Fondue It!

I'm a big fan of interactive food that everyone enjoys together, so it's no wonder that fondue ranks among my all-time favorite dinner party foods. This weekend my friend and neighbor, Abby, came over for some fondue-making fun in the kitchen. We made 2 fondues: a creamy gorgonzola fondue in which to dip roasted root vegetables, and a dark chocolate-honey-sea salt dessert fondue for raspberries and blueberries. A beet salad, spicy hamballs, and hot red wine also graced our autumn-inspired menu...

Roasted Beet Salad

I served this brilliantly-colored salad alongside a lovely plate of salami-cheese and sliced baguette. Yum!

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Place 3 large beets in a roasting dish. Lightly salt, cover, and roast for 1 hour, or until soft. Allow to cool until easy to handle. Peel, halve, and slice the beets.

2. In a salad bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/4 cup honey, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon cracked pepper, and 1/4 cup olive oil. Add the sliced beets and half of a red onion, thinly sliced. Toss together. Let stand at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Gorgonzola Fondue with Root Vegetables

I roasted the vegetables for this fondue while I roasted the beets for the preceding salad.

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Peel and cut in half 3 turnips. Peel and quarter 1 rutabega. Place the turnips and rutabega in a in a roasting dish. Drizzle with olive oil and salt, and place in the oven. In another roasting dish, place 2 parsnips, halved, and about 6 small red potatoes. Cover and place in the oven. Roast the vegetables until tender, about 1 hour for the rutabega and turnips, and about 30 to 45 minutes for the potatoes and parsnips. Remove from oven; cool.

 

2. In a medium heavy saucepan, bring about 1/2 cup of white wine or vermouth to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half. Add 3 cups heavy cream and 1 sprig of fresh thyme. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat. Whisk in about 7 ounces of crumbled gorgonzola cheese and some freshly cracked pepper. Keep warm until ready to serve.

3. After the vegetables are cool enough to handle, chop them into 1 inch pieces and arrange on a platter. Place the fondue in a fondue pot. Light a tea candle to heat the fondue. 

Spicy Ham Balls

I made these ham balls extra spicy. If you want to make them more mild, use just one teaspoon of the Thai chile sauce.

1. In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup honey, 1/2 cup cherry preserves, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup red wine vinegar, 3 tablespoons dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Thai chile sauce, 1/4 cup whiskey, and 2 tablespoons brandy. Heat and stir over low heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool.

2. Preheat oven to 375 F. In the bowl of a food processor, add about 2 cups of torn baguette, 1 stalk celery  (roughly chopped), 2 shallots (roughly chopped), 1 clove garlic (roughly chopped). Process until everything is minced.

3. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 pound ground pork (not too lean), about 10 ounces ground ham, 1 egg, a splash of whisky, a splash of milk, 1 tablespoon ground mustard, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1 teaspoon each of salt and black pepper, 1 teaspoon Thai chile sauce, and the bread crumb-celery mixture. Form mixture into 1 to 2 inch balls. Place in a shallow baking dish. 

4. Pour cooled glaze mixture over the ham balls. Bake for 1 hour in the upper half of the oven. During the last 30 minutes of baking, remove the hamballs from the oven and baste with the glaze every ten minutes. They are done when the sauce has thickened to a syrupy consistency and the hamballs are a mahogany brown. Let cool about 10 minutes before serving.

Chocolate-Honey-Sea Salt Fondue

You'll be amazed at how well sea salt brings out the flavor of the chocolate.

1. In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup of heavy cream to a simmer. In a small bowl, pour hot cream over 5 ounces of chopped unsweetened chocolate. Let sit about 5 minutes. Stir until chocolate melts. Stir in about 1/4 cup of honey and 1 teaspoon fine sea salt. Transfer to a small dessert fondue pot. Heat using a tea candle.

2. Arrange rasberries and blueberries around the fondue pot and serve.