Fondue Fun: Romantic Date Night or Family Gathering

Have you ever had cheese fondue?  Or chocolate fondue?  If you haven't, you are missing out!  Depending on the atmosphere you create, it can be romantic and intimate or social and crowd-pleasing!  We made fondue two time the last two weeks, and created both of these very different experiences and had an amazing time with both!  I've heard that fondue restaurants can be such fun experiences, but are usually pretty pricey.  So if you can't afford to indulge in a night out on the town, give an at-home experience a try.  It really is a blast!  I'll share my recipes at the end of the post, they are both tried-and-true!

First off--let's talk "equipment".  If you have a fondue pot, use it!  If you don't, it might be something to consider purchasing if you think this might be something you enjoy.  It would also be a fun gift-giving idea for a family member!  We actually got ours for our wedding, which was a fun thing to receive.  A small mini crockpot would also work fine.  Or you could dip over the stove, although it's probably not as convenient or comfortable.  You just want to keep your cheese warm, so it stays ooey and gooey and easy to dip in!  You can buy the one we have here, at Target for less than $25.  It has worked great for us.

The romantic date-night "in" we did with fondue was on a Friday evening after Landon went down to bed.  It was a very uncharacteristically cold and stormy weekend, so we opted to light up our fireplace, laid down a blanket, grabbed some pillows, popped open some bubbly and ate right there on the ground.  We also had some tunes playing on pandora, in the background.  It was so fun!  We just relaxed, ate, visited, and enjoyed the evening together.  We ate slowly and really enjoyed each other's company. It was actually nice not being at a restaurant, feeling rushed to leave or wondering how badly it will hurt to pay the bill!

Here is a peek into our romantic evening...

Eating fondue is a much more interactive and social experience than most meals, so it is also very conducive to a bigger group!  A week or so later, we had my parents, siblings, and grandparents over to have a fondue dinner on Sunday evening.  We also had a chocolate fondue for dessert, which was a hit.  You could always just have friends over for chocolate fondue and skip the cheese and "meal" component all together.

Here is a peek into our family gathering...

I really hope this inspires a few of you to give fondue a try!  I have tried a handful of fondue recipes over the last couple years, and this cheese one (I got from a friend's mom) has turned out great every time.  The other ones I made didn't taste bad, but the consistency didn't set up well.  This chocolate fondue recipe is a really yummy and easy one as well.  Give them both a shot!

There are also a few ideas on things you can dip into your fondue.  Obviously, these lists are not comprehensive, by any means!  If something sounds yummy to you, try it!