Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Bouquet de Fraises – Strawberry Bouquet Moms are celebrated in France and the U.S. during the month of May. And aren’t they lucky because this month brings out the best in spring vegetables and of course, those jewels of the fruit world, strawberries. Are you and your mom in Paris this May? Of course, you won’t miss a market visit. Be sure to pick up a barquette (carton) or two or three  of fraises de Plougastel. These are the crème de la crème of French strawberries. Eat one barquette just plain and with the other one make this fun, easy bouquet de fraises. Et voilà: INGREDIENTS: •    quart of strawberries with fresh green stems still attached •    4 to 6-oz bar of bittersweet chocolate •    4 oz. pistachios, blanched almonds or other favorite nuts •    skewers PREPARATION:1. Rinse the strawberries and let them dry. 2. Break up the chocolate and place in a glass bowl. Place in microwave and heat 1 minute. Check the chocolate; if it isn’t melted place back in for 30 seconds. 3. If using pistachios, remove the shells and skins and chop finely. Chop any nuts you plan to use finely. Spread on a plate. 4. Put the strawberries on the skewers stem side down. Use one strawberry per skewer. 5. Dip the strawberries in the melted chocolate, then in the nuts. To serve:Place the strawberries in a vase or arrange decoratively on a plate. Debra Fioritto contributes delicious French recipes to BonjourParis—follow her at: @DebraFioritto on Twitter,Fabulous French Food, Julia’s Paris & Provence and Tour de Forks Uncommon Epicurean Adventures. Subscribe & be first to receive 50 original France travel & French lifestyle stories every month: free subscription. Search the BonjourParis library of over 6000+ stories & find your most complete online France travel resource since 1995. RSS feed available. Check out our Amazon.com Boutique for the very latest stock in anything & everything for travelers & Francophiles. Books, fashion, electronics, accessories, home décor & more. New items added weekly. Same competitive prices & speedy delivery & your purchases support costs of keeping BonjourParis the most complete France travel resource. Search hint: start at the back pages for the most recent stock. Short-cut to our 100 TOP SELLING ITEMS (please wait for widget to load) We recommend hotels we know & which are rated highly by recent past guests: Be smart! Reserve your hotel at Booking.com…then keep shopping online & if you find a better rate for the same deal, contact Booking.com for your BEST PRICE MATCH GUARANTEE. Bookmark this link & use it everytime you shop so your preferences are stored & deals are updated when you return: Booking.com.