On Saturday, our old neighbors The Kiln Guy and The Chef came over for a little fondue party.
Well actually it was just going to be a cheese and crackers party but then I remembered I had bought 2 fondue kits at the Costco in Canada and figured, the more cheese the merrier, right?
Did I mention we don’t have a fondue pot? 😉 We had a hot plate and an extension cord though so we used that instead.
The HH, nor I had ever “made” fondue before, and silly me, I assumed everything I needed was in the “kit” bag. I didn’t realize you had to add other stuff.
Whoops!
The HH told me to just melt the cheese… it will be fine, but I was like… Umm it says you need to add garlic, flour, wine and kirsch. That’s a lot of things to leave out, don’t you think?
I didn’t even bother to wait for his reply, I dashed out the door to grab the other ingredients {because seriously, if you’re going to go to all the trouble to have fondue, you’ve got to do it right!!}.
Long story short, I get back from the store, 2 minutes later The Kiln Guy and The Chef arrive and we are making fondue!!!
Which was really, really good by the way.
Shockingly good! We couldn’t get enough of it!!!
We had chopped apples, grapes, bread and ham for dipping. Next time I think we’ll add some par boiled new potatoes to the line up.
We also sampled 8 other cheeses from our Québec City cheese haul. We talked about Christmas and winter projects and all the bulbs we planted.
The Kiln Guy and I are both hoping the bulbs make it. The weather here has been so wonky this year. Super cold, then super warm… Who knows.
I guess we’ll have to wait until spring to find out.
Fact: Lucy loves fondue. 😉
And I LOVE cookies!
Do you give cookie boxes at Christmastime? As someone who LOVES cookies, I think these are one of the greatest gifts ever!
The Kiln Guy and The Chef out did themselves this year. I’m not sure how many different kinds of cookies they made {there were 2 layers in the box} but I now have a new favorite one!!
I think it had cream cheese and ginger in it. I don’t know, I’ll have to get the recipe though and share it with you because holy cow man, it was GOOD!
Can you believe Christmas Eve is tomorrow!!! Where has this year gone?
We decided to keep things super low key this year and have a feast of pickety bits {and another fondue party!} on Christmas Day. No ham, no turkey, no sides, no fuss this year.
It’s going to be awesome!
How about YOU? What are YOUR plans? Are you going all out this year or taking it easy? Curious minds want to know.
Have a great day everyone,
~Mavis
Erin says
Sounds so fun! Now I want a hot plate & some fondue cheese! I’m going to brave the store today to grab things for a charcuterie board for Christmas Day. We are renovating our new house while still living in a rental, so it’s a lot of back & forth – no grand meal will be cooked. We didn’t decorate but we did take an hour off from renovating to build a Lego poinsettia. It was actually a lot of fun! I had to make things festive somehow, even though we’re having so much fun working on the house. Merry Christmas & happy holidays to all! I hope Lucy is staying warm in this cold snap we’re finally getting! Our boy lets us put his sweater & jacket on but then he climbs back under the covers before we can put his leash on. He wants nothing to do with the cold 🙂
Rosemary says
I make sugar cookies and Italian love knots and give to friends and family. This year I made a total of 1,278 cookies. I have been making these cookies for about 50 years and I think my kids would be very disappointed if they didn’t get their cookie box (as well as some friends who look forward to them). Can’t have that now, can we? Merry Christmas!
Shari Harniss says
We’re having lasagna for Christmas lunch with your biscotti for dessert.
It’s good to shake things up a bit, culinary wise.
Merry Everything, Mavis and fam!!
Nancy Settel says
Merry Christmas Mavis and I am so darn jealous it looks and sound amazing. We are having breakfast at our granddaughter’s house with all of our children/grands that live in this area (plus she is ready to have our new great grandson any day now) and for dinner we decided to shake things up for us and we are having scallops for dinner. Oh the price but so much better than having turkey etc. We deserve it. I love the idea of fondue though. Wish we had those kits here.
Christa H. says
The fondue party looks like a lot of fun! Hope you do get that recipe. I love molasses cookies and that looks similar.
Our neighborhood consists of 10 small farms and we always drop off little gifts for each other. Every year I make something homemade. This year was honey granola. In the past I gave out jars of my own honey, Italian pizzelle cookies and raspberry thumbprints, guava puffs, cinnamon rolls, and your spiced Christmas jam.
Merry Christmas!
PS- I’m loving the hydrangea book and clippers. I’m planning out a hydrangea area now between my chicken run and garden gate
Nancy says
We have Chinese food on Christmas Eve and lasagna on Christmas Day. Merry Christmas, Mavis!
Brianna says
My teen daughter is going to a friends for Christmas Eve to enjoy their cultural food and celebrations. We are just doing appetizers for us that day. On Christmas Day I will cook a wegman’s garlic studded prime rib and the next day I will probably be cleaning my oven.
