Family Fondue!

Tonight I had the pleasure of hosting our Family Valentine Party, and this year we did fondue! We've done it many times but not recently. It's quite a bit of work, but worth it.

It requires a lot of prep work...start off by prepping the meat, cover it and put it back in the fridge until it's time. I cut the fat off of two New York Strip steaks and cut it into bite size pieces.
Do the same for chicken breasts, and raw shrimp. Don't cut your shrimp, just take off the shell and make sure they're de-veined, if they're not, you'll need to do it unless you want to eat sandy shrimp poop, which I doubt you do. =)

Our pricey supermarket carries the Swiss Knight Fondue. For 6 adults, I used two boxes. The other stuff you see in the picture is the prep set up for the meat course: butter, lemon for the shrimp, garlic granules, salt, pepper.

I won this really cool Trudeau lazy susan fondue pot last year at MOPS and I love it! You put your sauces for the meat course in the little cups and then you can spin it as you eat, instead of having to stand and reach for the one you want.

I set the table with everyone's gifts on their plates. They weren't big gifts, mostly just homemade things and treats, although I did buy my husband a massage gift certificate. He deserves it. =)

I made my mother in law a ruffle sunglasses case like mine, a wristlet keychain, and cookie bark.I also wrote notes on everyone's place on a printable titled "What I love most about you".I'm kind of the mushy type. I love to do things for people anyway so Valentine's Day is just another reason for me show and tell my loved ones how much I love them.

I put the sauces that I needed to heat up for about 30 seconds in the microwave before serving the meat by the stove. I labeled them all with a cute tag so I didn't have to keep answering which sauce is which.

For the shrimp you need to clarify the butter. Simply means, melt it and strain the solids out. I put in this broth separater. You put broth in and the fat goes to the top but the spout pours from the bottom. I melt the butter in it with a garlic clove in it, and pour it out, stopping before the solids come out, as they also float to the top.

Once everything's prepped you can begin with the cheese course. Melt it in a regular saucepan, stirring constantly until boiling hot. It really does stay hot if you put the candle underneath it.

Serve the cheese with cubes of french baguette, steamed broccoli, and red potatoes.

As the host, you just sneak away when people are about to finish up the first course, to cook the meat. I had my three pans ready and was able to cook them all quickly at the same time since they were all cut up into small pieces.

Heat up the sauces that need to be warm. There were six cups: Yoshida's Teriyaki, Veri Veri Teriyaki, Phil's BBQ, Drawn Butter, Lemon wedges, Sriracha.

You can get everything ready for the chocolate course before the meal, except you obviously won't want to cut the bananas until you're ready to serve. We use pound cake {SO much better than angel food cake with this chocolate, trust me!}, strawberries and bananas. Warm up heavy whipping cream in a saucepan {about 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups}, and a bag of Guittard semi-sweet chips until well melted and combined.

Light sabers ready!

Yum! It's a lot of work, but it is worth it for a special occasion!