Chocolate fondue?

You may think you need to own a special fondue pot, but while it’s fun to have one, it’s not absolutely necessary. A dedicated fondue pot is really just a warming dish on a stand, with a candle underneath the pot to keep what’s in it warm. Without a candle, a regular bowl should stay warm for about 20 minutes.

The “special” equipment usually also includes long forks for dipping the fruit into the chocolate, but you can substitute regular forks, bamboo skewers or even long toothpicks.

For this chocolate fondue recipe you will need:

6 ounces of fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (no more than 64% cacao if marked) ½ cup of heavy cream 2 Tablespoons of unsalted butter 2 Tablespoons of Cognac or other brandy

Put the cream, butter and Cognac in a small sauce pan. Bring everything to a simmer over medium heat. While that is coming to a simmer, chop the chocolate into really tiny pieces. Remove the pan from the heat when everything has begun to simmer, and add the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Pour the chocolate mixture into the fondue pot (or serving bowl).

For Dipping: Strawberries Cherries Bananas Pound Cake Pineapple Pretzels Marshmellows Apples Cookies Gramn Crackers Kiwi Frozen pieces of cheesecake