I haven’t raved about it much (if at all) on the blog, but I am, to put it lightly, absolutely wild about fondue. Whenever I discover a restaurant with fondue of any kind–savory, sweet, pricey, cheap, whatever–I make an immediate phone call.

“Hey,” says I.
“Hey!” says Foodie Friend.
“So there’s this new place I want to check out.”
“Have you read any reviews?” She asks suspiciously.
“They have fondue,” I reply matter-of-factly, the thought of that pot-of-cheese (or chocolate, or oil, or…) as good as a pretty triad of Michelin stars and a Zagat 30 in my mind.

I first encountered fondue after trekking for hours up a frozen mountain, so no wonder it’s made such an impression on me. …okay, okay, it was after perhaps forty minutes of trekking up a ski slope, but it was cold! And the snowshoes were ill-fitting! And the air was thin! I’m lazy! Regardless of just how manly and trying this journey was, it definitely made me hungry; stepping into an elegant, nearly-empty restaurant tucked away alongside a Utah green run and smelling rich melted cheese didn’t help much. If biting into the first slice of apple and tasting the savory cheese as it gave way to crisp tartness was a revelation; tasting the first slice of banana dipped into melted chocolate was almost erotic, and I’ve been obsessed ever since.

Problem is, you can’t just up and make fondue. Unlike, say, guacamole, it’s not just about the freshest ingredients, a bowl, and some tools. You need a double boiler, probably a portable burner, a bunch of those goofy skinny forks that look like the brain picker out of Total Recall…it requires aforethought, is my point, and devoted readers may be realizing I’m not a master of that particular skill.

But I’m trying anyway, because of this recipe: Fondue Royale.

Oh yeah, you read that right. Truffles and Champagne. Adapted from the long out-of-print Fondue Cookbook by Ed Callahan (apparently they were nuts about this stuff in 1968), it looks right up my alley, possibly even up my driveway and into my front hall.

Of course, if that ain’t your thing, we’ve got other fondue recipes, like:
Sharp Cheddar Cheese Fondue
Cheese Fondue
Chocolate Grand Marnier Fondue

Whichever you choose, enjoy it, and be sure those Total Recall forks only stab into the food!

-Jim is strangely unimpressed by chocolate waterfalls

Popularity: 10% [?]

Sorry guys, it’s been a while since I have blogged but I am back!

So, a couple of months ago I decided to plant my first garden. Not having a single clue how it was going to turn out, I was shocked to see my little garden explode into its own little forest of tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers and basil.

My two tomato plants have basically taken over my garden and I have run out of sticks to prop the plant stems up. I am sad to say some of the stems have broken off due to my own lack of care. Plus the fact that a we had a terrible few days of fierce storms with extremely high and damaging winds, so this didn’t help my poor plants either.

Yesterday I decided it was time to start caring for my garden again, so I took all the broken stems out and picked the green tomatoes that never would have a chance to ripen. I used these green tomatoes to try and make Fried Green Tomatoes for the first time.

I was told by my boyfriend’s mother that the only thing I really needed to do to make Fried Green Tomatoes was just put oil in a pan (I used EVOO), bread the green tomatoes with breadcrumbs and fry them on the stove. Easy enough!

I think not! My Fried Green Tomatoes turned out mushy, slimy and hot. The bread crumbs hardly even stuck onto the sliced tomatoes.

Do any of you have a good recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes? There are a ton on Recipe4Living, but I still have about four left and I would love to try this again.

-Sarah, Editor for Recipe4Living

Popularity: 9% [?]

Since I am running out of time I thought I would ask all of you for some help. This Memorial Day I plan on going back to the Arlington Racetrack in Arlington Heights, Illinois with some friends of mine. Not only are we going to place some bets on our favorite horses but we are planning on spending most of our day/evening there so we are all packing picnic baskets full of goodies to save us some money.

I don’t want to bring the same snacks I brought to the track a couple weeks ago so I need some recipes and suggestions of some great appetizers that will be okay out in the sun for a few hours.

Popularity: 4% [?]

So what is everyone doing this Cinco de Mayo? I have got a big day planned filled with betting on horses, cocktails and a picnic with some close friends.

I have been waiting all winter for Cinco de Mayo to finally come around. Why? Because I get to go back to my most favorite place here in the suburbs of Chicago, the Arlington Race Track. What started as just going to the track and admiring how beautiful it was and watching all the horses, has now become me going there, getting the betting guide and actually studying it . Then placing a few dollars on this horse, a few dollars on that horse. And, yes I do win!

This Saturday I invited a bunch of my friends to tag along with me to the tracks. The Arlington Race Track allows us to bring whatever food we want so we all decided to bring a picnic basket full of finger foods instead of spending money on food there. (More money to bet with.) I decided to bring my favorite dip, Guacamole and also Hummus.

Guacamole
Ingredients
1-1/2 C. frozen peas 1 small ripe avocado, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks 1 Tbs. reduced-fat mayonnaise 2 tsp. lemon juice 1/2 tsp. cumin 1/2 tsp. chili powder 1 garlic clove, minced 1/2 C. mild or medium low-sodium or regular salsa

Directions
In a small saucepan, combine the peas and 1/4 C. boiling water. Cover, bring to a boil, and simmer 2 minutes. Cool in a colander until cold running water. Drain well. In a food processor container, combine the peas, avocado, mayonnaise, lemon juice, cumin, chili powder, and garlic. Process until blended but not absolutely smooth, stopping and scraping the container sides, if necessary. Stir in the salsa. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or up to 24 hours to allow the flavors to blend. The dip will keep in the refrigerator 1 to 2 days. Serve with fat-free tortilla chips. Yield: 14 servings (2 Tbs. each).

Hummus
Ingredients
2 medium cloves garlic, roughly chopped 1/4 C. lemon juice 1/4 C. water 1 14 oz. can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained 1/2 C. tahini (sesame seed paste) 1 tsp. sea salt (or table salt to taste)

Directions
Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth, scraping the sides occasionally. It can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 1 week and frozen for up to 3 months.

Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!

Popularity: 4% [?]