As you know, it's been blizzarding here in New England. As Juno dumped almost two feet of snow on us (seriously, the weather was so bad that even the tourists disappeared), I spent much of the week hibernating in the dorm, watching the snow swirl past my window.
It's times like this that I remember just how incredibly spoiled I am as an undergrad at Harvard. We call getting caught up with school and activities "the Harvard bubble," but Harvard was quite literally a bubble during the snowstorm. I got to spend the blizzard curled up by the radiator while being fairly confident that the power wouldn't give, and if something did break, it would be fixed quite soon. I was able step downstairs and get my hot meals in the dining hall as usual, because some of the staff had slept over the night before so they could be at work during the blizzard. And the next day when we woke up for class, we found all the side walks cleared into neat channels through the deep snow, after the yard workers had worked through the night.
It really makes you realize who has the better work ethic at this place.
Since the communal kitchen is in another building, I decided to make some no-bake goodies that didn't require me to leave my room. These really are an ideal dessert for making in the dorm. You don't even need a microwave to melt the chocolate; I used a hairdryer, which actually works beautifully.
As you might have noticed, the Pass the Cocoa's logo has long been a chocolate-covered strawberry. Though it's taken on many guises, that strawberry has remained a constant through all our design overhauls.
There's no real story about why we chose it; I made some chocolate covered strawberries for Monica's birthday some three years ago, and later wrote this post about them. We decided it would make a cool graphic, and it's stuck around since.
Anyways, I thought it was time that we re-visited that old post. Considering how many times we've changed the graphic strawberry, it seemed fitting to take new pictures to match the new design.
As I pointed out two years ago, these are a perfectly Valentine's treat, impressive yet requiring almost no effort. Though I know strawberries are still out of season, they're also a wonderful dessert to make on a cold winter's afternoon, sure to lend some brightness and sweetness to even the snowiest day.
Stay warm!
Caroline
One Year Ago: Abbracci Cookies
Two Years Ago: How to Make Homemade Nutella
Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
Click here for the printer-friendly recipe.
Yields: about 20 strawberries
Ingredients
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped
4 oz. white chocolate, roughly chopped
1 lb. fresh strawberries
2 tablespoons finely chopped nuts (optional)
Directions
Melt the white and dark chocolates over a double boiler, or with a hair dryer. Simple turn the blow dryer on low/medium power and hold about 10 inches from the chocolate, stirring occasionally.
Dip half the strawberries in dark chocolate, half in white. Place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper or plastic wrap. Sprinkle the nuts of some of the strawberries, if desired.
Drizzle the white chocolate on the dark chocolate-dipped strawberries, and vice versa.
Refrigerate the strawberries for about 15 minutes, to set the chocolate.
Enjoy!