Fondue night at home!

First off, if you haven't entered into this week's giveaway do it NOW, by going here. So that you can win this: 

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I'm in a book club that meets every Tuesday night. Every year we go the The Melting Pot to celebrate another year of being the greatest book club ever. Last night was the fifth time doing this. (All the pictures on today's post are from last night) For those who have never been to or heard of The Melting Pot, it is a fondue restaurant. They serve a four course meal which includes: Salad, Cheese Fondue, Main Course and a chocolate fondue. The food is amazing and you definitely leave very full. The downside? 'Tis a bit pricey! The "cheapest" four course meal (for two) is $78!! So, a few years ago my BFF and I decided to do our own "Melting Pot Night" at home. (She conveniently had just purchased a fondue pot for me for my birthday, and she already had one so we had two pots to work with)

We don't usually do the salad portion...we skip straight to the cheese (if you know me at all this makes complete sense), but you could easily start with a salad (this part has nothing to do with fondue, it's a regular salad, served to you on a regular plate, and you eat it with a regular fork and knife)

Now, for the cheese!!

This is the actual recipe that the Melting Pot uses for their cheddar fondue (They shared it on The Today Show a while back). Besides apples, we use chunks of french bread to dip. The whole thing should cost you less than $5 (and it serves 3-4)

Now for the main course!

Here is a great recipe for your main course broth. We usually also cut up three chicken breasts and the beef tips that are already cut up and you've got yourself a great main course (for those who like seafood pick up 1/2 lb of shrimp too) The entire main course (which will serve about 4 people) should come to about $14

This is a picture of my friend Rachel's phone...you're supposed to make sure your beef and chicken cook for two minutes. She was very accurate.

Now for the best part...the desert. A few years ago the BFF was enjoying an evening at the melting pot when the waiter came by with the check. He gave her a Lindt Truffle and said "don't tell anyone I'm doing this but here's a little somethin' extra." She pondered why it would be such a big deal for him to give her that piece of chocolate and then she realized it was probably their secret recipe?! So the next time we had fondue we purchased a bag of Lindt milk chocolate truffles and dropped them in the pot...oh.my.goodness. Amazing. This is definitely what they use to make their chocolate fondue. Also, Lindt makes so many different flavors that you can always have a variety: milk chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter, dark chocolate...just like at the restaurant!

For dipping we usually do strawberries and bananas, you could also do pound cake, brownies or cut up rice krispy treats. Total desert cost for four people: $7

So, once you throw in that salad your four course meal would probably run you about $33...which definitely beats a bill of $208 (4 people with tax and tip)

This is my book club (minus two ladies) Aren't we awesome looking?