Fondue: 3 Courses

This year, due to lack of extra money to spend on love- we decided to stay in and have fondue. Jack was at a Valentine's Party (thank you, Elisha) so we had a few hours alone. To his own embarrassment, Josh watched The Bachelor with me and we leisure had three courses of fondue. It was really, really good, and less than half the cost of Melting Pot.

Beef Broth Fondue:

1 box of Swanson's Beef Broth

1-2 cloves of minced garlic

1 T olive oil

1/2 c. red wine

Sprigs of thyme

In a sauce pan, saute the garlic and the oil. Once the garlic is turning golden, add the broth, sprigs of thyme and the wine. Transfer to fondue pot and bring to a boil. We used a package of beef tips from Harmon's, the recipe ready kind for stroganoff. They were small so it only took a minute or two in the pot for them to cook. Yum. We also had broccoli, mushrooms and zucchini.

Cheese Fondue:

I cheated here, and bought a box of cheese fondue. They have them at Harmon's, Target and probably other places. This saves time and is totally delicious. We dipped all the veggies above and some french bread.

Chocolate Fondue:

This could be anything really, but I had a half bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips, and a quarter bag of white chocolate chips, and some milk chocolate Valentine's candy. I threw it all in and added 2/3 cup of heavy whipping cream. It was so good- ALONE, but we dipped strawberries, banana's and mini Nilla Wafers.. mm.

Steak and Arugula Salad

I took this recipe from iVillage, it is my kind of salad. Nice and beefy :)

1/2 cup buttermilk, for the dressing 1/3 cup mayonnaise, for the dressing 1 clove garlic, minced, for the dressing 1 tablespoon lemon juice, for the dressing 3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese 1 hanger steak (about 1 3/4 pounds) 2 tablespoons canola oil 7 ounces baby arugula 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon lemon juice Salt and pepper 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved Read More http://www.ivillage.com/steak-and-arugula-salad-blue-cheese-dressing/3-r-211525#ixzz10gIKkGE9 Sign up for iVillage Special Offers

To make the dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Stir in the blue cheese. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Chill in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Salt and pepper both sides of the steak. In a heavy, oven-safe frying pan over medium-high, heat the canola oil. Brown the steak for 5 minutes on each side. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook 20 minutes for medium-rare, depending on the steak’s thickness. Transfer the steak to a cutting board, let it rest for 10 minutes and then thinly slice the steak. In a large bowl, toss the arugula with the olive oil, lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Divide the arugula among 4 plates. Place 3 or 4 slices of steak on each plate and sprinkle the tomato halves over the top. Drizzle with blue cheese dressing and serve.