Fondue Night!

Tonight we had delicious fondue for dinner! If you've never tried it, I suggest you do. It's a pretty simple dinner, although it can get expensive, depending on what you choose to have. We kept tonight's meal pretty simple, and cheap. For starters we had cheese fondue with french bread. Then for the main course we had chicken (both plain and lemon pepper) along with potatoes, carrots, and broccoli. With our plain chicken we had dipping sauces to spice up the chicken: Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ and honey mustard. And then, of course, we had chocolate fondue for dessert. With our chocolate fondue we had strawberries, bananas, pizzelles (wafer cookies), and marshmallows. Mmmm, it was delicious!

If you want to enjoy fondue some night, invest in a fondue set, invite a few friends over, and follow these simple recipes.

Beer Cheddar Cheese Fondue:
1 clove garlic, halved
3/4 c. beer
8 oz (2 c) Swiss cheese, shredded
4 oz (1 c) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tbsp flour

Using the inside of the halved garlic clove, rub the inside of a heavy sauce pan, then discard. Add the beer to the pan and slowly warm. Coat the cheese in the flour and gradually add to the beer, stirring constantly. Continue to stir while heating until thickened and bubbly. Transfer cheese to fondue pot. Serve with pieces of french bread for dipping.

Lemon Pepper Chicken for fondue:
1 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp minced lemon zest
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 lb chicken, cubed

Combine all dry ingredients in bowl and set aside. Beat eggs in separate bowl. Dip chicken in egg then coat with flour mixture. Place coated chicken on a wax paper-lined plate. Repeat until all chicken is coated, and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Repeat dipping/coating process so all chicken is double coated. Cook in oil about 3 minutes, or until cooked through. Serve with a variety of vegetables to be cooked in the oil as well.

Guiltless Chocolate Fondue (it's relatively low fat!):
1 1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup fat free evaporated milk
3/4 cup powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients in a heavy sauce pan and heat slowly, stirring constantly until smooth. Serve with fruit, pound cake, marshmallows, cookies, or anything that sounds good in chocolate!