Praline Fondue

Enough with all the vegetables already, right? When are you going to tell us about something sweet and sugary and gooey enough to rot our teeth, you ask? Your wait is over. Grab your fondue forks and read on.

A few years back I flew out to Maryland to visit my friend Glenn -- the very same Glenn who was the reason Chicken Marbella came into my life. Around the time of this visit it seemed that fondue was all the rage again. Were you as caught up in this as I was? All social gatherings started to revolve around pots of melted cheese or chocolate or divine goodness. So, when I was out visiting Glenn, he suggested we stop by his friend’s house for a party. What he had failed to mention was that it was a fondue party. It was amazing. There were probably 6 or 8 fondue pots set up in strategic locations throughout the apartment, each filled with different, wonderful sauces. (I know, who owns that many fondue pots, but, really, who cares as long as these people are inviting you to their parties). I’m sure Glenn wanted to introduce me to his friends, but I didn’t have time for mingling with so much fondu-ing to do. The fondue pot I ended up sneaking into a closet with– I mean, the clear party hit was the Praline fondue. To. Die. For.
I left the party with a smiling face and a belly full of fondue. And the recipe.

Praline Fondue

1/2 cup superfine sugar
3/4 cup blanched almonds (I used sliced raw almonds)
8 oz white chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
Few drops vanilla extract

1) Put sugar and almonds into a pan until sugar melts. Be careful not to burn the almonds. Pour mixture onto greased cookie sheet (I covered a cookie sheet with tin foil and then sprayed with Pam). Cool to harden.

2) Once mixture is hard, break up and blend in a blender to form a powder.

3) Melt chocolate and cream in fondue pot. (I did this on the stove top, per my fondue pot's use instructions)

4) Stir in praline powder and vanilla

Serve with pound cake, bananas, apples or any other fruit or cookies. Invite friends over only if you're into that whole "sharing" thing.

*Notes:
Superfine (castor) sugar is regular cane sugar that has been more finely ground to increase it’s ability to dissolve. You should be able to find this in the supermarket. Powdered (confectioner) sugar has been completely pulverized into a fine powder with a little added cornstarch. You cannot substitute powdered sugar for superfine.

If you can’t find superfine sugar or don’t want to spend the extra money, you can take regular sugar and put it in a blender or food processor to grind into a finer powder. This is what I did with no problem.