recipe: insanely easy, over the top incredible, ultra- creamy crockpot cheese fondue

i am a woman who is passionate about dip.

call me crazy, but sometimes life just tastes a little better when you're dunking food into other food.  when i was growing up my family always held a fondue night on new years eve, which was essentially an excuse to feast excessively for many hours on end.  every year someone attempts to whip up the tres gourmet cheese fondue recipe that is full of expensive cheese without letting it burn or curdle.  while i can honestly say it's always phenomenal-tasting, i wondered if i could invent a yummy, easier-to-make, budget friendly version for steve and i to stuff into our bellies.

not trying to brag or nuthin' but the results were pretty darn amazing tasting!!  it is sharp, it is creamy, and it is guaranteed to be a whole lot easier than constantly stirring a double boiler.  it's definitely going to be a go-to party dish of mine, and i can promise, despite the excess of velveeta, you won't be able to stop eating it until you're out of dipping supplies.

note: the following recipe yields a very large quantity of delicious fondue, some measurements are approximations

you will need:

crusty bread for dipping (or crackers, salami, veggies, whatever)

1 (32 oz) brick of velveeta

1 (8 oz) brick of cream cheese

3 slices kraft swiss singles

1 1/2 cups semi-dry white wine (riesling is your best bet)

2 tbsp cumin

2 tbsp onion powder

2 tbsp garlic powder

salt and pepper

optional: water, beef broth, or chicken broth

 cut up the bread, velveeta, and cream cheese into cubes.  resist temptation to carbo-load on bread whilst making fondue.

put cubed velveeta and cream cheese into the crockpot with 3 slices of kraft swiss singles.  set crockpot on high for 1-2 hours to melt the processed cheese products.  once the cheese has melted enough, stir the combination into a blended consistency (a few remaining unmelted lumps are fine).

when cheese is blended add the white wine and stir into a smooth consistency.  stir in cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.  switch crockpot to low and let it sit for about another hour.  if the fondue is too thick once ingredients are all blended and melted add broth (i used beef broth, but i imagine chicken works fine as well) or water to thin.

dip your bread (or whatever form of cheese to mouth transportation you've selected) and enjoy!

a peak at my christmas list

thankgiving came late this year so it's a bit of a scramble getting everything ready to go in time for christmas.  in case anybody is itching to get me crossed off their shopping list in time for the black friday/cyber monday holiday shopping madness, here's a look at what i'm drooling over right now.

crown vintage tabitha bootie (black size 11)

urban outfitters black panama hat

american rag tribal print sweater (medium or large)

artemis stud duo earrings

crystal lana drop earrings

warmen nappa leather plush lined button gloves (camel size large)

sandra dieckmann graphite stag throw pillow

sandra dieckman graphite bear throw pillow

buddha and yin yang iphone 4s case

talisker 10 year old single malt scotch

tibetan turquoise mantra earrings (charitable purchase from the campaign for a free tibet)

chateau cap de mourlin grand cru 2005 (bordeaux st. emilion blend)

deadwood: the complete series (on DVD)

happy holidays y'all!

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wino weekend!

it's five o'clock somewhere folks (actually i think it really is 5 o'clock in great britain right now) and it is also a friday which means it's time to talk about the world's greatest beverage: wine.

i'll start with a disclaimer:  there is no wrong way to enjoy wine.  that said, a 2001 saint-emilion is objectively going to be legions superior to slapping the bag in my book.  but lets face it, i just enjoy drinking wine too mcuh for my meager salary to spend hundred of dollars on every bottle.  i'll also go ahead and announce that personally i think super sweet wine is foul and abhorrent to the senses, so if you are the type to drink moscato my recommendations will get you no where.

for my european (especially french) readers: go away and have a nice weekend.  your inexpensive wine is already superior to most of the top shelf stuff at grocery stores here.

but for my fellow americans trying to navigate the wine aisle of your local supermarket here's where i would start:

if you are feeling like a light red:  if there was only one wine i could drink for the rest of my life it would probably be the a to z pinot noir.  it is light and fruity, but still quite dry.  subtle enough you can drink it with anything from fish to steak.  all the thumbs up.

if you are feeling like a heavy red:  go with a louis martini cabernet.  napa valley will be more expensive than sonoma county, though both are pretty decent.  these bottles also tend to be marked down on sale pretty frequently and sometimes you can score them for more than half off.  i usually grab one when i see it discounted just to have on hand.

if you are feeling like white wine:  go with a starborough sauvignon blanc.  i personally don't find white wine as interesting as red so there is pretty much one label that does it for me every time.  new zealand is known for their sauvignon blanc wine and starborough is fairly inexpensive and a super dry, really refreshing summery wine.

butif you catch it on sale or feel like spending a little bit extra you simply MUST upgrade to the kim crawford sauvignon blanc.  this is the best white wine in the store as far as i'm concerned.

hope everyone has a fun and responsible weekend!

cheers!

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edit: it was about noon here when i started writing this post, so the england comment stands.

sometimes

sometimes i forget to take pictures of my life to blog about them.

sometimes i drink too much wine and forget to record the game we played.

sometimes i eat nutella banana crepes with a side of mac and cheese.

manly men and iphoto recap

see this extremely macho superhero man?

he's kind of my favorite person ever and, with our incredible expertise ("didn't the video on youtube say to reconnect the negative side first?"), he managed to help me change the battery in my car all by ourselves!

the mechanically gifted among you might be chuckling, but we were pretty darn pleased with ourselves.

and, because it's laughable to suggest this is the only thing we've had going on, here is a recap of my iphone photos from recent days.

nothin' fancy, just some pad thai and easter take out boxes (which are now full of tasty treats).

we popped open the first bottle of wine i brought home from paris last summer.

i made some cadbury caramel egg brownies.  inspired by amy's post on cupcakes and couture (mine may have just been some mini caramel eggs thrown into a betty crocker mix batter, but what can ya do).

anddd bert helped me clean out the fridge.  

he's also taken to killing the mice in my townhouse recently... can you say EWWW?!