It's My Party

We had a little party today to celebrate Gommie's visit. Several friends came over for a fondue luncheon (thanks for the pots, J!). It was a delightful and chaotic day.

I know, right, you're thinking, "fondue?" But I saw an article in the NYTimes recently and decided to give it a go, though I didn't use their recipes nor have I actually had much fondue in my life. But it's not so different from dipping chips in queso . . . .

DD wore her Princess dress, with a red heart sweatshirt over it to protect it from food. Which she devoured for the whole time. First, she dipped Oreos in chocolate fondue. But she wouldn't eat the cookie--she'd lick the chocolate off the cookie and then start all over. Later in the day, however, we found her seated at the kitchen table with Oreo cookie pieces strewn everywhere. But with no cream filling. Because she had licked and scraped it all off. Where did she learn that? When asked, she said I taught her. But I don't eat Oreos that way, never have. DD also loved the frosting off one of the maple cupcakes--I think she cleared off at least one.

DS was most interested in marshmallows--of which I imagine he had about a dozen . . . big ones--and in the strawberries. No chocolate. No cookies. No cake. Just marshmallows and strawberries. And he was in heaven.

The adults were a bit more wide-ranging in their tastes. We dipped bread in the cheese fondue, as well as sesame sticks, cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots. For the chocolate, there was pound cake (my favorite), pretzels (my second favorite), Oreos, graham crackers, animal crackers, marshmallows, Stella Doro cookies, strawberries, and the hands-down favorite, TWINKIES. I realized later than Nutter Butter cookies would have been good, if we hadn't needed to worry about peanuts. And friends brought a great spinach salad, banana bread, and the aforementioned cupcakes. Plus some pink ribbon sugar cookies in honor of my friend M. Thanks, T.

All in all it was a great party. I had cups for the fondue, instead of plates, because I thought it would contain drips better, which must have been true because the floor was relatively clean. That, and the adults just leaned over the pots! Gommie had a good time with all the babies and seeing old and new faces. And I had a few different friends over in addition to some usual playgroup ones. It's been a rough time in my circle of friends--absences of those usually present, illnesses and deaths of loved ones, the general and genuine ennui of winter--so it was comforting to be together again after about a month of separation. And fondue--it's goofy, indulgently sensual, and communal nature--was the perfect food.

And we loved having leftover fondue for dinner . . . .

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Cheese Fondue (the real recipe)

3 cups coarsely shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese (12 ounces)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 clove garlic, halved
1 ¼ cups dry white wine (can use ¼ cup chicken broth or water for ¼ cup wine)
1 tablespoon kirsch or dry sherry
dash ground nutmeg
dash pepper
dippers (cubed French bread or Italian bread or raw vegetables)

Bring shredded cheese to room temperature. Toss flour with cheese; set aside. Rub inside of a fondue pot with garlic halves; discard garlic. Set pot aside.
In a medium saucepan, heat wine over medium heat till small bubbles rise to surface. Just before wine boils, reduce heat to low and stir in cheese mixture, a little at a time, stirring constantly and making sure cheese melts before adding more. Stir till mixture bubbles gently.
Stir in kirsch or sherry, nutmeg, and pepper. Transfer cheese mixture to the fondue pot; keep mixture bubbling gently over a fondue burner. Serve with bread cubes or vegetables. Makes 5 servings.

Better Homes and Garden

My adaptation:
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
3 bags of Sargento Swiss and Gruyere cheese

Boil chicken stock. Add cheese gradually. Serve with dippers.


Chocolate Fondue (the real recipe)

Mexican-Style Chocolate Fondue From Food Network Kitchens

1 cup heavy cream (see Cook's note)
4 cinnamon sticks
8 ounces finely chopped semisweet chocolate
Dippers:Cubed pound cake
Mini-bananas
Fresh or dried orange slices
Fresh or dried pears
Almond cookies
Coconut strips
Strawberries

In small saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream and cinnamonsticks just to boil. Remove from the heat and set aside to steep for15 minutes. Remove the cinnamon and discard.Put the chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring the cream to a simmer, pourit over the chocolate, and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir the chocolatemixture until completely melted and smooth. Transfer the chocolatemixture to a fondue pot, and keep warm over a low sterno flame or in alarge ramekin wrapped with a cloth napkin to keep it warm. Serve witha selection of the dippers.
Cook's note: This makes a thick fondue, for a thinner sauce, simplyadd more cream
Copyright 2003 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved

My adaptation:
1 huge bag of chocolate chips
probably about 1/4 cup heavy cream
4 cinnamon sticks

Melt chocolate chips in heavy cream over medium heat. Add cinnamon sticks and warm through. Serve with dippers