Fondue

Fondue to most people is a fad that is long over, something you dabble with at a small party or one of many appetizers at a buffet. To my family it is more than that. We believe fondue is a meal - not an occasional, twice a year kind of thing, but something reoccurring on the menu. We love fondue.  Having a Fondue pot  (or two or four) is not unusual at all. Was I ever surprised when I moved away that people in general do not have a fondue pot. Many haven't even experienced any kind of fondue.

There are a few different kinds of fondue. A meat fondue, where oil or chicken broth is boiled so different meats can be cooked in it to the individuals taste. For this, the sauces you serve with the meal will determine the success of the meal. A cheese fondue which is some sort of blend of cheeses melted in wine, in which you dip bread cubes. This is the type of meal my family means when they say fondue for dinner. The last type is dessert fondue, usually made of melted chocolate with dippers of fruit or cake.  If you're feeling adventerous, you can serve a dinner of all three, but be aware there's considerable prep work.

Below some Fondue recipes  to enjoy.

Meat Fondue:

Use either a pot 2/3 cup of oil or condensed chicken stock. You'll want a thermometer to check the temp unless you have an electric fondue pot to maintain the temp at about 350. The oil cooks quicker and is more common, but I have tried the stock/bouliion approach and had reasonable success. The meat takes much longer to cook in the broth though, so keep that in mind.

I take some lean beef, a pork chop or two, some boneless chicken breast, some shrimp & some bread and chop it into small pieces, about 1 inch square (bite sized.) If you're feeling ambitious, you can cut small squares of mozzerella,  dip in egg and breadcrumbs twice to make a firm coating, and use them as Cheese boites with the meat. Then you want sauces for everyone to try.

Sauces I have used straight from the bottle are BBQ sauce, Teryaki Sauce, Ranch Dressing, spagetti sauce and Honey. I make a garlic butter sauce from scratch. I also combine lime juice with dijon mustard with a  bit of scallion in it for my lime-mustard sauce. Pretty much anything yoou like to top meat with is good for a sauce.

Classic Cheese Fondue:

12 ounces Swiss cheese,  and 4 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded
1 and 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 clove garlic
1 TBSP Lemon Juice
1 cup vermouth or white wine (champagne or chablis are both good)
Loaf of french bread (Baguettes are best)
I have also served small cooked ham cubes for dippers.**
Combine Cheeses and cornstarch in bowl. Cut bread into 1 inch cubes, with a crust on every piece.

Rub cut clove of garlic on inside of pot. Combine Vermouth & lemon juice in pot over medium heat til bubbles form on bottom of pot. Do NOT allow to boil.  Slowly add handful of cheeses to pot. Stir continuously until cheese is completely melted, then add another handful of cheeses. After all the cheese has been incorporated and is melted, transfer to fondue pot and place over sterno heat. Spear bread cubes with fondue fork, piercing crust last. Dip bread in cheese (a figure 8 is best to keep the pot stirred) and enjoy.

Chocolate Fondue:

Dippers cut into Bite sized pieces such as: Strawberries, cherries, bannas, oranges, pound cake, marshmallows, angel cake, melon, apples and even pretzels.

6 1-ounce squares of unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 cup of light cream
1/2 cup of butter
1/8 teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoons of creme de cacao or orange flavored liqueur

In saucepan, melt chocolate over low heat. Add sugar, cream, butter, and salt. Cook, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes or until thickened. stir in Liqueur. pour into fondue pot and place over burner. Spear you choice of goody on fork and dip away in sauce.

Sesame Crunch Chicken

Take about a pound of boneless for skinless chicken and flatten it a little. Soak the chicken in about a cup of milk with a 1/4 teaspoon of chili powder. Combine in a shallow bowl 1/4 cup of cornmeal, 1/4 cup flour, 3 tablespoons of sesame seeds with a tablespoon of dried parsley and a dash of salt and paper.

In a large frying pan, add a couple of tablespoons of olive il and heat. Dredge your chicken in the sesame coating. Pat the coating on with your you hands to ensure the chicken is fully coated. place the chicken in the oil on medium heat  (you may have to do this in batches depending on the size of the pan) for about 6 minutes on each side until browned on both sides and cooked throughout. Once all the chicken is done, remove to a plate with some foil over the chicken.

Drain off about 1/2 of the remaining oil. Add about a cup of white wine (I use Vermouth) to the pan. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits and turn up the heat to get the wine bubbling pretty good.  Add a pinch of two of the coating mix and let it cook down a little to thicken a tad.

Serve the sesame crunch chicken and serve the sauce in a gravy bowl or creamer cup. I like this with rice and i bet some stir fried veggies would go well too. drizzle just a bit of the pan sauce over the chicken and dig in.

