Please go to Shan's place for more What's Cooking Wednesday participants.
They bring up luxury, and yet they are simple to make and can be quite inexpensive. They're also a way I can get a couple of fruit servings into my fruit-and-vegetable aversive DS.
This week, I give to you our favorite dessert of the moment:
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Ingredients:
a pint (16 oz.) of strawberries (preferably on sale)
3 oz (more or less) of good quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (I buy this in bulk)
1/2 TBS unsalted butter
a splash or two of 1/2 and 1/2
Directions:
1. This is all about preparation. If you prep properly, the actual time to make the strawberries is about 5 minutes, max. So, first, place berries in a colander and wash them thoroughly. Place a piece of parchment paper over a baking sheet. Chop up about 2 - 3 oz. of chocolate (it can be big chunks, it doesn't have to be chopped fine. Now you're ready to go!
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan at medium low heat.
3. Add the chocolate. Stir with whisk.
4. When the chocolate is about 2/3 of the way melted, splash in the 1/2 and 1/2 until everything is somewhat creamy (don't add more 1/2 and 1/2 than this, or the chocolate won't set as well).
5. Take the chocolate off the burner and keep stirring until all is melted, but don't overwork it. You want it smooth, not grainy.
6. With a clean dish towel, dry each berry and then swirl it in the chocolate and place it on the parchment-lined baking sheet.
7. When all your berries have been dipped, put the sheet in the fridge to have the chocolate set. The berries will be ready in about 10 minutes. Enjoy!
Serves 4 - 6
