Manulafondue.com

Curly Sue:

Go the
http://www.bettycrocker.com
http://www.foodnetwork.com
http://www.kraftfoods.com
and type in cheese fondue and a list of recipes will come up and it will tell you how much oil to put.

J.R. the Otter:

A cheese fondue set or a fondue set? Cheese fondue is one thing, made with melted cheese(s) thinned with cream, wine, or other liquids. Fondue that involves cooking bite-sized pieces of foods in hot oil one at a time, that’s something else. Chances are, unless your set really is labelled “Cheese Fondue Set” what you have can do either.

There are tons of fondue recipes on-line and entire cook-books devoted to it. The possibilities are limitless, go forth and explore. In the mean time, try these. You have the option of lighting the fuel source under the fondue pot and cooking with it, or, as I prefer, making the fondue on the stove-top and then using the fondue pot to keep it warm and for the dipping.

Smoky Cheese Fondue
1 Cup beer
3 Cups shredded smoked cheese (Gouda, Cheddar, whatever)
1 Cup shredded Emmentaler cheese
1 tbsp cornstarch
3 tbsp milk
1 tsp. mustard (preferably spicy or whole grain mustard)

Heat the ale over medium heat until bubbly. Reduce heat to low and gradually stir in cheeses, stirring and heating until fully melted and mixed. Separately blend the remaining ingredients in a small bowl, and stir this into the cheese mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Serve with cubes of rye bread, slices of smoked sausage (kielbasa, etc.) or ham, and cubes of cooked potato.

Mocha Fondue
8oz semi-sweet chocolate
1 tbsp. instant coffee (I use instant espresso)
2/3 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp. coffee liquer (Kahlua, Tia Maria, that kind of thing)
Place all ingredients together over medium low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until melted and combined. Serve with fresh fruits (strawberries, bananas, segments of canned mandarin oranges are much better here than they have any right to be) cookies, or cubes of pound cake.

Now, if you want to do a hot oil fondue, wherein you use the fondue pot as a sort of communal deep-fryer, here are some tips.
– there is probably a fill-line inside the pot itself, use that as a guide as to how much oil to use. If there is no such line, don’t go over 3/4 full, and 1/2 full is probably fine if you thnk that will be deep enough to hold the pieces of food you intend to use.
– I recommend peanut oil for inside the pot itself. Coconut oil is also good, although it is pretty unhealthy as such things go. Do not use olive oil, as this has a very low smoke-point.
– if you’re setting out raw meats to be speared and cooked, keep the plates or platters that they are displayed on over ice, even though they are to be cooked in the hot oil, to prevent the growth of bacteria.