Vive le Chocolat!

So here we are, February, the month of l'amore and roses and CHOCOLATE! Over the next couple of weeks we’re going to focus on just that, the chocolate that is.  And not just the sweet stuff, we’ve got a couple of savories to throw your way as well.

To kick things off we've got a fun chocolate dish to share (not necessary, but highly recommended) – fondue. Who doesn't love fondue, it’s easy to make and, once again, any time you can put food on a stick it’s a party just waiting to happen.

Simply Wonderful Chocolate Fondue

24 oz. milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips/chunks
10 oz. half-n-half or a light cream
1 tsp. vanilla

Heat all the ingredients in a pan over medium-low heat until blended and smooth (once it’s melted, add in chips or cream as necessary to reach the desired consistency).

Transfer to a fondue pot and continue heating over Sterno (chafer fuel).

Stab yummy things on a fork and dip.

What? You were expecting it to be more difficult? Yeah, it’s dangerously easy. (In a stage whisper: "hey, you don’t really even need a fondue pot to eat fondue, just hover around the stove dipping poked things in the pot and you’ll be fine…but you never heard that from us" wink, wink.)

Tasty things to dip:

Fresh fruit – strawberries, orange sections, apple slices, tangerine sections, seedless grapes, pineapple chunks, peach slices, cherries, banana chunks

Dried fruit – apricots, apples, pineapple, mango

Baked goods – angel food cake squares, pound cake squares, short dough cookies, pretzels, brownie bites, Rice Krispies treats

Misc – marshmallows, small caramels, mini popcorn balls, your finger

This recipe will produce a nice basic chocolate fondue, but if you want to jazz it up a bit, here are some variations you can play with.

* Vary the chocolate by using white chocolate, dark chocolate, butterscotch, or (during the winter holidays) mint chocolate chips in lieu of milk chocolate or semi-sweet chips.


* Add a couple of teaspoons of your favorite liqueur like Grand Marnier, Kirsch, or Crème de Menthe.


* Make it a mocha by adding powdered instant coffee or a shot of expresso.


* For the Reese’s fans out there, melt a tablespoon or two of peanut butter into the chocolate mix (this combo works especially well with bananas – ooh la yummy!).


* Add in some chopped peanuts, walnuts or pecans.