We are having company on New Year’s Day and I am just wiped out from all of our overnight guest during the Christmas holidays. Therefore, I want to make my work easy and serve something simple, yet elegant. Fondue is something you can prepare ahead of time allowing time to mingle with your guests.
The best meal and most fun I have had is going to my favorite fondue restaurant in the San Francisco Bay Area, La Fondue. I once made a very romantic fondue meal, replicating La Fondue’s feast, for my husband on Valentine’s Day. My ideas for New Year’s Day was to do the same thing, which you can also use for a New Year’s Eve party. Bread and vegetables served with a cheddar cheese and beer fondue sauce; beef, chicken and shrimp served with several sauces; and fruit, marshmallows, Snickers bars, cream cheese balls and more served with a chocolate fondue sauce.
Include a cheese fondue sauce (see my Cheddar Beer Fondue Sauce recipe below) served with cubed sourdough or other large bread (gluten free if needed) and raw vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower. You can either serve the vegetables raw or blanche them in boiling water for a minute or more.
Buy one or more of those hot plates (a single electric burner) and plug it into a nearby outlet, close to your table. Set a grilling pan on top. You may need an extension cord. If you have an electric grill that works best. You can move your table up against a wall. Serve raw meat such as cut up chicken breasts, steak and shrimp. Allow your guests to cook their own and have dipping sauces such as barbecue sauce, soy sauce (Tamari for those on a gluten free diet), teriyaki sauce (gluten free, if needed), horseradish sauce (see Gluten Free Chef Rob’s recipe) and hot or spicy mustard. Ensure that you add a nice decanter of olive oil for cooking.
For dessert you may serve cubed Snickers bars, pound cake, bananas, strawberries, cantaloupe, marshmallows and if you want to get fancy cream cheese balls; served with a chocolate fondue sauce. I understand the fruit will be limited to what is in season, but I thought you should have the entire list for the future.
Cream Cheese Ball Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 – 8 oz. package of cream cheese
- 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla
- 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- Cinnamon
Instructions
- Mix the cream cheese,powdered sugar and vanilla with a fork until softened and creamy.
- With 2 hands, roll into small balls about 3/4″ round.
- Sprinkle a bed of cinnamon into a plate and roll the balls with cinnamon.
- Bounce the balls in your hand, with fingers spread, to remove excess cinnamon. P
- lace onto a serving platter with your other desserts.
Cheddar Cheese Beer Fondue Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- 1/4 pound Monterey Jack Cheese
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour or your favorite thickening agent
- 1 cup of your favorite beer
- Hot sauce to taste (gluten free, if needed)
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, boil beer.
- Add cheese and stir with a wooden spoon until melted.
- Sprinkle flour and stir until well blended.
- Add hot sauce to taste.
- Pour into a fondue pot and keep warm.
Chocolate Fondue Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 oz. Semi-sweet chocolate morsels (more if desired)
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla, cinnamon, your favorite liqueur or instant coffee
Instructions
- Heat whipping cream in sauce pan. Add chocolate and lower heat. Stir until chocolate is melted. Add 1 teaspoon of your favorite flavoring as suggested above; stir and keep warm in a fondue pot.
- On the table, add large heavy glasses with fondue forks with different color handles so that your guest will know which one is theirs. Have several salad plates and saucers for your guests. Add additional plates for your guest to set down their forks.
Your guests will have a ball. It is just amazing how the conversation will revolve around cooking their food. Everyone laughs when reaching for the same pieces, too. If you have guests that do not know each other this is a sure ice breaker.
Serve several different wines, both red and white. My favorite with this meal is Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc 2005.
Tip:
- If the chocolate fondue becomes too thick add more whipping cream. If the cheese fondue becomes too thick add more beer. Do not add too much meat and shrimp to the table. You do not want it to spoil. You can always add more as needed.
Enjoy!
Tip
Before dessert, everyone will swear that they cannot eat another bite, but once having one bite of something dipped in the chocolate fondue they will not be able to stop!
