Fondue - A Tasty Holiday Treat

In our house, we all love to watch football so on most Sundays you'll find all of us gathered in front of the television. Football afternoon in our house means football food. Usually it's meatball subs, burgers or hotdogs, chili or hot wings. Last week, I threw together a pot of homemade minestrone soup. Soup is always a favorite in our house and it's great for me because it doesn't take long to put it together, and we leave it on the stove all afternoon so that anybody who wants some can dish up a bowl or two or three throughout the day.

Two days ago, it was in the 80's here in Jacksonville but a cold front came through and tonight's temperature is dipping into the low 40's. Knowing today would be a bit nippy, I immediately thought about "comfort food" for this afternoon's football treat. I'd been thinking about a visit to the Melting Pot restaurant, but then I remembered the cheese fondue we like to serve around the holidays. I have served it at many Christmas parties, but last year our family took the fondue pot with us when we went to Tennessee for the holidays and we gathered in front of the fireplace on Christmas eve and pigged out on Fondue Italiano. It's a recipe I discovered in a Better Homes & Gardens cookbook about 35 years ago. Today, I made a double recipe and our family wiped it out!

So, if you're looking for something fun to serve over the holidays, here's the recipe. You can find fondue pots with fondue forks at most kitchen stores. They make an excellent gift, even if you buy the gift for yourself.

Here's our favorite fondue recipe:

Fondue Italian Style

Brown 1/2 lb. ground beef in a pot over low heat. Drain, then add 1/2 envelope spaghetti sauce seasoning and 15 oz. of plain tomato sauce. Stir well. In a bowl or glass measuring cup, combine 1/2 cup chianti with 1 tab. cornstarch. Set aside. Add 8 oz. shredded cheddar slowly to the meat mixture over low heat, then slowly add 4 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese until melted and mixed together thoroughly. Add chianti/cornstarch mixture and heat until sauce is thick and bubbly.

Pour the mixture into a fondue pot set to low heat. Cut a loaf of italian bread into 2 inch cubes. Dip the cubes of italian bread into the fondue mixture and enjoy.