Fondue on a Budget

The first time I had cheese fondue, it was celebrating Thanksgiving with my sister, Kavita, back in 2005 - the second time was visiting Ellen and Silke in The Hague this spring.  Ironically, these people have now welcomed little cutie baby's into the world.

I love the concept of fondue and have been lazy and lame by not trying to make it sooner. This is a super budget-friendly, romantic, lovely way to have fondue (Allison and Nico, you guys are on the list of providing super inspiration).

You can, of course, make your own fondue out of Swiss and Gruyere cheeses or you can purchase ready made packages. We bought a ready-made package of fondue from our local (and non-fancy) GB Carrefour. They sell "heat and eat" packages that cost around 3 euros for 2 persons.  The hubs and I heated the cheese package over low heat, then served this with vegetable crudites and a whole-grain bread (cut into chunks); we served it with a red wine. 

The fondue cheese was heated on the stovetop in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. It was left on low to keep the cheese melted (we have a nice bar seating area next to the stove-top) so it was left (on low heat) on the stovetop while the fondue was served.  If you don't have a fondue pot (part of this post, was "on a budget") you could shuttle it back and forth, transfer it to a crockpot, or serve it over a double boiler. 

The crudites (totaling about 2 cups of cut up fresh veggies) and a small loaf of bread

radishes

bell peppers

broccoli

carrots

cornichons (to clear the palette)

and bread

but you could also use sugar snap peas, mushrooms, cubed tofu, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, cubed cooked potatoes, etc.

This is so much cheaper than eating out and much more pleasurable and romantic.