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    small bites

    We all love toasted snacks. some of them were invented for specific reasons. Fondu was one, toasted Cheese is another. I don't know if any of you have done fondue.

    a full fondue meal begins with Cheese in a warmer of some kind and various other items to dip.

    Entree brings on meats and a broth. meat cut into approx 2 bites. and vegetables in one bite sizes.

    Dessert is either chocolate )White to dark and all the variations between. your tray of dipping items will now be fruits and bits of cake.

    the entire meal is designed to be a full meal. but, the meat is uncooked. as are the veg. the reason is, you are to cook them, bite for bite, in the warm broth

    This was a preferred Courting Meal a few centuries ago. designed to keep the couple under watchful eyes, to protect the young lady's honor but also gives the couple time to get to know one another without worrying about gossips.

    So, cook on the table methods have been around for a long time. Fondue takes that meal a step further. At The Melting Pot, they serve meals in this manner.

    another great courting indulgence is toasted cheese.

    Cut whatever shees you like into cubes. ine by one, you put the cheese on the tines of the fork or on a skewer, and toast them in the flame of a candle. Both of these were used in the 1700s & 1800ss and likely, much earlier for the purposes of public privacy.

    these kinds of traditions around food fascinate me.

    If you ahve some that You enjopy, I'd love to hear the stories.

    I am alsoworking on a puff pastry thing. if it works out, I'll post pics of theresult,

    #2
    Neat story! I have had fondue with venison cooked in hot oil (deep fried) many years ago. And a pot of cheese for veggies and bread. It was fun!

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      #3
      Fascinating. I remember fondue fondly from my childhood. I'll have to reinvigorate it.

      Comment


        #4
        I certainly remember fondue from the 70"s, but also remember being kind of frustrated with it as I like to eat a meal at once rather than have a little bit now and then later on having a little bit more and so on and on for seemingly forever. By God I am hungry now and want to eat. So I would always have 3-4 skewers of meat in the oil at the same time much to the amusement of everyone at the gathering, which really made for more fun. Of course i would explain my position, which always caused comment.

        So now looking back at it I was probably the barbarian, which is fitting with my Germanic heritage, but I also noticed that virtually all of the men followed my lead (once their wives seemed to allow them to do so). The women not so much, but there was a lot of laughter by all and boisterous banter during those gatherings.

        Thus fondue can be fun, but wine, beer, or booze is a must.

        Comment


        • Karon Adams
          Karon Adams commented
          Editing a comment
          So. You're a Hun, eh? We won't hold it against you!

        #5
        well, part of the point of the small bites is to lengthen the meal. these meals aren't really for the purpose of satisfying hunger. a sandwich will do that nicely. they are meant for folks to sit around and chat. a long leisurely meal. There's a restaurant called "The Melting Pot. They're whole thing is Fondue. and, like I described, this is how they serve courses. they're not inexpensive because they know you are going to be there a good while. very slow turnover. The flip side of that knowledge is the waiter won't be hovering, trying to shove the check in your face 3 minutes after your entree arrives! so, that's nice, especially when dating.

        Did you know? the Chinese actually invented Forks as an eating utensil. but, Asian countries still and always will, use chopsticks. Household versions, these days, are usually stainless steel. the reason behind that is still, to slow the meal so people can socialize. You won't be given a knife when eating Asian. Using a knife to cut your meal is considered meal prep, even if its digging into a steak. it is impolite for the host to serve a meal during which the guests are forced to "Work" for that reason, meals are always prepared with the idea that the ingredient will all be bite sized when served, rather than asking your guest to 'work' in your home.

        In Asia, in the Society circles, one does not even make one's own plate. a servant or lesser ranking person at the table (remembering, the Guest is always the highest rank) will take the food from the serving bowl and place it in your eating bowl. only then, do you pick up your chopsticks and claim your bite.

        There is, in my opinion, no better way to get to know a society than through its food. how its made, why its done that way. you can learn more at the dinner table than anywhere else in the world.

