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Fondues
by their very nature, entice us to linger. It is hard to rush a meal
that consists of dipping skewered pieces of bread, meat, or fruit in
a communal pot of hot liquid (cheese, oil, or chocolate). John Mariani in his "Dictionary of American Food and Drink" tells us that
the fondue is of Swiss origin and was made with melted Gruyere or
Emmenthaler cheese and white wine, which explains why the word
"fondue" which comes from the French verb "fondre" meaning "to
melt", was given to this dish.
Now, it did take awhile for the
fondue to make its way to North America, but when it did arrive (the
1950s) it was a success. So successful, in fact, that we invented
the dessert fondue. It was Konrad Egli of the
Chalet Swiss Restaurant in New York who came up with the chocolate
fondue in the early 1960s as a way to get his diet conscious
customers to buy dessert.
Quite simply, a Chocolate
Fondue is a warm chocolate sauce that we can dip skewered fruits,
pieces of cake, or cookies into. There are so many different fresh
or dried fruits that make for perfect dipping. Strawberries,
cantaloupe, figs, honeydew, kiwi, pineapple, bananas, pears,
oranges, and apples work very nicely. If you want to dip cakes and
cookies; good choices are chunks of pound, butter, angel
food, and sponge cake and cookies can include: amaretti,
ladyfingers, rolled wafer cookies, and biscotti. The main focus of a
dessert fondue is the chocolate sauce which is a mixture of high
quality silky smooth semisweet chocolate, rich cream, a little
sugar, corn syrup, pure vanilla extract, Nutella, and Frangelico.
Sounds delicious, doesn't it.
Finally, although a small
fondue pot looks lovely, it isn't necessary. You can just heat the sauce
beforehand in a small saucepan and then either serve the sauce from this
pan or else transfer it to a pretty bowl. Serve with
different fresh or dried fruits, cakes, and cookies that are placed on
attractive platters along with small wooden skewers for dipping. Reheat the sauce as
necessary. |
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