Scallopini

This recipe is originally for veal scallopini, but the veal can be substituted with thin sliced chicken breasts if that is preferred. Makes 3-4 Servings.

1 pound veal round steak, well trimmed
1/2 grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Pound the cheese into the sides of the meat until the cheese is used up and the meat is 1/4 inch thick. salt and pepper both sides to taste and then cut into 2 inch strips.  You can do this part all the day before if wanted..

put them in a skillet and add
a crushed garlic clove
1/4 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 cup white wine or vermouth.

Simmer it all together for a half hour before serving. Some folks add sauteed mushrooms too.

Honey Chicken Teriyaki

Honeyed Chicken Teriyaki is  excellent as an appetizer or as a entree for a bigger meal. Half the ingredients for 2 servings, or double the recipe for 8.

Ingredients
2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breast
1/2 cup of flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 beaten eggs
oil for frying

Glaze:
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup honey
1 Tbsp dry sherry (I use white vermouth)
1 minced or pressed clove of garlic
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 Tbsp sesame seeds (optional)

Cut the chicken into 2 inch cubes. If making appetizers, cut into 1 inch cubes. Combine flour, salt, pepper in one bowl. Dip the chicken in the beaten eggs and then coat with the seasoned flour. Pour 1/2  inch oil in a wide frying pan over medium-high heat.  to test temperature of oil, drop a pinch of flour into pan; flour should sizzle and float on hot fat. When fat is hot, add chicken, half at a time. Cook, turning as needed until chicken is golden brown, this is usually a total of 6-8 minutes for larger pieces and 4 to 5 minutes for smaller pieces. Take chicken out of oil when done and drain briefly.

 Heat glaze ingredients except for sesame seeds in a small pan. Dip chicken pieces in glaze, place ona rack set in a baking pan. when all chicken is cooked and dipped, sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 250 degrees for 20 minutes. Brush with remainder of glaze after 10 minutes.  Serve hot. I usually serve this with rice, cut pieces of celery is a nice garnish for the chicken on the plate also.

Garlic Shrimp

Not to be confused with Shrimp Scampi, Garlic shrimp is my  own revved up concoction using off-the-shelf spagetti sauce. And, because I've never measured it all, it comes out slightly differently every time. This is not a low calorie, low fat low cholesterol dish by any means. It is however very yummy. WIth a Salad  and garlic bread, you've got a nice dinner here for company too.

You'll need

Shrimp
Butter (real butter, not the fake stuff)
Several Cloves of Garlic
A jar of spagetti sauce (I use Ragu's Roasted Garlic but whatever will do)
Pasta (I like fetticine for this myself, but any pasta will do)
Parmesan/Romano Cheese (whichever you like or both)

I heat some butter up (2 tablespoons or so), then add about 2 minced garlic cloves. While thats getting started, I start heating a pot of water to boil the pasta in.  Take the shrimp (shells completely off) rinse them, and then add to the garlic. you don't want to let the butter cook away, nor add too much so I often put a splash of white vermouth in as well. Any dry white wine would work, but I have found cooking with Vermouth works very well. Once the water comes to a boil, drop your pasta in to cook. Using Fetticine I set the timer for 12 minutes.  Keep turning the shrimp so the are cooked all the way through. once they are pink (5-6 minutes), add another clove of garlic, and about a cup of the spagetti sauce. I add at this point parmesan/romano cheeses, less than a 1/4 cup, four or so shakes if you're using the quick stuff from the store. Once the shrimp, sauce, garlic and cheese are integrated, add the rest of the sauce. Stir occasionally to keep it all integrated and so the shrimp don't settle to the bottom. When the timer goes off, drain your pasta. The sauce by this point should be hot all the way through, so its time to serve dinner.  I find its easier when serving the shrimp & sauce over the pasta to use a ladle so the shrimp gets evenly distributed.  For those of us who really like garlic, more can be added. Enjoy!

Chicken Diane

Ingredients
About a pound of boneless chicken
3 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1/4 cup Lime Juice
1 tsp parsley
4 chopped scallions
2/3 cup Vermouth
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 TBSP Butter
2 TBSP Oil
Salt & Pepper

Instructions
Melt butter & oil in frying pan large enough for all the chicken at once. Salt & Pepper the chicken and then place over medium - medium low heat in butter/oil to brown. While that is browning, Mix lime juice, dijon mustard, Parsley, and scallion together. Flip chicken and brown on second side. Once lightly browned, remove shicken to plate and cover to keep warm. Deglaze pan with vermouth. Add lime-mustard mixture. Add chicken broth. blend together over medium-low heat. Return Chicken to pan and cook another 3-4 minutes. Serve.

Notes
I usually serve this with fetticine noodles in a marinara sauce.