        But, that's just me.

        Comment


        • tbob4
          tbob4 commented
          Editing a comment
          Spoken like Anthony Bourdain

        #6
        Have you done a Mongolian Hot Pot? Meat, veggies, noodles, whatever all else cooked at the table in hot broth. The international "Little Sheep" chain opened here recently, and we have become fans. Most definitely "slow food".

        Comment


        • Karon Adams
          Karon Adams commented
          Editing a comment
          no, I haven't. I will have to seek that out. Off to an appointment this afternoon. I've been baking little sweet pies with scratch made Puff Pastry. Seriously, try this stuff! easier than you imagine and unbelievable! Gonna use it this week to make Wellingtons with more of my Christmas present!

        #7
        I haven't had fondue since about the spring of 1976 when I was in 6th grade. Mom and dad were at their mixed bowling league, my aunt was babysitting and we decided it would be a good idea to have fondue. The good idea went south when I decided it would be an even better idea to put 2 pieces of meat on the same skewer. As I was forcing the second piece of sirloin on the skewer, the skewer ended up going into my left hand between my index finger and thumb. Since the skewer had barbs like a fishhook, it wasn't coming out very easily. Long story short, I ended up in ER trying to get the skewer cut out of my hand and had to help the Dr. spell fondue. Since that day, mom's fondue pot as sat idle.

        Comment


        • Craigar
          Craigar commented
          Editing a comment
          The best thing was that the fork was still hot from the prior cook so it cauterized as it went in...no blood, no pain. My aunt about passed out.

        • Karon Adams
          Karon Adams commented
          Editing a comment
          OK, I MUST ask. Was there still a piece of steak on the skewer as you went to the ER?

        • Craigar
          Craigar commented
          Editing a comment
          Haha! No Karon, my aunt was able to cut off both pieces of meat before the neighbor took me to ER.

        #8
        Ouch! Not a great memory.

        Comment


        • Craigar
          Craigar commented
          Editing a comment
          We have had a few laughs over the years. I am hoping we can talk mom into breaking out the fondue pot one of these days.

        #9
        those are the kind of memories that make GREAT stories, years later. like the time, at 3AM, Dec 26th, I woke up to hear my kidlets in the bathroom. the older saying to the younger, "I can't get the bleeding to stop. we're going to have to wake Mom up."

        Comment


        • Atalanta
          Atalanta commented
          Editing a comment
          Sounds like something, in other circumstances would have started with, "Mom, MOM! Watch this!"

        #10
        It was the night after Christmas and they were still all excited about their Christmas gifts. so, they stayed up almost all night. Now, the girls slept on bunk beds. the younger, Brietta slept on top and the older, Kelsey, slept on bottom. we had, at the time, a badly bred elderly Boxer. she had AWFUL hips and, aging, she hurt a LOT.

        so, the dog was, as usual asleep on Kelsey's bed. and the girls were playing on Kelsey's bed. somehow, in the wrestling, they had jostled my dear, old Bo and she was awakened from her deep sleep to shooting pain. she jerked awake and swung her head. Now, for those who don't have Boxers, they have a very large head that is VERY heavily armoured. bred to kill bears & bulls, they HAVE to have a hard head, slightly smaller than a human head but weighs slightly more. so, that head, swung around in pain and ***SMACK*** came into contact with Brietta's face, right in the mouth.

        that resulted in one of those pressure spit lips that you generally see at actual Boxing Matches. and it was LARGE! and, no, the bleeding did not stop for quite some time.

        So, off to Children's Hospital (the only place that will accept emergency patients under 18 in ChattaVegas and, ironically, not on obamacare. they got her back and determined she just needed stitches, they stitched her up, it was inside & out on her lip, about 12 stitches. for the next 6 weeks, we had prickly kisses from her. she was 7-8 at the time and still has the scar. will her entire life.

        Comment

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