Girls Fondue Night

Bringin' back a little of the 70s here but who cares? I've got 2 fondue pots and had the itch to use them recently as I was planning on having a couple of girlfriends from college for dinner while I had a dear friend from freshman year of college stay for the weekend. (As an aside: I went to a small state school in [way] upstate New York for my freshman year of college and then transferred to another school in Connecticut where I finished my final 3 years. My friend, Kristin (Kris), and I lived on the same floor freshman year and have remained friends ever since - it's been 10 years now since I transferred to CT - yikes how the time does fly!! The pic below is us with a couple friends from that year. I'm at the top, Kris is on the bottom right with the hat on.)

OK, enough memories and back to the food. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics of the fondue but I can truly say that both fondues (pizza and Italian cheese) came out great and the fondue idea overall was a big hit. We were able to sit around, pick away, and chat while the fondue vanished. It really was quite a relaxing dinner. Instead of a meal I was slaving over in the kitchen to prepare, I had the pizza fondue all cooked before the girls arrived and kept it warm on the stove while we had appetizers. For the cheese fondue, I prepped everything a day in advance (including the dipping items) so literally all I had to do was toss the ingredients in a pot on the stove, cook to the right consistency, and pour it in the fondue pot. I opted for the electric fondue pot for the cheese fondue so that the heat could be kept a bit more stable and put the pizza fondue in a traditional fondue pot with a Sterno underneath (covered half-way because the flame was too high).

As I mentioned, both fondues went over with rave reviews. For dipping items, I kept it simple: roasted garlic ciabatta bread, another kind of rustic bread called rustica (I don't make these things up), blanched broccoli florets, and red peppers cut to about 1 1/2" pieces. The cheese fondue had a real nice deep flavor with the combo of Gruyere and Pinot Grigio and the pizza fondue really does taste like pizza (it's a recipe my mom either found or made up years ago. She used to make it on cold winter nights and we ate while sitting in front of the fire.)

Overall it was a fun night with great friends and delicious food and I'm thinking about making it a yearly tradition so we'll see what kind of fondue next year brings!

Italian Cheese Fondue
source: Giada De Laurentiis

• 8 ounces grated Fontina
• 8 ounces grated Gruyere
• 5 teaspoons cornstarch
• 6 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, chopped
• 2 cups dry white wine (such as Pinot Grigio)
• Freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons chopped chives
• Bite-size pieces of focaccia, sliced salami, fresh fennel, Belgian endive, steamed broccoli florets and asparagus spears, for dipping

1. Toss the Fontina and Gruyere cheese with the cornstarch in a medium bowl to coat.
2. Saute the pancetta in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat until crisp and golden, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a plate. Pour off any excess oil.
3. Pour the wine into the same saucepan and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to medium. Whisk 1 handful of the cheese mixture into the wine until it is almost melted. Repeat with the remaining cheese mixture in about 4 more batches. Continue whisking until the cheese is completely melted and the fondue bubbles, about 1 minute. Stir in all but 2 tablespoons of the pancetta. Season the fondue with pepper, to taste.
4. Transfer the cheese mixture to a fondue pot. Sprinkle with the remaining pancetta and chives. Set the pot over a candle or a canned heat burner. Serve with focaccia and vegetables.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10-15 minutes

Serves: 8-10

Pizza Fondue

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 2 cans (10.5oz) pizza sauce (I used about 2 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce)
• 1 1/2 tsp fennel seed
• 1 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 2 1/2 cups (10oz) shredded cheddar
• 1 cup (4oz) shredded mozzarella
• Italian or French bread for dipping

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, brown onion and ground beef. Drain.
2. Stir in sauce and seasonings and heat through. Add cheese by handfuls, stirring each handful until cheese is almost fully melted.
3. Pour into fondue pot and keep hot while serving. Serve with bread cut into pieces or serve over toasted English muffins for lunch.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Serves: 6-10

Chicken Parmigiana Pizza...

with a little extra umph. I had chicken parmigiana pizza for the first time about 7 years ago and thought it was the best creation ever. Well, Kyle having worked in a pizza restaurant for the better part of his high school years and for sometime afterwards, let's say that he picked up a few ideas...one of them being chicken, bacon, onions, and garlic pizza. Yes, this is the best pizza creation I have ever had. EVER. It's the chicken parmigiana pizza "kicked up a notch" (for lack of a better phrase).

