Fondue Friday: Tomato Fondue

Oh Tomato Fondue! How I wake up craving you during remote and random times of the day.

In my personal fondue history, this is one of the first recipes that I tried. It stuck and it's really good. I found this recipe at gourmentsleuth.com, thank you , thank you gourmet sleuth. You are fondue geniuses!

Tomato Fondue

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes seasoned with oregano, basil and garlic

1 cup dry white wine

2 8oz blocks cream cheese cubed

1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. If you have an electric fondue pot, this can be done in it to reduce dirty dishes. Add onion and garlic and saute until onion is very soft, about 8 minutes. Add tomatoes and wine*. Simmer about 10 minutes and liquid is almost completely reduced. Add cream cheese and monterey jack, stirring constantly until melted. Pour into fondue pot if needed.

Serve with bagel chips, carrots, broccoli, bread cubes, celery, pretzels, olives (most kinds), bread sticks, pita bread, radishes, celery root...

*For the sake of full disclosure, I don't drink alcohol, not one bit, so when a fondue recipe calls for some I balk at the task since a side effect of never drinking is having no useful knowledge on the subject. So, here's the history of my modification. I first tried cooking wine, it was fine but had this "taste". Wondering if it was the cooking aspect of the wine, I purchased a random bottle of drinking wine and tried it. The "taste" was still there, so I asked more experienced individuals in the matter of wines and bought what they suggested. The "taste" was even more noticeable, so I tried white grape juice; too sweet. I then just omitted the wine altogether because I knew the tomatoes could break down the cheese just fine. It was delicious and had no loss of taste or texture. So if you are also a teetotaler, just skip it. This is still a pleaser, regardless.