fondue addicts.

remember that tax season staycation we had where we redid the porch? well, in the midst of the porch makeover, we needed a nice night out and found ourselves at the melting pot. i had heard of this place a while back and was dying to go and snatched up a buy with me coupon that allowed us to go for 50% off. FAB, since one meal out at that place can cost you $100. Anyways, the food was alright, but it certainly piqued our interest in the fondue world. you see, the process of eating all courses via fondue was SO intriguing and fun to us that we had to try it at home...so we decided to test out our fondue pot that ry bought me for my birthday last year:

our menu:

course 1: cheddar fondue

1 cup beer

two blocks cheddar (shredded)

1 TBS flour (plus some more to thicken later)

2 TBS brown mustard

few drops hot sauce

few drops worcestershire sauce

dippers

whole wheat bread

carrots

broccoli

apples

add beer and cook for a bit til it bubbles. add cheese/flour mixture and melt. stir in mustard, hot sauce and worcestershire sauce. turn pot on low and enjoy your dippers with the deliciousness.

course 2: broth fondue

three cans beef broth

one can water

2 bay leaves

some basil

some oregano

some fresh ground pepper

2 cloves garlic

onion chunks

1/2 cup red wine

dippers

uncooked chicken

uncooked steak tips

sauces

homemade honey mustard

homemade buffalo blue cheese

teriyaki sauce

bbq sauce

combine broth, water, spices and onion chunks in pot. bring to boil. add wine and bring to a boil for a few minutes. yes, we played it by ear. as long as it's hot enough, it'll cook the meat. Meat takes approximately 2 minutes per chunk. We use flavored steak tips from our favorite butcher. The maple bourbon cooked this way is DELISH. We also pair the meat with the side sauces for different flavors.

course 3: chocolate fondue

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 TBS unsalted butter

12 oz chocolate (we use 1/2 milk, 1/2 dark)

dippers

strawberries

bananas

rice krispie treats

marshmallows

graham crackers

add ingredients into pot. stir while melting the chocolate. keep pot on low and love every bite.

we've now done this meal twice. once when ry's sister lester (pictured below) and the other when chris and allison came over for dinner. both times have been extremely successful and we're sold on fondue. it's a fun way to eat and makes dinner completely social. two thumbs up from the dumas fam, for sure. and yes, we did enjoy all of this from the comfort of our newly redone porch if you were wondering :)