Groom Berries with Bride Berries & A Dedication !!

Valentine’s Day is at the doorstep and my memory is flooded with all those pleasant recollections as well as some embarrassing moments associated with it; well, lets not get into the details of the latter ;-) The one that hovering on top is the V-Day I celebrated with some of my very close friends in college. It was the first semester of our masters program and the V-Day fever was high as usual. Some of us, I should say, a bunch of singles, were left alone with no exciting plans and hence, decided to have a girls’ day out. If my memory is not clouded, I think we decided to pair it with two of our friends’ b’day celebrations as well. We all got-together and had a bash; we went to the pizzeria in town for lunch, had softies for dessert, took a long walk in the breezy marine drive, peeped into Archies Gallery to have a look at those mushy-mushy cards and soft teddies which did evoke some sort of hope that “hmm…one day….someone….” but at the same time, we were all green–eyed monsters too :) The snapshots from that day bring back lots of smiles whenever I flip through the pages of my college album!! Happy to note that we were a lucky bunch as all of us are now happily married and settled with our Valentines :)

This was my first attempt at dressing up the strawberries in tuxedos and gowns and regardless of the imperfection it has, I would like to dedicate this post to all my friends, fellow bloggers for all their words of appreciation and encouragement and DT, LJ, MC, NG, TM and US in particular for those wonderful days we shared !! Here comes a Groom Berry and Bride Berry from miles away to knock on your doors and wish you all a Happy Valentine’s Day !! :)

For dressing up Groom Berries & Bride Berries You Need: -

• 1 ½ cups (Approx.) dark chocolate pieces/morsels
• 2 cups (Approx.)white chocolate pieces/morsels
• 1 dozen strawberries
• Wax Paper
• Toothpicks or skewers.

Melting Chocolate and Dipping strawberries

Wash and pat dry the strawberries with its green cap intact. Melt white chocolate, in small quantities, in microwave (or by the double boiler method) for 30 seconds. Take the bowl out and stir and again melt them for 15 to 30 seconds intervals, until the chocolate is completely melted. Stir well to make it creamy. Insert a toothpick or skewer on the center of the strawberry and dip them each in chocolate upto its stems .At this stage, giving the berries a little shake will help you get an even surface and leave them on the wax paper for 20-30min in room temperature until chocolate is dry and hardened. The toothpick/skewer will help you hold the strawberries correctly without breaking the stems or squeezing the fruit while trying to lift them from the melted chocolate.

Tuxedo Strawberries or Groom Berries

Once the white-chocolate-dipped-strawberries are completely hardened, start melting the dark chocolate morsels in the same way mentioned earlier. And dip white-chocolate-dipped-strawberries into the dark creamy chocolate from both the sides, in such a way that it forms a V shape jacket in the center. Place them again on the wax paper leaving it to cool. Meanwhile using a toothpick or skewer, draw small buttons and a bow-tie.

Bride Berries

To make your cute Bride Berries, dip strawberries only in the white chocolate from both the sides to form a U or V shaped gown necks and decorate with a toothpick/skewer to make a simple chain or a pearl chain with dots. When it is completely hardened, remove the toothpicks/skewers and serve them cold.

Tips for Berry Stylists!

Please make sure that there is not even a drop of water in the bowl while melting chocolate as water content can cause chocolate “seize” and make it a grainy mess. Also if the chocolate gets hardened while melting, adding a bit of shortening or vegetable oil (NO WATER, pls!) will help it to soften. The chocolate dipped strawberries are best if eaten within 24 hours - refrigerate for longer storage, but serve at room temperature for greatest flavor. For a step by step pictorial representation of dressing up strawberries, Click here

So what do you think, aren’t they all dressed up to go for the Berry Bash at Maheswari’s AFAM & Pooja’s Valentine’s Day party ? :)

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY :)

Luv
Shn