My kids’ eyes sparkle when I tell them we’re having fondue for dinner.  

And because it’s so darn easy, my eyes sparkle too.

I just whip up some broth and cut up some chicken and steak and we have the makings for a dinner that inevitably involves a lot of conversation because those little pieces of meat take a long time to cook and eat enough of to get you full!

This is one of our favorite things these days for a good meal like this:

Some great/funny conversations started with that little box of questions I tell you.  You can buy all kinds of different sets of them.

I know some people do the oil stuff in fondue which I’ll admit is delicious but we stick with the broth around here and we all love it.  Here’s what I put in it:

A few cups of broth (chicken or beef)…I always use this stuff:

It’s the best.
A couple bay leaves
About a tsp. of minced garlic (I use the kind minced for you in a jar)
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/2 c. cooking wine
1 c. water

As you can see, I am very meticulous about my measuring 🙂  I just generally throw stuff in and it always seems to turn out great.  If you want something more precise, there are all kinds of good recipes on the Internet.  This one looks good.  And this one too.  I’ll have to give those ones a whirl next time.

If my kid’s eyes sparkle with this layout on our table, you can bet their eyes go up to the gigawatt range if we have chocolate fondue.  You just mix in some chocolate chips with a bunch of caramel syrup (ice cream topping stuff) and dip your favorite stuff in there.  (pretty precise about that too, right?)

My sister-in-law does the chocolate fondue thing with her family as a tradition on Christmas Eve and we did it with them a few years ago and figured maybe we’d incorporate that, but we haven’t had much luck on that one yet.

Some day.

Until then, it’s reserved for very special occasions like once in a while on Valentine’s Day (cause it’s kind of a lot of work if you ask me…and chocolate chip cookies are a lot faster:).  Favorite recipes for those over here (at the end of the post) and here (also at the end of that post) and here.