramic insert for my second pot. Thanks again.

[Stace]

I am new to fondues as well. I received one as a Christmas gift and we had our first fondue on Friday night.

One suggestion for your cheese fondue is to dip cooked tortellinis! And partially cooked broccoli and cauliflower.

[christinew]

Originally posted by Stace:
I am new to fondues as well. I received one as a Christmas gift and we had our first fondue on Friday night.

One suggestion for your cheese fondue is to dip cooked tortellinis! And partially cooked broccoli and cauliflower.

This is a perfect suggestion. Thanks! We will try this next.

Christine