Here's To Bacchus

Eat, Drink & Be Merry

It's been a stressful time recently since M has not only had to relocate his life to upstate New York in the past couple of weeks, but he's also been awaiting his final divorce settlement. The latter finally happened this past week, so it's been a big relief to both of us. Even though it obviously wasn't me going through it, I have been amazed at how it affected me emotionally too, just as the bystander. I don't think I've ever personally known anyone going through a divorce before. Anyway, it was quite draining on me even, so I'm not only relieved for him that it's over now & he can move on to the next chapter in his life, but also that I can kind of move on too.

I picked him up at the airport on Friday & we enjoyed some quiet time celebrating at home that evening.

We didn't do anything of any real excitement on Saturday, but we did celebrate our first Valentine's Day together - two days early, I know, but we won't get to see each other then, so we fast-forwarded a little! 

We'd talked about going out since M wanted to take me out for dinner, but then I suggested staying home & cooking, & eventually we decided on a fondue night. I haven't done any fondue-ing for quite some time - I think the last time I had fondue was about 3 years ago for a birthday celebration. And I certainly haven't played fondue-chef myself for maybe a couple of decades!

For Starters

We had a merry old time anyway - we started out with a wine-based, cheese & avocado fondue. I used Gruyere, Emmentaler & Comte cheeses, & that turned out delicious. If anyone is interested in trying it out, this was my simplified version of a few that I came across online:

- Mix together 2 mashed avocadoes, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, 1/4 cup of sour cream

- Warm up 1/2 cup of dry white wine & gradually add 1lb grated cheese, & keep stirring 

- Gradually transfer in the avocado mix & continue stirring

Other herbs/spices can obviously also be added according to preference - garlic, black pepper etc. And you also add extra wine or cheese to the mix if you need it to be thinned or thickened. For dippers, we had beef, crusty bread & veggies, but naturally "anything goes" with fondue!

For Dessert:

When it came to dessert, I couldn't resist a recipe that was shared recently by Mommie Cooks on her fabulous site. I love all things chocolate, & you just can't beat Toblerone! Our dessert dippers included chunks of pineapple, melon & muffin! Delicious…..

We had a lot of leftovers since we were just a twosome for dinner, but I can assure you there will be no waste!