Margo says
This year we are going out for Christmas dinner. Easier on the back. I gave out apple butter instead of cookies this year, but years ago I sent 60 dozen cookies to my son who was in the army stationed in Iraq during the war. I sent about 6 different varieties which he and his squad enjoyed. Don’t think I’ll do a repeat of that baking marathon again, but it was all baked with love. Merry Christmas!
suzanne says
We’re all going to join at my nieces home. (I do thanksgiving.) We always do well rounded pot lucks and have a good system set up. We have a white elephant and a name draw gift exchange for those that wish to participate. I love the white elephant and always bring a hostess gift as well because…30 people. The littles all get small gifts from their cousins. This year my nephew will be flying in with his new bride and she’s a lovely woman and we are thrilled to have her as part of the clan.
Patti Vanderbloemen says
Fondue looks amazing, as do the boxed cookies! Yum!
Low key Christmas here…we are having your Copycat Panera Chicken and Rice soup, along with a homemade sourdough bread.
Merry Christmas!
Sue R. says
Raclette is our Christmas day meal–similiar ingredients to fondue but with a different method. Delicious!
Noelle says
The sandwich cookie with the pink frosting looks like a cream wafer. We make those in our family but i haven’t seen tons of others that do. We call them “crack” cookies. Pork for Christmas eve and beef tenderloin roast for christmas dinner! And of course cookies and Frangos for breakfast on christmas morning.
Noelle
Charlotte says
Our family loves the creme wafers! We make them for weddings, showers, holidays. They melt in your mouth!
JC says
We always have fondue for Christmas, cheese fondue and then we heat oil for cooking bits of steak and shrimp. We have ham chunks, bread and veggies to dip in the cheese.
We started with my deceased brothers fondue set and have added sets thru the years. Picking them up at thrift stores and yard sales. Big family.
The littles love fondue and look forward to it.
I guess I am boring my favorites are the bread and cheese.
JC
Linda Sand says
We simplified traditional. We bought a precooked turkey breast, instant mashed potatoes, a jar of turkey gravy, a can of cranberry sauce, and a Marie Callander’s pumpkin pie. That feeds the two of us for several meals. My husband does not like the traditional green bean casserole or dressing so he doesn’t miss those. Yes, we had the same thing for Thanksgiving but we really like it and that was whole month ago.
Lindsey says
I do not understand the draw of that green bean casserole either.
Charlotte says
Same!
Jennifer Murch says
That molasses cookie looks like the one from the NYTimes!
Peggy Lannon says
I used your daughter’s turkey rub recipe and it was amaaaazzzziiinnnggg!! We had some turkey left over, so I froze it. I am going to thaw that, make stuffing, green beans, cranberry sauce and salted caramel cheesecake for the traditionalists in the family. I am also making shrimp jambalaya for the seafood lovers. Doing as much as possible ahead of time.
sandy says
The ginger cookie recipe is from The NY Times cookie week. It is the absolute best cookie that I have ever made. And I used to work for a wonderful bakery. Make sure to add each and every ingredient and do not flinch with the copious amount of ginger-you will love it. Here is the link:
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1026326-ginger-cheesecake-cookies
sandy says
Oh-PS:
When I visited friends in Switzerland I learned that fondue is to be served with lukewarm tea or drinks only. Fondue can be a bit hard on tummies…
Dianne Labadie says
The cookies look fantastic. I, too, love cookies. It is my only vice. And not a bad one at that.
The fondue looked like it turned out very well. If you have a 2 bowl crockpot that would work also.
Christmas is as low-key as you can be. I didn’t even put a tree or put one decoration out this season, no baking, cooking, prepping. Real nice.
However, we will be spending New Year’s Eve on a Lake with my daughter, son-in-law and grandson (14 month). I am looking forward to that!
Ashley Bananas says
I love the photo with Lucy looking up expectantly. I made a turkey on Saturday and we’ve been eating left overs. I’m going to make spaghetti with meatballs and garlic bread on Christmas day. We’re going kind of non traditional I guess. We also have so much food in the house, it just seems crazy to keep running to the store. I’m giving myself a break in the grocery department.
Sue S. says
Love the way you pull off a meal without even having everything you need ahead of time. I admire that and the fondue looks so yummy. We don’t eat much meat but for the past few years I’ve splurged on Filet Mignon, cooked on the grill., for Christmas dinner. It’s expensive but we’re so worth it. Low key, small family day for us and hopefully a hike in some conservation area or other, my new favorite thing to do. Sometimes the charley-horses hit in the middle of the night but again, it’s worth spending time with #1 and only son and I feel great afterwards. Happy Holidays everyone and to you and your family Mavis. Can’t wait to see what patterns you have on the hooking agenda for 2025.