The Simple Cheese and Chocolate Fondue Recipe

Fondue isn't just for dessert anymore. Ever since fondue sets have become a popular gift, people have been fondue-ing both desserts as well as light meals and snacks. So before you get the fruit and chocolate out, try the cheese fondue. While many more complicated recipes exist, you can make a simple cheese fondue with ingredients that you probably already have.

For a two serving cheese fondue, you will need:

1 lb of your favorite coarsely grated cheese (1 cup)
1 1/2 cup of dry white wine (White Zinfandel for a custom kick)
1 tablespoon of flour
¼ lb. snow peas
¼ lb. uncooked broccoli
¼ lb. uncooked cauliflower
¼ loaf of French bread
¼ uncooked carrots
¼ lb. green apples

Cooking Pot
Fondue Pot with fondue skewer forks

Before you begin cooking, prepare the vegetables and bread by cutting them up into small pieces that will be easily picked up by the skewer forks from your fondue set. If you do not have a fondue set, use an elevated dish under which you can place a tea-light and use regular forks in lieu of skewer forks, until you are able to get a set that you can use.

Once you are ready to start cooking, add the wine to the pot over a moderate heat to bring the wine to a simmer. While the wine is heating up, mix the cheese and flour together to prevent it from sticking. Then add the cheese mix to the simmering wine. Stir in a diagonal pattern to prevent the cheese from forming into balls and clumping up. Bring the cheese to a creamy melt and then cook for about 5 minutes until it thickens.

Once the cheese is cooked and thickened, transfer it into the fondue pot and light the tea-light underneath the pot to keep the cheese from hardening. If you start seeing steam come up from the pot, turn the tea-light off until the cheese starts hardening.

You are now ready to do cheese fondue!

As a finale, for chocolate dessert fondue, you'll need the following items:
½ cup of cream or half & half
4 bittersweet or dark chocolate bars (3.5 oz each)
3 bananas
3 apples
½ lb. strawberries

Cooking Pot
Fondue Pot with fondue skewer forks

To begin, cut up the fruit into pieces that can be easily picked up by the skewer forks and break up the chocolate bars into small pieces. Put the cream into a pot over moderate heat until it comes to a slight boil. Turn off the heat and add the chocolate bar pieces to the hot cream, letting it stand and melt for about 5 minutes. Then, mix together the bars and cream as much as possible. If the bars do not completely melt, heat up the mix slight over a low heat until the bars completely melt.

Transfer the mixture to a fondue pot and light the tea-light underneath the pot.

Enjoy your dessert!