January 19, 2011

Date night


Carl and I had a date night last night and had so much fun! I decided that I REALLY like the melting pot. We have been there a few times and it is SO expensive so we normally just get a small pot of cheese fondue and a chocolate fondue. They are so yummy! I love it! There are some things about the melting pot that I don't really like. For instance: they ALWAYS seat two people in the "romantic" dark hallway that is so dark and the booths are shaped weird. I even went with my sister and they sat us here. I have sat in the same dark hallway 4 times! I hate it. Plus you always leave so full..... more full then if you ate anywhere else. AND it is so expensive (yeah, I know I already mentioned this, but it needs mentioning agian).

SOOOOOO.... for our date, I decided that I would do homemade melting pot fondue (I even found the recipes of the kinds we like to make at home). We went and got groceries the night before and Carl had no idea what I was shopping for. He couldn't even guess what I was planning. It wasn't until we started cooking together that he was finally able to figure out what I was planning.

We made the cheese fondue and sat at our coffee table and ate while watching Lady and the Tramp (I figured it was kind of a sweet movie that we haven't seen in awhile).


Here is my "fondue" pot or otherwise known as a small crockpot. It worked ok but I bet an actual fondue pot would have done a better job. You can also see the veggies and bread we cut up as dippers.

Here is the sweetest part of the movie... right before they kissed :)

We watched the rest of the movie and rested our tummies. We talked about how long it had been since we've seen this show and cuddled on the futon for awhile.

Then, when we were finally a bit hungry again (or 2 hours later), we decided to start making the chocolate fondue. I made it in the microwave.... just chocolate chips, milk, and peanut butter.... melt, stir, and enjoy.

We dipped strawberries (my favorite), brownies, pound cake, and coconut covered marshmallows (you can find these at any grocery store). It was SOOOOO good! I ate so many strawberries! Yum!

Well, I hope you all find a good idea for a fun date with your spouse (or boyfriend).
It was so good and really fun! WAY better than going to the melting pot (cheaper too!).... Here are the recipes I used :)



Melting Pot Spinach Artichoke Fondue
Ingredients
5oz. of Light Beer (I used chicken stock and it was good!)
3oz. (just under 1/3 cup) chopped
cooked spinach
3oz. (just under 1/3 cup) chopped artichoke hearts
1 demitasse (I used a heaping tsp) spoon of minced garlic
8oz. (1 cup) shredded cheddar cheese
5 turns of cracked black
pepper

3 cups of cubed bread - french/rye/pumpernickel
2 cups of vegetables - coliflower/carrots/celery/broccoli
Directions
- First heat the beer on high heat until hot, add spinach, artichoke hearts and minced garlic and stir with a fork.
- Slowly add shredder cheddar. Whip continuously with a fork. Continue to add cheese and whip until your cheese is a "warm honey" consistency. (You HAVE to add the cheese REALLY slow or it wont melt)
- Add pepper.
- Stir with a fork until the consistency is uniform.
- Turn the heat down to low, place bread and vegetables in to a basket or platter.
- Skewer bread and vegetables and dip into cheese fondue.
- Serves 2 to 4 people.

Number of Servings: 4
The Melting Pot Original Chocolate Fondue
ingredients
· 1 11-1/2-ounce package milk chocolate pieces
· 1/4 cup milk
· 1 tablespoon crunchy peanut butter
· Milk
· Assorted fruits (such as orange sections, whole strawberries, pear slices, banana slices, apple slices)
· Angel-food cake or pound cake cubes
· Marshmallows
directions
1. In the top of a double boiler placed over gently simmering water, or in heavy small saucepan, combine the chocolate pieces and 1/4 cup milk. Heat, stirring constantly, over low heat until chocolate is melted and smooth. Stir in the peanut butter. Cook and stir till heated through. Stir in additional milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency. (I just melted it in the microwave and it worked great for us)
2. Pour mixture into a fondue pot; place over fondue burner set on low. With fondue forks or long skewers, dip fruit dippers, cake cubes and/or marshmallows into chocolate mixture. (Will hold up to 1 hour on low. If mixture gets too thick, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time.) Makes 5 (1/4-cup) servings.

2 comments:

  1. What a great idea! I have a chocolate fondue pot that i got for our wedding that I reserve for parties but i should totally bust it out "just for fun" too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You should! It is so easy and FUN! It is a nice way to spend a fun night of eating and talking at home :)

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