We like having our friends and family over to celebrate Jesus’ birth. We like Fondue! A lot! And what’s more fun than a bunch of little kids running around with a bunch of open flames on the table? =) This is where I give you all the details to help you put together a fondue party of your very own. Also, it helps me get ready and not make the same mistakes two years in a row! See how it all turned out here.
We own FIVE fondue pots, but that’s not enough so we always ask Kent’s parents to let us borrow one more for our party. I bought a few from Goodwill and Kent and I each had a couple from before we got married.
An easy way to prepare for this party is to order a fruit tray and a veggie tray premade and just use those as the dippers for dessert and cheese fondues. I think it is a lot cheaper to do it myself, but it’s also more work. It’s your party, so it’s your call – I won’t judge (I’ve done it both ways).
At the Main Food Table
We serve two cheese fondues in ceramic pots like this heated by tealights and two meat-cooking fondues (broth and oil) in metal fondue pots like this heated by small sternos. We put raw meat on platters; then we put hot broth in one metal pot and hot beef tallow in the other. Then we put out dipping sauces for the meats.
Cheddar Beer Fondue
1 lb sharp cheddar, shredded (or 1/2 Monterrey Jack and 1/2 cheddar)
1 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
dash cayenne
3/4 cup beer
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
In bowl, combine cheese, flour, mustard and cayenne; mix well. In a regular pan (not the fondue pot), combine beer and Worcestershire sauce. Heat (on the stove) until bubbling; gradually add cheese mixture and stir constantly until the cheese melts and mixture is smooth (about five minutes). Transfer to ceramic fondue pot with tea light.
Sassy Barbeque Sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon Braggs raw apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sucanat
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco® sauce
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
In a small heavy-bottom saucepan, whisk the sauce ingredients with 1/8 cup water. Bring to boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Mustard Sauce
3/4 cup yogurt
2 Tbsp Braggs raw Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tbsp dry mustard
3 Tbsp hot mustard (or dijon)
Horseradish Cream Sauce
1 cup sour cream (we use strained yogurt)
3 Tbsp horseradish
1 tsp Braggs raw apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp sucanat
1/2 pepper
salt to taste
Mix well and chill before serving. We always have extra from the fondue party, so we eat it with a roast at our Christmas Dinner.
Served with:
- crusty bread
- broccoli
- caulifower
- carrots
- cherry tomatoes
- snap peas
- apple slices
At the Dessert Table
We put this one near an outlet because we put the dessert fondues in two electric fondue pot like this. We use a crock-pot style pot because the sterno flame fondue pot heat is too hot for the dessert fondues – burned chocolate doesn’t taste good.
White Chocolate Fondue
12 oz white chocolate
1 oz cherry brandy
8 oz (1 cup) raw heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream if you don’t have access to fresh raw milk and cream)
frozen raspberries
Combine chocolate and cream in a double boiler. Stir until the chocolate melts completely. The mixture should be creamy; do not overcook. Add brandy and mix thoroughly. Put mixture in electric fondue pot. Drop in some frozen raspberries and swirl around as desired.
Chocolate PB Fondue
4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
8 oz (1 cup) raw heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream if you don’t have access to fresh raw milk and cream)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
Combine chocolate and cream in medium saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Add sugar and peanut butter; continue cooking until slightly thickened. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Pour into electric fondue pot.
Served with:
- strawberries
- cherries (if available)
- sliced banana (sprayed with orange juice to prevent browning)
- apple slices (with lemon juice to prevent browning)
- pineapple chunks
- mandarin orange segments
- cubed pound cake
- cubed angel food cake
Try to make the fruit as dry as possible so that the fondue won’t slide off. Also, the fruit should be chilled, which helps the chocolate to coat the fruit more easily.
Here are a few new recipes that we haven’t tried, but I want to:
Fresh Berry Sauce
1 1/2 cups raspberries
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp cognac or rum
1 1/2 cups strawberries
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
Combine all ingredients in food processor and lightly blend. The sauce should still have some texture. Heat sauce in double boiler until warm, then transfer to fondue pot.
Chocolate Fondue
16 oz sweetened chocolate
4 Tbsp Rum
1/2 to 1 cup cream or milk
Melt choc and cream in double boiler until smooth. Remove from heat and add rum. Transfer to fondue pot.
At the Beverage Table
I like to serve drinks at parties with my little cut glass punch cups. I have over 50, so that’s enough for most parties. People sometimes lose their cup and take another, so I usually have to wash a few in the middle of the party. If you use regular-sized cups, people will take too much punch, which they will put down and forget about, and you will run out before most of the guests arrive. Small cups make it last for the whole party, even if people get lots of refills. I bought my punch cups at Goodwill for pennies! I also like to put the beverage table near an outlet because I sometimes serve a hot punch in my crockpot.
Healthy and Tasty Eggnog (Triple Recipe)
5 local pastured (don’t eat grocery store eggs raw!) egg yolks (save whites for ginger bread house glue/icing)
1/3 cup maple syrup
pinch of Celtic sea salt
freshly ground nutmeg to taste
1 or 2 Tablespoons whey
1 Tablespoon organic lemon juice
3 cups raw milk (or pasteurized milk if you must, but NEVER ultra-pasteurized milk!)
1 cup raw cream (or pasteurized cream if you must, but NEVER ultra-pasteurized cream!)
You can use more cream and less milk if you like it creamy. Beat or blend egg yolks until thick. Add syrup, nutmeg, whey and lemon juice. Add milk and cream. Beat until frothy. Store in the fridge until right before the party. I usually double or triple this recipe for the party and serve in a crystal punch bowl. We like to float scoops of coffee ice cream on the top.
Cold Christmas Punch
kombucha with sherbet floating at the top =)
“Gingerbread” Houses in the Butler’s Pantry
We set up our faux-Gingerbread houses on the counter tops in the Butler’s Pantry. It gives the kids something to do and it’s fun for adults too! I got the idea from Smockity Frocks here. The key is to build and grout the houses the night before so they are strong enough to be handled without breaking at the party.
Royal Icing (grout): 3 egg whites (save yolks for egg nog), 4 cups (1 lb) powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp cream of tartar.
My shopping list:
- 10 or more boxes of graham crackers
- 6 lb bags of powdered sugar
- assorted candy for the gingerbread houses (Hopefully I remembered to stock up on this at Halloween! – Obviously, that stuff is not suitable for eating, but it’s perfect for decorating!)
- orange juice
- pineapple juice
- cranberry juice
- raw ACV
- Heinz 57
- A1 Steak Sauce
- strawberries
- cherries
- bananas
- apples
- pineapples
- mandarin oranges
- pound cake/angel food cake
- sparkling mineral water LOTS!!!
- bread
- horseradish
- PB
- coffee ice cream
- Sherbet
- sternos
One of our birthday traditions is that the birthday person gets to have their favorite foods for dinner and pick the kind of cake. Last year Adele requested a green drink made with lime juice and lime sorbet for her special birthday dinner. We put her off because you don’t have frozen drinks in November. Plus it wasn’t exactly a whole foods recipe – it called for things like ginger ale and green food coloring. This year, she requested the exact same drink, so we gave in a tried to accommodate her strange request. Lime sorbet is impossible to find in November, so we substituted mango. I refuse to feed my kids food coloring or soda, so we added spinach juice and fizzy water. Basically, it was ok, but not fantastic. I’m pretty sure we won’t be repeating this one =)
On Sunday, Adele’s actual birthday, we opened a few presents and Skyped with the grandparents. 
