Fondue POTS

Fonduing meats and seafood has to be one of the easiest ways to gather around a table and enjoy a meal with family and friends. It takes a little bit of prep and a fondue pot or two, or three and you will be on your way to a fantastical night of Fondue!

One rule if you are setting down for a meal of fondue is to make sure you have no more than 4-5 people at a pot, 3-4 is the perfect number. We use two pots for 9 people (5 adults, 4 kiddos). Too many forks in the pot at once will bring down the temperature of the oil, and crowd the cooking space. Do not use a ceramic pot for meat, the high cooking temperature will crack the pot, you will want to use metal pots with a fuel heating element or an electric fondue pot for meats and seafood.

Here 7 easy tips for Fondue that will get you off to a wonderful night of food, fellowship, and fun!

TIP#1 PREP! Prepping ahead of time is KEY! I usually will have all my meats and seafood cut and in separate bowls, in the refrigerator, the morning or even the night before we are planning to fondue. You will not need as much as you think you would.

Suggested amount for 8-10 people. (I always have left overs, I throw leftovers in freezer bags, and freeze to use for the next fondue or in other recipes.)

3 chicken breasts trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 1/2 -2 pounds of filet mignon trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes (don't chince out on the steak filet is so tender and cooks up to perfection)

5-8 medium sized shrimp per person, I buy the shelled, tail on, raw ship in the 30-40 count bag

5-8 sea scallops per person, if they are super large I sometimes will cut them in 1/2. I would not recommend using bay scallops, as they are too small.

TIP #2 Fill your metal pot 2/3 of the way with cooking liquid (oil or broth). Make sure you light cooking element a 1/2 hour before you want to eat. We use cans of Sterno Cooking Fuel. Warming your oil or both on stove top before filling pot, will cut down on the time it takes to bring liquid to a boil. You want your liquid to be bubbling, at about 350, degrees before you start to cook your food. An electric fondue pot takes the guess work out of getting the temperature right. If cooking with sterno cooking fuel make sure you have extra cans handy in case fuel burns out and you need to light another can of fuel.

TIP #3 We use vegetable oil for our oil pot. But there are many other options. The website GoFondue will give you other ideas if you want to try something different. I spice up our broth with, 1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic, 1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper, and the juice of one orange, I use chicken or vegetable broth. Feel free to use your imagination when spicing up your broth!

TIP #4 Divvy up each choice of meat into 3 bowls each and spread them around the table so everyone has each choice within reach. Do not put raw meat on your eating plate...this gets tricky with kids, touching raw food and such...I feel like the raw meat nazi by the end of the meal with my kiddos. It helps to keep wet wipes and plenty of napkins with in reach.

TIP #5 Know which fork is yours! Fondue forks usually have different colored tips or special markings on the ends. Take note of what forks you have so as not to get your bites mixed up with your other table guests.

TIP #6 Keep it CASUAL. I buy the nicer disposable plates. Then if there is raw meat contamination you can just grab a new plate and start over. Use your judgment, we always have kiddos at the table, if you are doing adults only then by all means use your nice plates if you want. There are even some fun plates, with compartments, you can buy if you want to have compartments for raw meat and then a spot for your food after it's been cooked, they are super nifty.

TIP #7 Relax, eat slow, enjoy! If you are fonduing with kiddos let them get up and move around. Sometimes we are at the table for 1-1 1/2 hours, there is no way my 8 year old can sit that long. As long as she stays in the same room, I let her get up from the table.

SAUCES

Butter is always the favorite. I have these cute little butter warmers that have a candle under them to keep the butter melted and warm. But my sister always makes a few dipping sauces. Here are a few of our favorites. We also use bottled sauces like Sweet Baby Rays, and Thai Sweet Chili Sauce, and Soy Sauce.

Ginger Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup shredded fresh ginger

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup sweet sherry or Mirin

1/4 rice vinegar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

Whisk together in a saucepan, bring to low boil, cook for 3-5 minutes, remove from heat, let cool.

Sweet and Tangy Sauce

1/4 cup Asian Fish Sauce

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (bottled works too)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 minced garlic cloves

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Whisk together in a saucepan, bring to low boil, cook for 3-5 minutes, remove from heat, let cool.

Horseradish Cream Sauce

3/4 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

1 whole scallion, white and green parts finely chopped

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground pepper

Whisk together and store in an air tight container for up to 5 days.

The above recipes were taken from Rick Rodgers cookbook "Fondue- Great Food to Dip, Dunk, Savor, and Swirl", which I would recommend having if you are into the Fondue thang... There are also many helpful hints on the "world wide web", if you Google fondue millions of options will come up.....but on second thought, if that will stress you out, just stick to what I have told you and you should be just fine.

ONE FINAL NOTE: This is the only official time chart I could find. But I don't totally agree with it. I would cook the steak at least 90 seconds. Shrimp is done when it is pink, and shrinks up which is usually 90 second or 2 minutes at the most, same for scallops. Chicken I would go a good 3 minutes. These are the cooking times I have found to work. Here's a chart I found.

