We like cheese fondue, but I'm not sure what I'd do with three fondue pots. We have one (cheap) fondue pot and I haven't bought a better one because I never know what to do with the alcohol burner when we are done with dinner. It still has volatile fuel in it so I don't like keeping it in the house. I'm curious to hear what others do. Will a tea light instead keep it hot enough?

The acidity of a dry wine helps the cheese melt smoothly. Lemon juice can help if the wine isn't acidic enough.

Cheese Fondue

1 lb cheese finely diced - we usually use half Grueyer and half Ementhaler, or all Grueyer.
3 tbsp flour
1 clove garlic
2 cups dry white wine - I particularly like it with a dry Riesling
1 tbsp lemon juice.
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/8 tsp paprika or nutmeg (I never add nutmeg, sometimes I add paprika but it doesn't make much of a difference)

Toss the cheese with the flour
Cut the garlic clove in half and rub the inside of the pot with it
Put the wine in the pot and heat until hot but not boiling
Add cheese by the handful stirring in each addition until it is mostly melted before adding the next.
When all the cheese is in and the fondue is starting to bubble, add the seasonings.

The recipe I have also says to add 1/2 cup kirsch with the seasonings but I never have it on hand so I don't add it.

Boilded potatoes are nice for dipping in addition to the usual bread.

Variation,
Mushroom: chop 1/2 lb mushrooms and saute with a little onion. Add to the fondue before serving.

Are you sure this is a friend, John? Actually, I do use our one fondue pot to heat oil & cook cubed beef & bread, as well as cheese sauces. Here's a simple cheese fondue I've made a couple of times.

Fondue Fines Herbes

2 loaves French or Italian bread, cut in 1-inch squares with crust
1 lb Swiss cheese or white melting cheese of your choice, diced
2 Tbsp flour
1 clove fresh garlic
2 c. Chablis or other dry white wine
1 egg yolk, beaten
1/2 tsp Fines Herbes (thyme, oregano, sage, rosemary, basil & marjoram)
freshly ground pepper

Place cheese in bowl & sprinkle with flour. Mix to coat each piece.
Rub fondue casserole & wooden stirring spoon with cut clove of garlic.
Pour wine into casserole & place over moderate heat until small bubbles rise to the top (simmering, but not boiling).
Add cheese one handful at a time, stirring constantly until each handful is melted before adding another. Continue stirring until mixture starts to bubble lightly.
Stir a small amount of hot cheese mix into beaten egg yolk to temper, Then add egg to hot cheese.
Add Fines Herbes & pepper to taste.

I would think fondue would be right up your alley; it's creative, social, tasty and fun.
I would definitely have a fondue night with a cheese, oil and chocolate fondue.

Beef to start, then cheese, then chocolate. Your guests may not thank you...........here, We get solid fuel blocks that slot into the container.

Not sure why keeping the alcohol burner with its unused fuel in the house makes you nervous, cloud_swift. It's no more likely to burst into flames or anything else untoward than a bottle of scotch, for instance.

You could do a three course fondue meal like they do at the chain of restaurants called "The Melting Pot". A starter course of a cheese fondue, with bread pieces to dip. Then a second pot with hot broth or hot oil to cook cubed meats and/or vegetable pieces dipped in a tempura batter. And the third pot would be dessert, chocolate fondue, with an assortment of things to dip in the chocolate.

I don't have any specific recipes.

Thanks all. I have some things to try with this set now. They are kind of cute, though orange wouldn't have been my first choice.

scotch. I miss Linda.

Good luck with your fondue!

When our kids were still home, fondue was our traditional Christmas Eve dinner. We did as Bob described. Very fond memories and very good food. Fondue is so well suited to sitting around the dinner table for a couple hours chatting. Our standards for the main course were always the same - shrimp, chicken breast, and fillet. We used hot oil and never had a problem with the kids. Just taught them to be careful. They cooked their own from about age six on. Very fun meals.

/tricia

John, what a lovely gift. The idea of a leisurely 3-part dipping meal as described by bobc ville and triciae sounds enchanting. You can cook in broths as well as in oil, and dip in cheese, chocolate, and who knows what else.

I gave away my old fondue set, but had I thought of all that, I might have bought two more instead!

Do let us know when and how you use them.

Colleen, the lid of the alcohol burner in the fondue set doesn't seal tightly like the lid of a bottle. Vapor escapes and could build up in a cabinet.

Ethanol and methanol are slightly volatile. It would be similar to a wicked lamp. But in any case, after use, you pour the alcohol back into the bottle and then it is like the bottle of scotch.

Boy, this brings back the sixties. You could starve to death eating/cooking fondue for dinner; but it was a great party experience. Have fun and don't get burned or burn up the draperies like some of my friends did heating the oil. But it was the sixties!

I associate fondue with the 1970s, for some reason. I think it reached its peak of popularity in North America at that time, and I remember going to a Swiss Fondue House in Mexico City in the mid to late 70s - I believe it was in Colonia Cuauhtemoc - just north of Reforma from the Zona Rosa.

I've only had cheese and chocolate fondue - I've never cooked meat in a fondue pot and am not sure how to do that exactly. I've cooked meat on a tabletop Korean BBQ, but that is quite different. I do like cheese fondue and have made with Italian cheese blends, such as Fontina with Asiago with good results. I haven't made it in a very long time, and the last fondue I made was chocolate, which is great with fruit cubes and strawberries.

Lars

oohh. Love those. I like the orange. It is the new 'black' in NYC right now, haha. My kitchen is void of color except for seasonal changes...just got some orange towels.

Never had a fondue pot but made my own version out of an italian expresso coffee can for BagnaCauda...a big hit at my holiday party. Keeping it warm is important as the dip is much thinner and slips right off the veggies for just the right amount of flavor...Having three warm dipping choices would be so cool. I'm jealous of your score.
I've only made the traditional one with olive oil but this one with cream looks good...

(The sterno things are safe. It is basically a denatured alcohol that is gelled. Burns very clean. Much cleaner than a candle.)

Here is a link that might be useful: BagnaCauda

If you're cooking meat cubes, you have to heat the oil on a stove prior to adding to the fondue pot, then the sterno keeps it hot. That's the way I remember it in the 60's. It's nice to have three pots -- meat, cheese, chocolate makes for a very nice party experience.

I have a fondue dinner every New Years. We use 2 pots (oil) for 6 people each person then gets 3 forks to cook with. By having 2 pots there are not as many tangles. I also usually serve baked potatoes and salad as a filler while other things are cooking. A third pot would be awesome for chocolate. It is funny every year I phone my mom for her cheese ball recipe and every year I loose it.

Thinking about it, you might have problems doing anything other than the meat fondue in a cast iron pot; Chocolate and cheese are usually done in a clay "caquelon" which is gentler on the cheese and chocolate so it doesn't burn. What is fun are all the different sauces that you can make to go with the beef fondue.
Bearnaise, moutarde, piquante.......even aioli.

Your link didn't open to the fondue set for me, but it sounds like this is it. And they sent 3?!! Nice to see them coming back.

Well at least you won't have to worry about it cracking and spewing hot oil on your DR table like my friends ceramic one did. The one we used for meat/oil was stainless, and we had a matching chafing dish (think double boiler) for the cheese.

Here is a link that might be useful: Flame Orange Fondue Set