Fondue It Up

With the warmer spring temps fast approaching, we like to cram our favorite cool-weather comfort food into these last few weeks of winter. And that most definitely includes fondue. This company-friendly, interactive dinner is perfect for weekends, and makes a delightful surf-and-turf when paired with a steak and salad, if you’re into that kind of thing (we certainly are!!).

Our favorite part about this recipe? You get to choose your seafood. Keep it super simple by using cooked peeled shrimp, or add some other cooked seafood to the mix, such as crab or scallops.

When it comes to cheese, we prefer to go mild and melty, which lets the seafood take center stage. Our top choice is gouda, but a mild cheddar, Monterey jack, and/or colby also works perfectly, melting into creamy, cheesy goodness.

Oh, and if you like it spicy, swap out the sweet red pepper for a fresno chile or red jalapeño. FIO pro tip: In the summer—when gardens are bursting with fresh peppers—chop them up and toss them in the freezer. You can even freeze smaller peppers whole and they’ll be ready to use in recipes like this throughout the cooler months.

Seafood Cheese Fondue

Annie & Skyler

Choose your favorite seafood for this decadent fondue. For a last-minute appetizer, I like to make it using a 12-ounce bag of frozen cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp, thawed quickly in water. If you use a cast-iron Dutch oven, it will retain enough heat to keep the fondue warm during eating. Or you can use a fondue pot to keep it warm.

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Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Ingredients

  

• 3 Tbsp. butter
• ½ cup finely chopped red sweet pepper
• 1 tsp. paprika
• ½ tsp. Old Bay seasoning
• 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 to 1¼ cup  milk
• 1 cup heavy cream or 6 oz. cream cheese
• 8 oz. gouda, cheddar, and/or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 1 tsp.  cornstarch or 1 tsp. sodium citrate
• 1½ cup chopped cooked shrimp, crab, lobster, and/or scallops
• Cubed baguette, lightly toasted

Instructions

 

• In a small Dutch oven or saucepan, melt 2 Tbsp.of the butter over medium heat. Add sweet pepper, paprika, and Old Bay. Cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until pepper is softened.
• Stir in flour; cook and stir 1 minute. Add milk.Cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until thickened and bubbly. Add cream. Bring to a simmer. In a medium bowl combine cheese and cornstarch. Slowly stir into pot over very low heat. Remove from heat when cheese is almost melted. Add seafood and butter.
• If desired, transfer to a fondue pot over low heat. Serve with cubed baguette.

Keyword appetizer, cheese dip, crab, dips, fondue, hot dip, lobster, scallops, seafood, shrimp