FONDUE FUN

The Ten Party Project will be just as it sounds: I'll host ten parties in 2010. The parties will range from small dinners to all-out celebrations. All will have similar set-ups including: invitations, entertainment, food, decor, and budget. I'll recap (and sometimes plan) them here on the blog with full budget breakdowns.

For party #6 (yes! over halfway there!) Davey and I hosted a little fondue dinner meal for our new SHARE group. We had four couples attend which worked out nicely since that's about the max number of people you can fondue around one table with! This party was all about getting to know one another and fellowshipping over a good meal. Fondue is a great dinner conversation starter and there's lots to comment on as you interactively eat your meal.

Our SHARE group dipping into some fun conversation

Party #6:

Fondue Fun

Invitations:

I whipped up some quick/quirky invitations using a set of fondue forks, some felt, embroidery thread, and a cute little tag.

Entertainment:

We ended up playing a game where each time you dropped a piece of food in the pot, you had to share something odd or embarrassing about yourself. I won't name any names, but all I'm gonna say is "webbed feet".

Davey and I also came up with rounds of questions to encourage the "get to know you" aspect of the night. The first round of three questions was pretty simple, with things like "what's your full name?" and "where were you born?" [ooo! ooo! see Dad, I asked people where they were from!!!]. Round 2 probed a little deeper with questions like "what things are you involved in at church?" and "what things are you involved in outside of church?". The final round of questions focused on our SHARE group and what people wanted to get out of our time together and fun activities we could do as a group. With 8 people and great conversation, it took us 3 hours to get through a total of 9 questions!

The pot of oil cooking some yummy steak

Food:

We had three different kinds of fondue -- here's a quick look at the menu:

Meat Fondue with white rice & dipping sauces

• Cubed steak
• Cubed chicken
• Shrimp
• Teriyaki Sauce
• Honey BBQ Sauce
• Sweet n Sour Sauce
• A1 Steak Sauce

Cheese Fondue

• Steamed Broccoli
• Cubed french bread
• Red & Yellow Peppers
• Cubed apples

Chocolate Fondue

• Sliced bananas
• Cubed angel food cake
• Cubed apples
• Marshmallows

And here's a little of what our table looked like:

Decor:

I didn't create any special decorations for our dinner, just a nice table set up and a little jazz music playing in the back ground.

Favors:

I know my motto seems to be "it ain't a party without favors" - and while that's probably true - I didn't make any favors for this dinner party. I would have loved to have sent each couple home with their very own fondue pot, but alas, fondue pots are kind of expensive! At least everyone went home with full bellies and a few new friends to add to their Facebook.

mmmm...chocolate fondue for dessert

Budget Breakdown:

Invites

Fondue forks =$5

felt = on-hand

embroidery floss = on-hand

tags = on-hand

Total = $5

Food

Steak = $8

Chicken = $5

Shrimp = $5

Sauces = on-hand

oil= $5
Rice = on-hand

Fondue cheese = $13

apples = provided by guest

peppers =$4

bread = $2

chocolate chips = $4

heavy cream =$4

bananas = provided by guest

marshmallows = on-hand

angel food cake = provided by guest

Total =$60

Drinks

soda = provided by guest

water = free

Total = $0

Grand Total:

$60/8 people =$7.50

Lessons Learned:

1. A little bit of craziness occurred by the time I loaded up the table with all the food, sauces, and dinnerware. But it worked. It was just like a great big family dinner with people reaching over one another, passing this and that, and just generally having a great time.
2. Fondue is all about the preparation - cutting up meat, bread, veggies, fruits, etc. So it was a really good meal to have with a large group of people because each person could have what they wanted, and as much as they wanted.
3. I've never had rice with fondue before, but it was such a great idea. Not only did it give people something to eat with their meat, but it also helped people get full more quickly.
4. Again, I wish I had a fly-on-the-wall photographer to capture better pictures from the night...especially some of the faces people made when we told funny or embarrassing stories about ourselves. There was lots of laughter, so smiles were abundant for a photographer to capture. I was too busy chatting and eating to really get great photos.

Are you ready to host a fondue night of your own? What types of food would you add to dip? What's your favorite kind of fondue: meat, cheese, or chocolate?