Fun-due.

In Jon's family, it was tradition for whoever's birthday it was to make a special request for their birthday dinner. Jon always chose fondue. I'd never had fondue until we met, much less heard of it, but I was told (by Jon himself) that it was my responsibility as his wife to carry on the tradition for making him fondue on his birthday every year. =) So far, I've done good!
After searching through many recipes, I found that most of them use oils, which didn't necessarily appeal to me at all. The few times we had been to The Melting Pot, our meat fondue was broth based, which I liked. I finally found a recipe that was made with broth, and it's the most fantastic recipe for meat dipping. Not only is it flavorful, it's really easy too. While the broth is simmering on the stove top, I cut up the meats and veggies. We usually skip the cheese fondue when we're at home, because eating the meat fondue takes 1-2 hours in itself.

The recipe:
2 cans beef broth (I use Campbells)
1/2 bottle of dry white wine, OR 1 cup of water
2 cups of water
2 bay leaves
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pkg. of dry French Onion soup (dry plain onion soup is fine too)
2 tsp. pepper
2 tsp dried parsley flakes

*If you're making it for more than 2-3 people, I'd suggest doubling the recipe. The broth tends to get really thick toward the end, in which case you could add a little more wine or water.

Throw all of it in a pot and let it simmer (on low) on the stove top for about an hour. Your house will smell incredible. If your neighbors are in close proximity like ours are, chances are they'll be able to smell it too and be incredibly jealous.


In the meantime cut your meats and veggies into inch x inch bite sized pieces. After the broth has simmered on the stove, transfer it into your fondue pot. For dippers, we like to cut up a chicken breast, any cut of steak meat, pork loin, raw jumbo shrimp, and red potatoes. For the dipping sauces, we just use whatever we have in the fridge that doesn't have fuzzy green stuff growing on it: BBQ sauce, teriyaki sauce, Ranch dressing, Wasabi sauce, and cocktail sauce.




Yes, it's THAT easy- so go ahead and dust off that fondue pot you got for your wedding and never used. Your fondue pot will thank you.