MichelleMunches

With the world being so crazy lately, I thought the perfect date night would be at home together just enjoying one another’s company with some good food. We recently celebrated our two year anniversary and I really wanted to do a “Melting Pot” inspired dinner!

Starting off with the fondue, I actually came up with this idea when I saw this fondue kit from Aldi! I had never tried to make fondue at home, but I figured what better time than now?!

I ordered this fondue set from Amazon (get it here), how cute is it?! Also, perfect for the anniversary – valentine’s theme! It’s pretty small, but I would say probably good for 2-4 people depending on if this is the only thing you’re eating or it’s a full course. I decided to serve the cheese with apples, potatoes (I boiled them before serving), cooked shrimp, steamed broccoli, and baguette! The favorites of the night were definitely the baguette and apples!

Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by how easy the fondue was to make and how similar it tasted to a Melting Pot fondue! All you have to do for the fondue kit was literally squeeze the pack into a pot and let it melt to heat up! Then, I poured it into the fondue pot and lit the candle! The only downside to opting for this type of fondue pot and not an electric one, is that I was worried I wouldn’t be able to serve a soup based entree like Melting Pot. I figured the heat from the candle would not be enough to bring it to a boil/keep it that hot.

Thus, I opted to make a full entree instead! When I go all out y’all, I go all the way out. I decided to make garlic butter steak (thanks to Tasty), garlic butter lobster tails, and roasted asparagus. I had never cooked steak or lobster really ever before in my life. I used my cast iron to cook the steak, I definitely left it a little too long for our liking (practice makes perfect, it’s ok), but it still tasted phenomenal. Let me tell you now, the aesthetic of butterflying a lobster is *chefs kiss*, but that was lowkey pretty hard to do and I definitely got myself with the sharpness, so be careful! I poured garlic butter with rosemary and thyme on top of the tail and broiled for about 10-15 mins on 400 degrees Fahrenheit and voila! As for the asparagus, I roasted them in the air fryer with everything but the leftover seasoning from Trader Joe’s.

Last, but certainly not least, we had to end with dessert! So, I must say, I have never made chocolate fondue from scratch before and I definitely could have done a better job. I didn’t have enough white chocolate which is what we were supposed to have, so I mixed in some semi-sweet chocolate chips, but then it just kind of became a mess. It still looks and tasted pretty good though, but it was a little runnier then it should have been. I served with marshmallows, strawberries (duh, the best), pretzel thins, and homemade Rice Krispies! I will say definitely be careful and make sure the fondue is thick because the chocolate was definitely too thin and ended up burning where the flame was.

Overall, this a success I think for my first ever attempt! I know this may not be feasible for everyone, but I think even if you just used a pot over a candle or over the stove and made did with what you had, it would be great too. It was really about spending time with my loved one and enjoying their company for me.