Favorite Foods Foodie Friday~ Anniversary Edition

By Jenny

Or, as my 8 year old called it all day, "Foodie Friday Love Style" ...she cracks me up.

We did things a little different this week because it's our 16th anniversary. Sixteen years....man, just saying that makes me feel old. I shouldn't be old enough to have been married 16 years. I wouldn't have it any other way though, I've spent more time in life with my best friend than anybody else....anyway...
 So instead of picking a country this week, we decided to enjoy one of our favorite meals that we only have once a year and our sentimental anniversary dessert.
Every Christmas Eve, we have Crab Cheese Fondue. I've had it every Christmas Eve since I was about 10 and brought the tradition into our family. It's my mom's recipe and it is amazing. Rich, good flavor, great fondue texture for dipping. Fondue is one of those special meals that really brings everyone together. You're dipping in the same dish, laughing as others drop their thing in the cheese and have to dig for it, wait your turn and talk together. You couldn't have fondue with someone you didn't at least like. Imagine how awkward it would be being that close and not talking and dipping in the same dish...

The past couple of times we've had it, we branched out in the "dippers" we enjoy with our Crab Cheese Fondue. We have always had cubed French bread, but this time added Kielbasa sausage, sautéed mushrooms, and blanched broccoli. Super yummy additions! When I've shared this recipe with friends before, they've always had a hard time finding the cheese or even knowing what it is, so I included a picture of the ingredients...the Old English is *usually found near the Velveeta and mac 'n cheese.

Crab Cheese Fondue

 

2- 5oz jars of Kraft English Cheddar Sharp Cheese

2- 8oz packages of cream cheese

1- 7oz can Alaska King crab meat

1/2cup half & half

1t Worcestershire sauce

1/2t garlic salt

1/2t cayenne pepper

Heat all together except for crab meat. When it's all smooth, add crab meat. Serve and enjoy!

 

 

Now, about our dessert, to really get why this is special for us, you have to hear the story...

Gregg and I were 19 when we were married. We were more excited to start life together than to plan or save any money for a honeymoon. We were living in Colorado at that point, married in my hometown of Ridgway, and spent our first night in Gunnison, and spent the next day at Royal Gorge. When we arrived in Gunnison, checked into the hotel, Gregg disappeared for a bit. He came back with a grape soda and M&Ms...he said, "Wine and chocolates are romantic, right? This will have to be our version..." Thus, began our yearly tradition of grape soda and M&Ms...even when I forgot, he always remembered.

We decided to make monster cookies with the kids to use the M&Ms instead of just a handful of candies. Our 13 year old, Gabe did the majority of the measuring and mixing of this recipe. He followed the recipe on the bag of M&Ms but substituted some of the candies with just chocolate chips. He must have "messed" something else up because when I snuck a bit of the dough, I thought it was a tad salty. I began to worry they weren't going to taste good. He has sometimes mixed up teaspoons with tablespoons which has resulted in a super spicy chili once with a tablespoon of hot chili powder. He's still not sure if he got the salt wrong or the baking soda. But they turned out great! They do have a 'more salty than usual' taste but it balanced really well with the sweetness of the chocolate and Gregg and I really liked the salty taste. Kind of like a salted caramel sweet, it was good! Too bad he can't quite remember what he did...he did say though, "Well, I think I may have used too much baking soda. I was real careful with the salt." So maybe someday we'll have to experiment and see if we can get that salty sweet cookie again!

We kept it simple this week, enjoyed our day together and enjoyed our time laughing over the fondue pot. Find someone you love and go make some fondue. :)