Chocolate Bark

To be fair, these were my X-mas treats. I made them for my friends, but even though it's belated I thought they were worth posting, because they are so delicious and super duper easy to make! Also perrty. When I saw Ina Garten make Chocolate bark on food network TV by simply melting some chocolate chips and sprinkling stuff on top, I thought it can’t be that easy! Oh, but it is.

I did use a double boiler to make sure I didn’t burn or chunk up the chocolate (just took a Pyrex bowl and put it on top of a pot of boiling water). I used one bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips with a handful of bittersweet chocolate chips and melted them down. Then I just spread the mixture out on a baking pan and sprinkled on my treats. I took a special trip to the Ferry Building farmer’s market for the best dried fruit and nuts I could find. I ended up with dried figs, dried white nectarines, candied ginger, almonds that I roasted myself and a little sea salt for toppings. I just chopped them up and pressed them into the melted chocolate. I threw that in the fridge, and a few hours later, voila! Impressive and delicious treat to give my friends.

For pairing, I would definitely go for a port! There are so many wonderful ones out there and many made here in California that pair beautifully with dark chocolate.

Oh, how I wish I could eat some of this with a nice glass of port right now, but alas, I have embarked on a 3 week detox (a la Great American Detox Diet only compressed into 3 weeks instead of 6) where I eat completely vegan (der, not difficult), no refined grains, no refined sugars, no alcohol and worst of all noooooo caffeine, my most beloved and dearest drug of all. This is day 4 and I’m feeling a bit sluggish, but powering through. I’ll be sure to post some detox-friendly foods in the coming days.