Chocolate Covered Valentine

Sometimes Valentine’s Day is fun to celebrate with a romantic dinner for two, sometimes it’s just fun to share the love with a large crowd.  Such was the case this past Sunday, when Raquel and I decided to offer a few Valentine-inspired treats to our shoppers at the Rancho Santa Fe farmers market.  This heart was a gift at Christmas from my friend L on a bottle of wine, and I tied it to my basket for the day as inspiration~

We brought four dozen pink and red long stemmed roses which were given to the ladies, from one of my rolling carts~

Along with a few beautiful blackberries from Pudwill Farms, we had white chocolate bark, which was simply melted Ghiradelli white chocolate chips poured on a silpat and topped with peppermint sprinkles~

The real hit of the day, especially with the kids, was an array of strawberries and cherries dipped in chocolate~

As a truly seasonal fruit that can not be forced, these cherries come from Chile, and I have been surprised to see them all over in every grocery store here lately.  The chocolate is a bar of Valrhona 71% from Trader Joes.  Break the bar into pieces and melt in a double boiler (put your bowl over a simmering pan of water) and holding by the fruit by the stems, dip the fruits in the melted chocolate (no cream or anything else added) and let the excess drip off; I put them on a Silpat sheet while the chocolate hardens and for easy removal.

Fresh cherry and dark chocolate is a magical combination, and need I mention, this makes a decadent little bite to feed by hand to your Sweetie?  A large tray of chocolate covered cherries can be made for about $8 even now with imported fruits.  For a dinner I’d place one on each plate with a rose petal, just like this~

Lots of love to all today & this week!