Hostess Tip:
Try Chocolate Dipped Strawberries for an easy dessert or hostess gift. It’s relatively easy if you know how to melt chocolate and this scrumptious treat has a fan-following like no other.

When writing a menu for a dinner party, I always pick one dish to be the star. Only one dish can be time-consuming and elaborate. All other foods have to be fast, easy and fresh. It’s easy to violate that rule when you begin to think about what to have for dessert, because who wants to disappoint?

Try dipping strawberries in chocolate and serving with coffee for dessert. The response is always favorable because it’s a healthy dessert that can satisfy a sweet craving without pushing a full guest over the edge with discomfort. You can create beautiful dessert plates with strawberries and add some plain raspberries to the plate for variety and a fuller looking dish. I use dark chocolate for dipping strawberries and white chocolate for a beautiful presentation.
 
• Make sure strawberries are completely dry before dipping
• Allow dark chocolate to set before adding white chocolate drizzle
• One or two squares of white baking chocolate can be melted in a Ziploc bag at half power in the microwave 10-12 seconds at a time. Keep agitating the chocolate in the bag until fully melted. Clip the corner of the Ziploc bag just barely---so it comes out in small drizzles not a thick stream.

See our chocolate dipping tips below for a fool proof and quick dessert.

Tips and Techniques for Melting Chocolate

Dipping foods into chocolate is not rocket science. However, a little more knowledge about how chocolate interacts with heat will make you more successful in your attempts to paint food with love.

Chocolate is VERY good at melting. It requires a gentle push from us—not a blaze of heat. Chocolate begins melting at 80 degrees Fahrenheit and up to 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Body temperature is 98.6---get the point? Too much heat risks scorching and who wants the tragedy of lumpy bitter chocolate?

Here are some techniques to try:
1. Microwaves are very useful for melting chocolate. The key is to keep the microwaving at half power and stir every 10-12 seconds. Yes, every 10-12 and no exception. Don’t be tempted to let it go for 20 seconds or you risk burning. Chocolate holds its form even when melted so you have to stir in between every 10 second run.

2. *My favorite way to melt chocolate is to use a big pasta pot with about two inches of water in the bottom and a large metal mixing bowl fit snugly on top. The wide lip allows me to dip items directly into the bowl and stir as I go. The water should be hot-- just below simmering. Do not boil the water. We just need a little heat to slowly and gently do what a closed warm hand can do efficiently.

3. DO NOT ALLOW WATER to get into your chocolate. Make sure every spatula, utensil, bowl and cleaned strawberry or items to be dipped are bone dry. Just a few drops of water can wreak havoc and cause chocolate to “seize” which is when the liquid cocoa butter separates and forms lumps of cocoa powder.

4. Avoid chocolate chips which have less cocoa butter in them and are harder to melt. They are designed to go into cookies and hold their form. Opt for baking bars or blocks instead.

5. STORE CHOCOLATE ITEMS AT 65 Degrees F