Fondue Frenzy!

My friends and I discovered fondue fairly recently. Since then it has been something of a staple at our get-togethers. We think it is close to the perfect food! You make a dipping sauce that you like, and then you pick tasty morsels to dip into it!

One thing I noticed is that people don’t dip things I would expect them to. Veggies are brought up occasionally, but not that often. Also, people think too much about raw veggies. Raw veggies in a cheese sauce is good, don’t get me wrong, but some lightly steamed veggies are great! The trick is to cook them to a point where they are soft enough to be skewered with a fork, but not so soft that they will fall apart in the sauce. This does take a little practice.

Also, things like breadsticks (the crunchy variety) and pepperoni pieces work great with cheese fondue! Wafers are great with chocolate, to go alongside the fruit as well!

Another thing I discovered is that your favorite fondue recipes can usually be converted to work in a crock-pot if you don’t have a fondue pot. My big fondue pot was at a family member’s house recently because they had borrowed it for a party. I had a girl’s get-together scheduled, bought all the cooking stuff I needed . . . and discovered I had no fondue pot.

The girls and I thought quickly and did a little online search, and pulled out my slow-cooker. It worked! Hooray!

We’ve done that a few times since then, because it allows us to have two types of fondue going at once. Before we had to choose just one, or wash the fondue pot between sauces. Now we can have meat AND cheese, or cheese AND chocolate, or two types of cheese! Oh, the possibilities . . .

I would definitely recommend trying this to anyone. It is tons of fun, and a great way to have fondue without having to buy a fondue set right off the bat. You just have to keep an eye on the temperature setting. Finding a couple fondue recipes that are made for crock-pots is a good idea.

Then you have some guidelines to work off of, and it should be easy for you to alter other recipes to work.

If you have a fondue pot or more than one slow cooker, you can use them both too! The more fondue, the merrier!

Cooking Clutz

I love being in my kitchen. Cooking isn’t a necessity for me, it’s a hobby. I’m always haunting the cooking stores around town, looking for the next gadget that I need at the best price. A steady parade of food enters my home, and nobody is ever bored with my food because I have so many favorite dishes to make!

I could probably have my own cooking show, but I’m a little clumsy, and I don’t think dropping the measuring cup in the pot is conducive to fame. Alton Brown never drops cookies or spatulas on the floor. I do. My close friends and family affectionately call me the Cooking Clutz. : )

But my butterfingers aside, I generally do a good job cooking, and I wanted to start blogging about it for friends and family who are always asking about the latest cooking gear. Oftentimes I buy it before anyone else, and then give everyone a review on it after I’ve used it a few times. My blog will help me do that even more efficiently, I guess.

One of the first things I will say is that a TV in your kitchen is a great idea! I used to think it wasn’t very classy because I always pictured an old TV with rabbit ears taking up precious counter-space. But then my Mom bought me a TV/DVD combo that mounts to the underside of my kitchen cabinets! If I want to follow along with my favorite show, I can, or I can watch a cooking DVD. I can also have a movie or music going in the background. When I’m done with it, I fold the screen up and don’t have to worry about it. I still think that’s one of the coolest gadgets I’ve gotten for the kitchen.

So here I go! I’ll try to update regularly with news and tips!