Our oldest son has announced his engagement to a wonderful girl that we all really like. She lives in another state, but she was down here this week, so we decided to celebrate with an engagement party! Our middle son had a beautiful cake made. A lot of family came, and everyone had a really good time, I think, especially the happy couple. The wedding is set for July.
One of the things we served was chocolate dipped strawberries. They are exorbitant to buy, but the strawberries are in season right now and particularly succulent, so we decided to try dipping them ourselves. First I tried a fudge icing that hardens in to a shell, and it seemed to work, but it got grainy, and then weepy, so that was out. All Recipes.com to the rescue! Sure enough, there is a super simple recipe that works spectacularly. (Was that alliterative enough?) All I did was melt 2 Tablespoons of shortening in the top of a double-boiler (over a thin layer of boiling water), and then add in 16 oz. of Nestle's semi-sweet chocolate chips. (I'd previously rinsed the strawberries well and drained them in a colander. We poured them out on a clean towel and then hubby dried them with paper towels because apparently if they are too wet the chocolate can seize up). Anyhow, I gently stirred the chocolate until about half the chips were melted, then removed the double boiler from the heat, but leaving the bowl over the water, I stirred until the chocolate was melted and smooth. Then hubby and I began swirling strawberries about half-way up, and laying them on parchment paper lined trays. We put them in the fridge for a few hours and when we put them on a serving dish for the party, they were absolutely beautiful! The chocolate was smooth and thick.
There was a lot of chocolate left so we began dipping the ends of pretzel sticks and also laid them on parchment paper to harden, then put them upright in a dish. Really, you could coat anything you wanted to. Marshmallows, graham crackers, nuts, raisins, oreos... the possibilities are endless! The strawberries and pretzels were a huge hit and they really were very good.
We are really looking forward to the wedding. Congratulations, you two!
13 comments:
I love chocolate dipped strawberries; the combination of the smooth, rich velvety chocolate and the fresh sweetness of strawberries is incredible. And they are lovely to look at, plus taste so good with a glass of Champagne as well.;))
Congratulations, both to you and the happy couple. July weddings are so romantic.;))
Congratulations......
Starberries and chocolate, yummy!
LOL:Wanda
I've made these before, too...really quite easy and inexpensive to do yourself! Congrats to your son! How wonderful!
We had the same good news this week with our son and his sweet girlfriend!
Mmm mm- chocolate dipped strawberries - I love them.
Hello there
The general consesus seems to be that chocolate and strawberries are made for each other - oh how true that is - great seperately but put them together and the wow factor appears :)
Have you beeb shopping for your Wedding Ensemble (Frock and Hat)yet?
Take care
Cathy
This is such lovely news for you. Many congratulations to your son and his fiancee. The strawberries dipped in chocolate would be ideal to serve at a summer barbecue too. x
I'm so happy for your family. It's great that you really like the girl.
I'm studiously ignoring your chocolate-dipped strawberry method.
And wow, July is soon. That's not much time to plan a wedding! I hope everything goes as smoothly as your chocolate dip. LOL
Congrats!! I think it would be a great feeling for one of one's children to choose a mate that you like. Your strawberries sound wonderful, too!
Yay...a wedding...can grandchildren be far behind LOL I am SO JUST KIDDING!!! The strawberries look yummy! I usually put out fresh strawberries and a fondue pot of chocolate...works nicely too! Sounds like you and your husband had a good time making stuff!
So happy to hear that your family is growing with the addition of a daughter-in-love. I love weddings. Our son was married Labor Day weekend 2008 on our 30th anniversary. Lots of love!
Congrats again Tracie! Wishing you and your family all the very best. xoxo
When I run out of things to dip into chocolate, I always, thankfully, remember that I have fingertips to work with (LOL). Yum!
What a happy occasion! Good for you, doing an engagement party.
When our daughter became engaged in late 2000, I was reading a wedding etiquette book that said the parents of the groom-to-be should throw a party for the bride and her parents and assorted friends, to express their delight at the engagement.
My son-in-law's parents were not "into" such niceties, however, and did nothing to express delight at the engagement of their son to our beautiful daughter.
I must confess it hurt my feelings a wee bit (although they love her dearly and have been wonderful to her all through the years).
Soooo ... when my son becomes engaged someday, I plan to do it up right and welcome the dear girl into our family with open arms AND a party!
Good for you, dear, setting such a great example. You'll be a delight of a mother-in-law!
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