Are Strawberries an aphrodisiac?

I picked up a carton of Florida strawberries to put on our fruit tray for the Super Bowl Game and was amazed at how gorgeous they were. These were not the little deformed strawberries that often come out at this time of the year because of lousy weather and the industry pushing to have them on the market. No these were not to big, not to small, not to sweet, just perfect for chocolate covered strawberries. Now the guys in my house love strawberries and the ones that went on the fruit tray were gone before they even touched the cheese, so I knew if I saved some of these little beauties to dip into various chocolates and then roll in chopped pecans or almonds, toffee bits or toasted coconut, I'd be special for a while anyway. This offering will make my husband moan and my boys close their eyes in reverence and they'll probably be gone before I even get to taste them!

These strawberries are really elegant and simple to make.
Wash the strawberries and leave the stems intact. Dry them but also let them air dry for at least 30 minutes before you start dipping because even a small amount of water could seize your chocolate and mess up your finished product.

The chocolate you use is up to you. If you have a favorite chocolate chip that you like the flavor of, by all means, use it. White chocolate works well, just remember it has a very low melting point and adding that little bit of shortening changes the consistency more than of other chocolates so I add butter instead. You won't get the shiny look from the white chocolate but it's still striking and delicious!

Prepare a cookie sheet with waxed paper or parchment, this is to put your strawberries on to set. Put any topping you want to use in custard size dishes. Be creative, finely chopped peppermints, sprinkles and nonpareils, edible confetti, all are festive and fun.

1 pound gorgeous ripe strawberries with stems
6 ounces of chocolate - your choice
2 teaspoons shortening (butter if using white chocolate)
chopped nuts or other decoration - optional

Melt your chocolate in a double boiler or makeshift double boiler (for white chocolate put a glass or metal bowl into a pan with very hot but not boiling water and stir the chocolate until it melts). Add 2 teaspoons of shortening stirring constantly until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Turn off the heat but leave the pan over the hot water. Holding the stem of the strawberry, dip into the chocolate covering about three fourths of the strawberry. Hold over the pan a few seconds to let the dribbles off and gently (if you're embellishing) dip into the nuts. Place on the prepared pan and let the strawberries set. This takes a while, it's best to have a cool kitchen when you do this, putting it in the refrigerator is an option but leaving them for too long forms moisture on the chocolate and it breaks down so it's best to just keep them in a cool dry place. If your families like mine, they won't last long.