Are you thinking about planning an Italian themed fondue party in the near future? Have you already decided on a menu? If not, you may want to check out a few of my Italian fondue party ideas. Here they are:
Tomato Based Italian Fondues
I know of several different tomato based, Italian fondues that would pair well with bread dippers. One of the best ones is made with 1.5 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (sharp or mild), 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1 envelope of onion soup mix, 1 can of tomato sauce (15 ounces) and 2 teaspoons of fresh oregano. If you don’t have fresh oregano, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano should suffice. Just place all the ingredients into the fondue pot, stir and heat.
In order to make my other favorite Italian fondue, you will need ¼ pound of ground sirloin, 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, 3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, 1 jar of spaghetti sauce (thick style) and ½ cup of Chianti. You’ll need to brown the ground sirloin up in a skillet first. Then add it, along with the other ingredients, into your fondue pot. Stir the ingredients until you end up with a thick tomato sauce. If the sauce doesn’t thicken up on its own, feel free to help it along by adding a tablespoon of cornstarch.
Italian Dessert Fondues
Are you planning on serving a dessert fondue? Well it just so happens that I know of several that would be ideal for an Italian theme. If you plan on making a bourguignonne fondue as the main course, I’d suggest serving fried fruit pies for dessert. I make my fried fruit pies with refrigerated pie crust and canned fruit pie filling. I like serving the miniature pies because they taste good and can be made up ahead of time.
Basically, all you need to do is roll and cut the pie crust into small rounds. Afterward, sandwich some pie filling in between two of the rounds and seal the edges. Then let your guests dip the pies into the hot oil. I’d also suggest serving the pies alongside shakers filled with cinnamon, sugar and nutmeg. That way, your guests can sprinkle the seasoning onto their pies as they come out of the hot oil.
Other superlative dessert options include chocolate hazelnut fondue, spiced honey fondue and chocolate marshmallow fondue. If you decide to go that route, there are typically a variety of chocolate fondue recipes available online.
Suggested Dippers
When it comes to dippers for the tomato based fondue, I would recommend preparing 1 pound of crusty bread cubes for each person. Breads to consider using are Italian sesame, Italian white, ciabatta and focaccia. If you are going with a fondue bourguignonne instead, you’ll want to prepare 1 pound of vegetables, beef sirloin strips or shrimp. Great vegetables to use for an Italian fondue party include breaded eggplant, breaded green beans and peppers. Excellent dessert dippers to think about serving are cubes of pandoro, panettone, penia and taralli.
Source: Personal Experience
More from this contributor:
Holiday Wine and Cheese Pairing Guidelines for First Time Hosts
How to Get the Most Value Out of a Holiday Ham Shank
Top Champagne Cocktails for New Year’s Eve
Top 5 Wines to Serve with a Holiday Ham
