Chocolate Fondue

Recipe from Brasserie Pavil, San Antonio

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream, reserve 1/4 cup to thin if fondue begins to thicken
3.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate
3.5 ounces semisweet chocolate
7 ounces milk chocolate
2 tablespoons amaretto or Frangelico liqueur, optional
1/4 cup finely chopped toasted hazelnuts or almonds, optional

suggested dippables
choose 3 or 4

Thin cookies
Meringue or marshmallows
Hazelnut or almond biscotti
Salted pretzel sticks
Cubed pound cake
Sliced bananas
Stem strawberries
Sectioned navel oranges
Licorice
Ripe fresh diced pineapple

Heat 1/2 cup cream in a heavy non-reactive saucepot over moderate heat until cream comes to a low boil. Remove the pan from heat and add chocolate. Let the chocolate stand in hot cream 3 to 5 minutes to soften, then whisk chocolate together with the cream. Stir in liqueur and/or chopped nuts and transfer the fondue to a fondue pot or set the mixing bowl on a rack above a small lit candle. If fondue becomes too thick, stir in reserved cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, to desired consistency. Arrange your favorite dippables in piles on a platter alongside chocolate fondue and dipping utensils such as fondue forks, bamboo skewers, or cocktail forks.
Serves 2.