How could you ever go wrong with bacon? Bacon was a new and scary concept to put on a pizza for me but they just don't do it in NY. I'd never seen it on a pizza menu, had never heard anyone order it, and had never ever heard anyone talk about bacon as a pizza topping...until I moved to Connecticut for college. Yes, I turned my nose up at the suggestion of it but to be honest, it wasn't too bad. And then Kyle stepped in and ordered this masterpiece one night a few years back and I knew it was love...love of this new pizza creation, that is. ;) This is our 'ol standby now.

Chicken, Bacon, Onions, and Garlic Pizza

• 3 Perdue Baked Italian Chicken Cutlets (they are pre-cooked), diced into bite-size pieces
• 1 onion, sliced and slowly sauteed until very soft (about 20 minutes)
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2-3 slices bacon, almost fully cooked and chopped
• 8-12oz shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 cups tomato sauce (jarred or homemade)

See my pizza instructions and tips for how to roll out the dough and prep the pizza stone. Layer ingredients in any order. Cook for 12-13 minutes at 475 degrees.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 12-13 minutes
Serves: 4

mmm....pizza....mmm.....

Going....

Ok, so if I could pick two foods to eat everyday for the rest of my life, bagels with cream cheese would be one (in fact, growing up, I was often called "the bagel queen" by my family lol) and pizza would be the other. Pizza is the most well-balanced food out there. No, seriously. Just the base of any ordinary pizza has carbs (dough), protein (cheese and any meats), veggies (tomato sauce), and then of course you can add whatever other veggies or fruit (pineapple, for example) you'd like. How can you get more well-balanced than that? Of course, I neglected to mention fat content but for many pizza options out there, you can totally cut down on fat content...

This was one of those attempts. I made up a quick tomato sauce (with onions, garlic and a few dried herbs), topped it on 1 pound of rolled out, pre-made dough that I bought at the grocery store (either in the dairy or deli sections), then added shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, a touch of dried oregano, sauteed onions, sliced roasted garlic chicken sausage, and sliced turkey pepperoni (which by the way, didn't make the pizza greasy at all). It was a hot night with the AC blasting, and I cranked the oven up to 500 degrees to get the pizza stone heated, which of course counteracted the effect of the AC but it was so worth it! What a treat this was!!

Going...

A few tips about making pizza:

• always let the dough rest to room temperature before you try to roll it out
• USE LOTS OF FLOUR to roll the dough out. I know there are a few different techniques to getting the dough into the "perfect circle" but really, the most important thing to remember is that the flour will keep the dough from shrinking as you roll it - and don't worry about making that perfect circle - pizza is pizza no matter what shape the dough ends up as
• Here's what I do: Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Flour your work surface, the ball of dough, and the rolling pin. Start rolling the dough out from the center to the outside (always work the dough this way); after a couple of rolls, carefully flip the dough over and sprinkle some more flour and roll out with long rolls from the center. Repeat until dough is to desired thickness and size, all the while making sure there is enough flour on the work surface, dough, and rolling pin.
• I use a pizza stone but a large cookie sheet works just as well. Whatever you use, make sure that you sprinkle corn meal on the stone or the cookie sheet before you put the dough on. In order to get the pizza onto the hot stone in the oven, I prepare the pizza on a large wooden cutting board that is well-sprinkled with corn meal, then carefully slide it off the board onto the stone in the oven (this is a two person job!!) - making sure the board has enough corn meal will ensure that the pizza almost rolls off the board with the help of a couple of spatulas. Someday I'll get around to buying a pizza peel with a long handle which will hopefully make it easier to do this step.
• Turn the oven temperature down to 475 degrees and cook for 12 to 13 minutes.

Gone....