Not stuffy at all – fondue party

Do you want to throw a successful and extraordinary party, give your friends an unforgettably fun evening, spoil them with culinary delights, and still be able to enjoy the festive mood yourself as a stress-free host? The solution is a fondue party. Here we have collected tips and tricks for it:

Fondue party at home

A fondue party is just the thing for a lively celebration including culinary delights, high spirits, and relaxation. The trick: even the preparations for the feast simply become a highlight of the grand celebration itself. Why stand in the kitchen all day alone and stress yourself under time pressure to finish just in time before the guests arrive? Cooking together means less work and more fun. A good trade, don't you think? Fondue is universally popular for its social factor and offers a lush selection of delicacies that are all easy to prepare.

Before the first doorbell rings, you finally have enough time for yourself with this invitation, can get dressed up, and decorate the apartment to your heart's content. Once the guests have arrived, the party can start right away: toast to a successful evening with a glass of something, distribute the ingredients for the party fondue, turn the music up to party volume – singing along to evergreens is guaranteed to get you in the mood – and off you go!

While cutting ingredients for the meat and sauces in a convivial group, there is uninhibited chatting, laughing, and singing along loudly to favorite hits. Work? Not a bit! If you have only ever wielded a wooden spoon in your kitchen but never danced, now is the best opportunity to do so. Instead of rushing back and forth between the stove, fridge, and countertop, it's time to shake it. Put the beef broth on to rock 'n' roll and sprinkle the ingredients into the pot with swing: that not only brings the soup to a boil but also guarantees the mood.

Automatically, you and your party guests will soon be stirring the sauces for the big feast to the rhythm of the music. That's when you start to understand where the fiery Latin American dance Salsa (= sauce in Spanish) gets its name. Speaking of sauces: the exuberant mood at your kitchen party brings you inspiration and wealth of ideas, feel free to let your creativity run wild. No one has to cook strictly according to recipes here; season with everything that tastes good.

If you want to offer your guests something truly extraordinary, why not go for trendy wild herb cuisine? With local herbs from forests and meadows, such as mugwort, St. John's wort, and goldenrod, you will give yourself and your friends a completely new taste experience. How about starting your celebration in the afternoon with a nice trip into the countryside together and collecting the herbs for your meat marinades and sauces? Freshly picked and processed, they taste best and open up unimagined culinary delights. While the fondue meat is in the marinade, the sauces are thickening, and the beef soup is cooking, you have plenty of time to celebrate partying and dancing with your guests to the fullest. In between, the table is set and the dishes are done with a swing in your hips and a glass of wine in hand – everything is easy.

This way, everyone is already in the best party mood when it's time to feast. In a cozy circle, you can gather your guests around the fondue in the middle of the table and enjoy what you have conjured up together: a creative feast, seasoned with plenty of fun and good humor.

Recipes for marinades for fondue meat

The beef soup becomes an exclusive wild herb soup if you refine it with savory, St. John's wort, French marigold, and goldenrod.

Marinade for chicken

– some oil
– salt
– pepper
– chili
– curry
– garam masala

Marinade for pork

– some oil
– salt
– pepper
– red paprika (powder)
– hyssop
– Worcestershire sauce

Marinade for pork, 2nd variant

– some oil
– pepper
– salt
– mugwort

Recipes for sauces

Gorgonzola cream sauce

Mash the Gorgonzola with a fork and mix with sour cream or yogurt. Add pepper and salt as desired.

Mayonnaise with egg and chives

Whisk homemade mayonnaise or thin out store-bought mayonnaise with a little yogurt, finely chop hard-boiled eggs, and stir in with chives. Season with pepper and salt to taste.

Herb cream

Stir borage, parsley, chives, and savory into sour cream with salt and pepper. You can, of course, vary the herbs as you like.

Dip with lemon and sour cream

Ingredients for 4 people:

• 200 g sour cream
• Juice of half a lemon
• Zest of half a lemon
• Salt
• Pepper

Instructions:

For this dip, put the sour cream in a bowl. Grate the lemon peel with a fine grater and squeeze the juice from one half. Add the zest and juice to the sour cream. Stir the dip well and either let it cool and infuse, which makes it taste even more intense, or serve immediately.

Recipe for a quick and easy guacamole dip

serves as a side dish for 2-3 people

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe avocados
• Juice of half a lemon or lime
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tomatoes
• Salt
• Pepper
• chili powder

Instructions:

For the guacamole, first halve the avocados, remove the pit and skin. In a bowl, mash the avocado with a fork so that it becomes a nice cream. Press the garlic in a garlic press and add to the bowl. Halve a lemon or lime, squeeze one half, and add to the guacamole. Cut the tomatoes into very small cubes and add them to the dip as well. Now add the spices, i.e., salt, pepper, and a little chili powder, and mix everything well.

For the 4 of us, I used 3 avocados, left the rest the same, and it worked out great as a side dish for grilling.

Chocolate fondue for dessert

For the perfect dessert, chocolate fondue is of course provided. The best way to make room for it in your stomach is another round of movement on the dance floor while the chocolate melts on the stove. In the breaks between dancing, the fruit is cut for the sweet treats. The fruity, delicate temptation brings a perfect evening to another delicious climax. Chocolate is known to make you happy – and you and your guests will certainly be happy after this unforgettable celebration.

Recipe for chocolate fondue

Melt milk chocolate and dark chocolate in a pot with butter, cream, and a dash of rum or orange liqueur.

Photo by Sabine, meinhaushalt.at

Read also: Chocolate fondue and other sweet fondues