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Take Your Game Night to the Next Level with Elevated Fondue

Game night is always ten times better when you add great food into the mix.

By Patricia SarkarPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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Photo by Manfred & Barbara Aulbach, CC BY

It’s super fun, super easy and super social. For decades, fondue has proven a worthy culinary experience for friends gathering to mingle. In fact, it was the darling of the dining set in the 1950s and again in the 1970s. The ooey-gooey melted magic has returned once more as a frequently found course for all kinds of social events.

As with all foods that stand the test of time, fondue has evolved to meet current cooking styles and diet trends. Traditional fondue is made of a blend of cheese melted with alcohol. But today, vegetables, fruits, meats and seafood fondues are also popular. They offer a healthy alternative that complements any social occasion just as well as the old-style favorites.

Fondue with a healthy twist is also the perfect dish to serve at your next game night for all to enjoy a fun, convivial experience. Trust us, you won’t sacrifice taste for nutritional value, and your guests will love communing around the fondue set as everyone settles in to enjoy some friendly competition.

They will also love how friendly the meal choice is to the waistline and the brain. If your game night features a strategy game like poker, making a fondue with nutritious fruits and vegetables can help players improve performance while staying focused.

In fact, some professional poker players follow a healthy diet to enhance brain function for gameplay. No matter how you look at it, fondue is the ultimate game night and geek night food.

Game night often requires you to be able to face your opponents, talk about the cards, and also get into debates. With fondue at the table, you have the ability to talk to people, enjoy good food, and also keep things a little bit fancier.

Fondue is great for people who are playing poker, but that's not all it's great for. If you have a Dungeons and Dragons game going on, the fondue pot can help shield players from the Dungeon Master. Fans who just like "round table" types of discussions over the latest TV show will also love the upgraded food.

What Kind of Fondue Should You Do?

Bacchus fondue is a great option for lean meat lovers. With this type of fondue, you can use a light wine instead of oil. Enhance the wine’s flavor by tossing in bouillon cubes or fresh herbs. This will add a savory depth to your meat, whether it be beef tenderloin, boneless skinless chicken breast, pork or lamb. Just cut the meat into small cubes and cook to completion in just minutes.

Fondue bourguignonne is a fondue style that makes use of some wonderful flavors. A standard recipe may call for horseradish, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, sour cream (feel free to use a light variety!) salt and black pepper. Substitute grapeseed oil or ghee for fattier cooking oils. These options can both withstand high temperatures without smoking and enhance the natural flavors of any vegetables you throw in the mix.

If an elegant, exotic twist is what you seek, you’ll want to try Asian fondue. This variety is lean as it typically uses rice wine infused with Asian spices as the cooking broth and soy marinated seafood. The dipping sauces that accompany Asian fondue tend to be flavored with honey and spices rather than cream.

For a fresh, vegetarian twist, look no further than shabu-shabu. It’s a delicious take on Asian fondue featuring shiitake and button mushrooms, green onions, tofu, tomato and dark green lettuce prepared in a hearty vegetable stock.

Your imagination is the limit when crafting healthy, elevated fondues. Trading the heavy fare of cheese, chocolate and processed meats often associated with fondue for lean meats, vegetables, fruits and seafood stimulate the body while fueling brain performance.

Preparing, serving and cleaning up is also a snap, which frees you up to tend to your game night guests. We can’t guarantee you’ll come away as the winner, but undoubtedly, you’ll be crowned a fondue hero!

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About the Creator

Patricia Sarkar

Raised on a steady diet of makeup and games. Eager to share my experiences with the world and make a difference, article by article! :)

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