Well, well - it's that time of the year when eating in a restaurant is never quite as romantic as you would like.

My suggestion is to ditch the booking, throw a big log on the fire - or if like my house its many, many logs... coming home from holiday last night you could see your breath in every single room for five hours until some heat came back into the old house! That's hardly room for romance!! Given that us, the dogs and the kids were all just about perched on the hearth...

I am sure if you look in your kitchen cupboard you may well have a wee fondue set lurking about.

Bring it out, dust it down and make the table or carpet picnic in front of the fire ready to have the ultimate luxurious sharing platter.

If you're up for it, do a chocolate fondue for pudding.

Dark chocolate fondue and ripe mangoes work a treat!

 

Lobster and fillet steak fondue

1 whole Lobster cooked & cut into thick slices (some supermarkets sell them already cooked)

200gr Scotch beef fillet steak cut into slices (seal the edges in a pan first)

200gr grated Swiss cheese

200gr grated Gruyere cheese

2 tbsp. flour

2 cloves garlic, cut in half

1-1/4 cups dry white wine (must be dry)

1 tbsp. lemon juice

 

Method

1 Mix cheeses with flour by tossing together in a large bowl with a fork.

2 Crush garlic with a large  knife and then rub on all sides and bottom of the fondue dish or saucepan.

3 Pour wine into fondue dish and "turn up the heat" until its bubbles rise to the surface. Stir in lemon juice and continue to heat.

4 Ever so gradually add cheese, small handfuls at a time, stirring constantly over low heat, until melted. Check to make sure it is the consistency you like. If not, add more cheese or wine until it reaches desired consistency. If using a saucepan to heat ingredients, pour the hot fondue mixture into a heated fondue dish and serve immediately.

5 Serve with lobster and steak chunks, and enjoy! (Feel free to add some of your other favourite dippers with this delicious fondue, such as meatballs, veggies, crisp apples and chicken chunks).