Rediscover the pleasure of cooking food at the table with your friends and family as contemporary flavors and ingredients — roast garlic, fresh ginger, sun-dried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, and espresso-are stirred into today's fondue pot. This is great food that is simple to make and perfect for entertaining.

If you love the classic cheese version, try dipping cooked shrimp or artichoke hearts into Italian Fontina and Porcini Fondue; or vegetables and apples into Gorgonzola, Port, and Walnut Fondue. Dunk focaccia or Italian salami into Sun-Dried Tomato Pizza Fondue, bite-sized cubes of bread or even chicken breast into Classic Swiss Fondue, made with three cheeses for a deliciously authentic masterpiece.

Meat lovers will go for Fondue Bourguignonne, where chunks of table-fried meats (or poultry or fish) are dipped into a variety of quick-to-make sauces. Serve boneless leg of lamb with Balsamic Vinegar-Mint Sauce or turkey breast with Cranberry-Lime Mayonnaise.

Many Asian cuisines have their own versions of fondue that are popular choices for communal meals. Known as hot pots, they're an exotic mix of ingredients in a special savory stock. Try the famous Japanese version, Shabu-Shabu, with paper-thin slices of beef and a sesame dipping sauce, or the Classic Chrysan themum Hot Pot, composed of a variety of meats and fish to be dipped in a soy-sherry sauce.

For the confirmed dessert fanatic, nothing will please the palate more than sweet and rich tastes from your fondue pot. The choices are intoxicating-fresh strawberries, pineapples, and cherries, and chunks of pound cake can be swirled into Classic Chocolate Fondue. A sinful concoction of peanut butter and milk chocolate is made to be savored with bananas or brownies. And who can resist dipping a cookie or two in Venetian Espresso Fondue?

Intense in taste and flavors, innovative in form and preparation, fondue is the way we want to eat today.