While Luke and I were dating we went to two fondue places and love it both times. But fondue can be expensive and our closest fondue place is in Rochester, an hour and forty-five minutes away. So last year for New Years Eve we decided to start a new tradition: making fondue at home.
We bought a basic bottle of white and red wine then went to Wegmans to get nicer cheeses and chocolate to melt. Because we had the day to ourselves, we took our time prepping goodies to dip . For our creamy white wine cheesy fondue we cut up tart apples, grapes, mushrooms, broccoli, pita bread, pumpernickel bread, and celery.
After making the fondue last year we decided the breads were too crumby for the hot cheese and that I am not a fan of raw broccoli but everything else tasted great. So this year we used heartier crackers, cut cubes from our own homemade bread, and exchanged green peppers for broccoli.
Last year for our rich red wine chocolate fondue we used marshmallows, strawberries, bananas, shortbread cookie pieces, and cheesecake bites.
After making the chocolate fondue last year we decided the shortbread cookies was too soft and melted and that Luke is not a fan of marshmallows. Last year I had made cheesecake for Christmas /New Years day dessert so I cut up the leftovers from the freezer.
This year I made cheesecake balls coated in graham cracker crumbs. I dipped some in white chocolate for the New Years Eve party then froze the rest for fondue. We didn’t use bananas this year but we did keep the marshmallows for me, which just meant more cheesecake for Luke.
We do not own a fondue set but we have a double boiler. Last year we put hot water in the bottom pan of the double boiler and melted our cheese/chocolate in the top pan. This worked pretty well except for one issue: if we removed the cheese fondue from the stove heat then it would begin to harden almost immediately. So we ended up eating our fondue on stools huddled around the stove top of the oven.
This year Luke dipped into his camping gear to find a burner we could put on the table to use with our double boiler. It’s another temporary solution but it’s better than last year. And let’s just say we already have a item on our Christmas list for 2014: a nice fondue set.
And what else did we do for our holiday other than eat food? Play Luke’s favorite Christmas present Firefly: the board game yes . . . it’s complicated and nerdy and. . . it’s a lot of fun.
Hope you all had a fun New Year’s Day!!
A.Greene's Adventures 
Fondue restaurants are disproportionally expensive. Someday I`ll probably cave and buy a fondue pot so I can use it once or twice a year. But for next year you should try Mexican ingredients in a queso sauce. And then for dessert my favorite is banana slices in chocolate!
Thanks for the ideas! And your right fondue restaurants are scary expensive. Even though our fancy cheeses seemed a little pricy we were able to make two fondue nights out of them and have extra for snacking. That means two fondue nights for less than half what it would have costed at a restaurant!!
Exactly! And it can be fun to do fondue by the fire in your pajamas. That can be more fun than getting all fancy sometimes.