Our “Best Dish” of the Disco Dinner Club: Fondue Bourguignonne!

I loved everything we had for our last Dinner Club! What can be more divine than dipping crusty cubes of bread into rich, wine-infused, melted cheese? Although, I enjoyed every part of our meal – and the evening as a whole – my “best dish” for this one has to go to our host and hostess for their effort on a true Fondue Bourguignonne!

Our whole group at the table, cooking
our "Fondue Bourguignonne"!

First, a bit of background on this possibly lesser-known type of fondue since we’re all fairly familiar with the type of cheese fondue I referred to above…

According to www.wikipedia.org; the word fondue itself is the feminine of the French verb “fondre” (to melt). “The earliest known recipe for a dish resembling the modern cheese fondue comes from a 1699 book published in Zurich, under the name ‘Käss mit Wein zu kochen’ 'to cook cheese with wine'. It calls for grated or cut-up cheese to be melted with wine, and for bread to be dipped in it.” ⁽¹⁾

Sizzling fondue at the table

Besides cheese fondue there is “Fondue Chinoise”; a common French name for the “Chinese hot pot” where meat and vegetables are cooked in a shared pot of broth. ⁽¹⁾  Also, the type of fondue we enjoyed as our main entrée for our Dinner Club, the “Fondue Bourguignonne”, which consists of a fondue pot filled with hot oil into which diners dip pieces of meat to cook them. Various sauces are provided on the side. This dish is first attested in the mid-1950s. ⁽¹⁾ Finally, and even lesser known, the “Fondue Bressane”: Small cubes of chicken breast are dipped in cream, then fine bread crumbs and at last deep fried in oil as with Bourguignonne. ⁽¹⁾

Most recipes for Fondue Bourguignonne call for a high-quality cut of beef, like the beef tenderloin our host and hostess provided. They also supplied cuts of fresh venison, which was delightful! We enjoyed three sauces to accompany our Bourguignonne: mustard, horseradish and curry. I enjoyed all of them, with the curry being my favorite!

Perfectly cooked beef
and dipping sauces to
choose from!

I think our group agrees that it’s always the most enjoyable to “branch out” and try new things. Also, to research a bit to be as true to a dish as we possibly can within budget and time constraints. This was true of our fondue-focused evening! I also thought that this fondue tidbit from Wikipedia was interesting:  “A tradition says that if a man loses his bread in the pot, he buys drinks all around, and if a woman does, she must kiss her neighbors.” ⁽¹⁾

Below is just one recipe for Fondue Bourguignonne. Although I haven’t prepared this one myself, it sounded interesting and delicious! This one attends to the “keeping with tradition” component, as I mentioned, by providng the beef, but also provides a twist by adding a pork meatball option to cook in the hot oil. I plan to give it a try with my family or some friends. Give it a try yourself!

Stay tuned later this week for the announcement of our menu for our February Dinner Club and thanks for reading!

Fondue Bourguignonne

Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse
Found at: www.foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

• 4 cups vegetable oil, or mix of vegetable and olive oils
• 8 ounces beef tenderloin, cut into small cubes or strips
• 8 ounces chicken breast, boneless and skinless, cut into small cubes or strips
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 3/4 cup ground pork
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced shallots
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 4 small red-skinned potatoes, quartered and cooked until tender
• 1/2 cup each of 3 sauces (such as Aioli, barbecue sauce, Bearnaise and/or horseradish cream)

Directions

Heat oil in a fondue pot or 2-quart saucepan until very hot (375 degrees). While oil is heating, cut beef and chicken, toss with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Combine pork with garlic, shallots, egg yolk and mustard and form into tiny meat balls. Decoratively arrange meats, meatballs and potatoes on a large platter, or on 4 individual plates. Arrange sauces in individual dipping bowls or plates. Place fondue pot of oil in center of table over a small candle or sterno, and adjust flame so that it bubbles but does not sputter when meat is added. Spear meat, meatball or potato on long forks, place in pot and cook 20 to 30 seconds until crispy. Remove meat from fork before eating -- fork will be burning hot. You can use wooden skewers instead of long forks for cooking, if you wish.


(1) Denotes quoted directly from http://www.wikipedia.org/


Fondue