This table was taken from Recipetips.com

I hope all this information is helpful and does not overwhelm. Fondue is so easy and fun! I hope you try it. If you don't have a Fondue pot, I am sure someone you know does and would be willing to let you borrow it. I have lent mine out many times. It's nice to share. If you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comments and I try to help you out the best I know how.

Enjoy!

Johns special EGG NOG drink

Here's a must for your next Christmas Party! Isn't that beautiful and festive? This is the first time I have posted an alcoholic beverage recipe on my blog. I like to try and keep things family friendly and all, but this special Holiday drink was one I couldn't keep to myself.

Remember a couple weeks ago Big D and I went to Chicago to stay with her sister? Well her sisters husband John, was suppose to fix us one of these yummy special drinks of his, but he fell asleep on the couch, and we couldn't rouse him from his deep slumber to make us a drinky. (They have a baby...he's allowed to crash on the couch...you too Harmony.)

Big D and I were obsessing over "the special drink" so she called up her brother-n-law got the recipe and we had a party so we could have one...or two. Well really Kenny and I just wanted to see our best pals before Christmas, so we could reminisce and have some yule tide cheer with them and all that jazz. But it sounded like a good excuse to make "the special drink".

This is what you will need. Heavy whipping cream, for whipping. Kahlua, Spiced Rum, EggNog...no low-fat stuff...you want the real good stuff, and ground nutmeg. Everything in life is better with ground nutmeg on it. Do I hear an Amen sistah?!



I had to go buy Spiced Rum, there was nary a bit of spiced rum in my house. I made fun of Big D, for bringing over a plastic bottle of rum, and then well...I went and bought one too. It was 5 bucks cheaper for goodness sakes! See me squeezing the bottle of rum? Bet ya thought I was real strong for a minute. I wonder if they put the cheap stuff in plastic so.......oh never mind, this babble is going in the wrong direction. Ok I'll say it! So when you get schnockered and drop your bottle it just bounces, and you don't hafta cry in your special drink.

This would be my dusty bottle of Kalhua. It's been awhile ol' boy. Sorry bout that, I should probably get you down more often.

Fill blender 3/4 full with ice, add 4 shots of Spiced Rum and 4 shots of Kahlua, fill to the top blender line with egg nog. Blend until slushy. Pour into martini glasses. (Honestly any glass will do.) Top with a dollop of real whipped cream. (If you need help with that go here.) Then give a sprinkle with nutmeg and serve. This makes 6 drinks.

If you would prefer to make one at a time then it's 3/4 shot of each liquor, and 6 oz. of egg nog, pour over ice.

I'm warnin' you these are VERY, VERY, dangerous. You might just find yourself playing your friends kids guitar and singing the blues. Hypothetically speaking that is.

Cheers!

Festive FETA Dip!

Hold on to your hats. This dip is so easy and festive it's going to blow you away. It's so easy that I nearly forgot about it! Big D had to send me an email and say "HEY! what about the Feta Dip. Dorko!" She really didn't say dorko, but I bet she was thinkin' it. It's Friday.....we are all going stark raving mad, because we have so much to do. We have five different places we need to be this weekend. If you need to bring an appetizer somewhere and you are pinched for time THIS is the appetizer for you.

Festive Feta Dip

1 14 ounce can petite diced tomatoes with garlic and oil, or any variety will do.

4 ounces feta cheese

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro or basil (if you are like my friend Jodi and cilantro has an adverse reaction on you)

1 bag of Sea Salt Pita chips or any simple crackers

Here goes! Drain tomatoes, spread them in bottom of a plate with an edge, crumble feta cheese over tomatoes, sprinkle cilantro or basil over cheese. Serve with pita chips!

VOILA! There you have it, the simplest most festive Hors d' oeuvre you will EVER make!

Enjoy! Luv you!

Relax!

Have a great weekend!

Come back again now ya hear,

Over and out....

Buh-bye!

Isn't this ornament adorable? Our old neighbors made this for us...personalized it to our family. They have since moved and we miss them lots. Go check out their website for more unique and personal gifts, all handmade in Michigan!

OLD SCHOOL appetizers

Every get together when I was growing up included these two appetizers. I actually forgot about the pickle variety until this Thanksgiving when my sweet Seestor revived them for our pre-dinner snack fest. We've never had a name for them. I think we just called them "onion thingys", or "pickle and ham thingy's", cause we are a real classy bunch, and we like to eat lots of thingys.

This summer I brought the onion thingys to a picnic and my girlfriend called them Polish Roses......that was a new one on me. But she is right they do kinda look like roses, not sure where the Polish comes in. Sounds a bit racial to me...so I am going to stick with "onion thingy's".

To make these old school appetizers you will need:

12 green onions cleaned and trimmed to 8"

6 sweet gherkins

9 pieces of smoked deli ham

8 oz. package of cream cheese softened

This will make 24 pieces.

Rinse, and trim onions.

Cut the ends off the onions, trimming them down to approximately 8 inches.

