The Friday Friends: Cooking Club--Fondue

Monday, September 29, 2025

Cooking Club--Fondue

Gather, Cook, Share, Repeat.

💖💕💗💞

My heart looks like this when we're together.

This is Doug.

Doug is not happy.

Doug is a fireman.

At Cooking Club, we had 3000 crockpots and fondue pots with extension cords plugged into just a couple of outlets.

6--six crockpots/fondu pots/deep fryers, but it might as well have been 3000, because apparently, home outlets are not supposed to take that many things plugged into them at one time.

I said do not worry Doug--I do it all the time!

It was a fondue theme at April's house for Cooking Club!

What a great theme! Let me see--

At April's house we start outside --unless it's the middle of winter, which it was not--it was a nice autumn evening, so we began outside. She has a lovely patio, yard and garden--don't get me started on her garden. A vegetable garden which should actually be in Home and Garden magazine. True stuff! It is amazing. I should have taken a photo of it.

Since Fondue was the theme for dinner, our appetizers were just a little cold shrimp dipped in something--not fonduish. For heaven's sake Doug would not let us use another outlet!!

So Theresa served her appetizer to the guys.

Why is it always the girls who are doing the cooking? You know what? A lot of our 'guys' really enjoy cooking, and they plan on hosting their own theme. Probably in the summer.

I have a confession to make. I am so far behind on posting about Cooking Club that this Fondue theme actually took place in the fall of 2022.

YES, 2022!!

I have me some catching up to do!

Inside, hard at work, are my girls!

(Okay, does that sound weird? I'm trying to sound cool, but I've never been good with "Rockin' yesterday's slang like it's brand new")

But anyway--my peeps, working hard at cooking! For cooking club!

We now move inside to April's game room--where she has enough room to seat 10 or more of us at her table.

Notice that we try to have as few deep fryers, fondu pots etc on the table.

Debbie E has set her tempura battered veggies off to the side--so she can use a 'different' outlet.

We were trying out best Doug.

But look! Doug does eventually relax (he has a half smile) when he realizes that we are not going to burn his house down.

And I, too, used another outlet...outside!

I'm not stupid. I didn't want Doug to frown on me.

It was chocolate and caramel fondue with fruit and cookies and angel food cake.

But back to the Cooking Club theme---

Fondue!

Which also consisted of deep fried, crock pot melty stuff.

We had beer/cheese dip with bread bits

(Sally and Paul with their Wisconsin background 😊)

and of course, the tempura veggies

April and Doug had beef and chicken chunks to cook our own in a shared fondue pot or 2 on the table, with some great dipping sauces.

There’s something magical about cooking and eating with friends—the chopping, stirring, and taste-testing turn into laughter and stories, and before you know it, the kitchen feels like the happiest place on earth. Sharing food together makes every bite richer and every moment warmer, reminding us that meals aren’t just about what’s on the table, but about who’s gathered around it.