Fondue: Great Food To Dip, Dunk, Savor, And Swirl [Hardcover]

Rick Rodgers (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 21, 1998

Fondue is back, bigger and better than ever, popping up in kitchens everywhere! Rick Rodgers presents more than fifty sensational recipes that combine the newest tastes with traditional favorites, creating versatile and mouth-watering fondues that will thrill fondue lovers.

Rediscover the pleasure of cooking food at the table with your friends and family as contemporary flavors and ingredients -- roast garlic, fresh ginger, sun-dried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, and espresso-are stirred into today's fondue pot. This is great food that is simple to make and perfect for entertaining.

If you love the classic cheese version, try dipping cooked shrimp or artichoke hearts into Italian Fontina and Porcini Fondue; or vegetables and apples into Gorgonzola, Port, and Walnut Fondue. Dunk focaccia or Italian salami into Sun-Dried Tomato Pizza Fondue, bite-sized cubes of bread or even chicken breast into Classic Swiss Fondue, made with three cheeses for a deliciously authentic masterpiece.

Meat lovers will go for Fondue Bourguignonne, where chunks of table-fried meats (or poultry or fish) are dipped into a variety of quick-to-make sauces. Serve boneless leg of lamb with Balsamic Vinegar-Mint Sauce or turkey breast with Cranberry-Lime Mayonnaise.

Many Asian cuisines have their own versions of fondue that are popular choices for communal meals. Known as hot pots, they're an exotic mix of ingredients in a special savory stock. Try the famous Japanese version, Shabu-Shabu, with paper-thin slices of beef and a sesame dipping sauce, or the Classic Chrysan themum Hot Pot, composed of a variety of meats and fish to be dipped in a soy-sherry sauce.

For the confirmed dessert fanatic, nothing will please the palate more than sweet and rich tastes from your fondue pot. The choices are intoxicating-fresh strawberries, pineapples, and cherries, and chunks of pound cake can be swirled into Classic Chocolate Fondue. A sinful concoction of peanut butter and milk chocolate is made to be savored with bananas or brownies. And who can resist dipping a cookie or two in Venetian Espresso Fondue?

Intense in taste and flavors, innovative in form and preparation, fondue is the way we want to eat today.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

There was a time in America (the dark ages of the 1960s and early 1970s) when fondue was synonymous with cubes of white bread dipped in melted Velveeta. After a brief craze, fondue went the way of lava lamps, shag carpeting, and leisure suits, its pot and skewers retired to the back of a high kitchen cupboard where they're forgotten until the next garage sale. Now, however, fondue is making a comeback, and--like Barbie--it's gotten a whole new look. In Fondue, Rick Rodgers takes the three basic fondues--cheese, chocolate, and fried--and mixes in the flavors of the '90s--everything from sun-dried tomatoes to espresso. He even adds a fourth category, Asian fondue, for those fat- and calorie-conscious cooks who prefer their food simmered in broth. Swordfish Fondue with Tapenade Mayonnaise; Gingered Curry and Cheddar Fondue; Vietnamese Beef Fondue with Rice Vinegar Stock and Anchovy-Pineapple Sauce--the '60s were never like this! In Fondue, Rick Rodgers proves that, once again, it's hip to dip.

About the Author

Rick Rodgers is the author of more than thirty-five cookbooks, including the bestselling 101 series (Thanksgiving 101, Christmas 101, Barbecues 101) and beloved cookbooks on everything from fondue to slow cookers to comfort food. His recipes have appeared in Cooking Light, Fine Cooking, and Food & Wine and on epicurious.com, and he is a frequent contributor to Bon Appétit. He lives in the New York tristate area.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks; 1 edition (January 21, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688158668
• ISBN-13: 978-0688158668
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.8 x 8.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #795,973 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rick Rodgers is one of the most versatile professionals in the food business. Through his work as a cooking teacher, food writer, cookbook author, freelance cookbook editor, and radio and television guest chef, his infectious love of good food reaches countless cooks every day.

Rick has been guest chef on the national television shows Today, CBS Morning Show, Good Morning America, Cooking Live with Sara Moulton, Food Network Challenge, and many others, including media appearances in every major local market.

Rick's combination of down-to-earth humor and solid information brought him the prestigious Bon Appetit Food and Entertaining Award for Outstanding Cooking Teacher. In addition to his publishing work, Rick teaches sold-out cooking classes from coast-to-coast, as well as the occasional international stint (including Korea and France) and he is a speaker at many festivals and seminars.

Rick lives in the New York City area. His website is www.rickrodgers.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

133 of 134 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great first fondue book to go with new fondue pot... October 22, 2002

By Mark Ewell

Format:Hardcover

If you can get past the author's self-serving commentary about how everyone loves his recipies and never turns down an invite to a party he's catering, this is a great "starter" fondue book. A brief history of fondue is covered, which is interesting, but most of the book consists of fondue recipies in four major categories:

1. Cheese fondue. This is your basic fondue most people think of as Swiss fondue - a pot of warm cheese that you dip bread in. The variety of recipies covers different types of cheeses and spices/other additions that range from the simplest "classic swiss three-cheese fondue" to the more adventerous "gorgonzola, port, and walnut fondue" to the extreme (IMHO) "normandy shrimp fondue with cider and gruyere".

2. Fried fondue. This is your classic 1980s pot of hot oil for frying chunks of meat, and which I'll admit is still my favorite. Given the premise of fried meat pieces on a fork, the recipies in this section center on sauces, though the book also covers important points on oil selection and temperature. Some of the sauces are really excellent.

3. Asian hot pot, aka Asian fondue or Chinese fondue. Basically, you're starting with a chicken, beef, or fish stock, in which you cook a thin piece of selected meet in the fondue pot on your own fork. Then you dip in a special sauce. Recipies are provided for several different stocks, as well as a variety of sauces.

4. Dessert fondues. Obviously, chocolate fondue is the first recipie and probably the only one most people will actually try, but several other things like "white chocolate and raspberry swirl fondue" and "tiramisu mascarpone fondue" sound awfully tempting.

With a good selection of recipies - I'd guess 75-100 in all - this is a great book to accompany a fondue pot gift, or for yourself if you got the pot as a gift but no book, or (as in my case) if you're buying your own fondue pot and don't want to be stuck with fried beef chunks dipped in Kraft BBQ sauce as your only "recipie". This is the only fondue book I have, but it will probably be years - if ever - before I need another.

84 of 86 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A "how-to" book made simple. June 26, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Like most people, my fondue pot was gathering dust on a high shelf in the hall closet. This book gives clear & easy recipes for appetizer and meal-size fondues, but also for desserts--something I had never attempted before. I recently made fondue for houseguests who were as tired as I was after a day of sight-seeing. It made for a perfect, easy meal as we sat around the table relaxing and talking about our adventures of the day. Thanks for a great time-saving book!

47 of 47 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A great book with fun easy fondue recipies June 7, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

This is a great beginner fondue book. The recipies are easy and call for ingredients that are not hard to find. The dessert recipies are especially good and easy to make.