Dry 6 gherkins on paper towel....I realize there are only 5 here I ate one. Polka-dot period. End of story....well not really I ate about 5.

The key to quick food prep, is....well...is prep. Get your stuff prepped and your life will be easier.

Cut each piece of ham in half.

Spread with a thin layer of cream cheese. Cheese will spread easy if it's room temperature.

Lay onion on ham slice, and roll her up.

Now for the Pickle Thingys.

Same procedure with the ham and cream cheese.

Make the lil gherky comfy.

Roll it up nice and snug.

Slice in half, this gives you a nice "pop in the mouth" size portion.

If you are lacking for table space you could stick your roses, sans the water, in a glass. Kind of a fun presentation....I still don't get the Polish thing. Feel free to fill me in.

Or a platter from Meijers works great too!

Enjoy!

Appetizer FLATBREADS

Pizza, who doesn't like pizza? Oh oops I mean flatbreads. Flatbread sounds hipper, saying flatsbread instead of pizza is nouveau. I like to think I'm with it. ("Like to think" is the key phrase there.) Anyway what could be better than serving every ones favorite as an appetizer. And you can adjust the type of pizza toppings depending on the flavors of the dinner you're serving. Or better yet serve several types of pizzas and a large salad and call it dinner!

I do make my own pizza crust, but I have found a great alternative that I like to use when I am time pinched, Naan bread. It's flat and it's bread! This is what makes these pizza's flatbreads...

I buy the large package of Naan at Costco, it provides enough bread to make 5 or 6 pizzas, that can be cut into 8 pieces each.

I don't want to beat this one over the head, but this is my new favorite, time saver. Petite diced tomatoes with garlic and oil. It packs a punch of garlic flavor with out taking the time to mince garlic.


Drain one 14.5 ounce can of tomatoes, add a heaping tablespoon of fresh or freeze dried basil.

Spread a thin layer of tomatoes over the bread and place thin slices of fresh mozzarella on top. If you only have the shredded variety of mozzarella, that will work just fine too.

Drizzle with olive oil.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with Italian spices and fresh grated Parmesan, cut and serve.

The possibilities are endless! Caramelized onion, goat cheese and bacon...be still my soul.

BBQ Chicken: slather on your favorite BBQ sauce, add chicken, and Monterrey jack cheese. Add red onion, or banana peppers to this pizza to jazz it up a bit. You name you can make it on these flatbreads. Blue cheese, bacon, and pine nuts! Oh add some caramelized onions to that one too.....HeeavenLY! I don't even need to make a print out for this, do I? Get creative, the skies the limit. Cut into smallish pieces, as to make sampling more than one, not guilt inducing.

Enjoy!

BRUSCHETTA stuffed MUSHROOMS- an appAteaser

I love stuffed mushrooms of any sort, and I love bruschetta. So what better than a mushroom stuffed with bruschetta! You can whip these babies up at a moments notice. Literally!

I prefer the smaller white button mushrooms. Feel free to use the larger variety. I just like to be able to pop them in my pie hole with out having to dirty any eating utensils. I'm lazy like that! Clean up the mushrooms, and take the stems out, leaving a nice divot for the stuffin'.

Now here's where things get fun. Feel free to make this recipe your own. If I have fresh mozzarella, cut up small cubes and tuck them in the mushroom.


Grab a 14 ounce can of petite diced tomatoes with garlic and olive oil. I love Red Gold brand, in particular, because they are a family owned company that uses tomatoes from small family owned farms in Michigan, and the Mid-West. And...well they are yummy too. I used to saute the garlic, and chop tomatoes, to make the bruschetta, now I pop open a can of these maters and I am good to go! I love anything that makes my life easier.

1 cup of Caesar Salad Croutons, measure them out, and then place them in a Zip-loc bag and take out all your aggression on the little suckers.

Now combine the crushed croutons and the can of drained tomatoes with garlic and olive oil. Toss in a generous tablespoon of Lighthouse Freeze Dried Basil or fresh if you have it.

Let the tomato and crouton mixture set for a few minutes to let the croutons soak up any juices from the tomatoes. Like I said before if you don't have mozzarella, no biggy. If you have fresh grated Parmesan cheese instead then add 1/4 cup to the bruschetta mixture. If you have neither...please no worries.

Take a teaspoon and scoop a spoon full of bruschetta mixture into each mushroom. Be sure to pack it into the mushroom, but also don't be afraid to pile the bruschetta up high. Pop these scrumptious morsels into a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Take out, and let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Bruschetta Stuffed Mushrooms

printable recipe

12-15 medium sized white button mushrooms, cleaned and de-stemmed

1 14 ounce can petite diced tomatoes with garlic and olive oil

1 cup Caesar salad croutons, measured then crushed

1 generous tablespoon freeze dried or fresh basil

optional: 12-15 small cubes of fresh mozzarella cheese or 1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

So easy a monkey could make them!

Try to refrain from adding any salt to this recipe. The monkey tried it once and it was too salty. The croutons add enough salt to the recipe with out adding more.

Happy Noshing!