Chocolate Covered Strawberries

I can't think of a better occasion to make chocolate covered strawberries than Valentines Day.  They are simple to make and are just devine, one of my many guilty pleasures!! Two simple ingredients....

Ingredients:

1lb of Strawberries
4oz Bar of Baking Milk Chocolate sweetened
4oz Bar of Baking Dark Chocolate sweetened

 Melt chocolates over low simmering boiled water......

Use a skewer to dip strawberry......

Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet and place strawberries on to cool and harden, I put them either outside, in the garage or refrigerator.

Chocolate Peppermint Bark

Ingredients:

12 ounces (about 2 cups) dark chocolate, chopped, or chocolate chips I use ghiardelli
12 ounces (about 2 cups) white chocolate, chopped, or white chocolate chips
8 peppermint candy canes
Double boiler or a metal or glass bowl over a pot of boiling water
Peppermint extract

Preparation:

1. place the candy canes in a large Ziploc bag and seal tightly. Use a rolling pin to roll/smash the candy canes until they are the size you desire.

2. Prepare a cookie sheet by covering it with smooth aluminum foil./or wax paper

3. Melt the dark chocolate. Pour the chocolate onto the prepared cookie sheet and use an offset spatula or knife to spread it to an even thickness, a little more than 1/8" thick. The chocolate does not have to reach all sides of the sheet, as it will be broken up later anyhow. Place the tray in the refrigerator to firm up while you prepare the white chocolate.

4. While the dark chocolate hardens, melt the white chocolate, add a few drops of peppermint extract into white chocolate.

5. Remove the tray from the refrigerator and spread the white chocolate in an even layer over the dark chocolate.

6. While the white chocolate is still wet, sprinkle the candy cane pieces over the entire surface evenly. Press down very slightly to ensure they stick. Place the tray back in the refrigerator to firm up for 30 minutes.

7. Once the peppermint bark bark is completely set, break into small, uneven pieces by hand.

Nutella Panini's

"Today is world Nutella Day, celebrate with this easy dessert!!"

Nutella was a staple in my mother's kitchen, it was our "peanut butter". Although back then we had to smuggle it in from Italy when we visited each summer and relish it until we returned to replenish our stash. On the other hand my italian cousins loved peanut butter and we would take several jars of it to them because that was not available there.  When I was a kid we ate Nutella on italian bread, or toast. Today there are many different recipes for using the chocolate hazelnut spread. The following recipe is my family's favorite way.  It is so easy to prepare that my thirteen year old daughter frequently makes it herself for the family.

Ingredients

1/4 cup of Nutella
1 small loaf of poundcake
Fresh strawberries, tops removed and sliced thin
Vanilla ice cream (optional)
Whipped cream (optional)
Pam butter spray

You can use a panini grill, a grill pan, or fry pan.  Whatever you have on hand!!

Directions:

Coat grill with spray, slice pound cake into 1" individual slices. Take and thinly spread some Nutella on one side of the poundcake slice, then layer strawberries, and top with another slice of poundcake. Place in grill until golden and warm in the middle about 2 minutes. Remove and top with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.