chocolate covered strawberries for Valentine's DaY

     hello cooking world!  i haven't been doing much cooking or baking (aside from my latest rendition of couscous on saturday for Dad's birthday lunch) while i've been out here in CaLi visiting family, so i apologize if the blog posts have been left wanting.  to remedy the situation (and send a hearty thank-you to bro D and in honor of valentine's day), i decided to concoct (with help from FoodNetwork's recipe chocolate covered strawberries) a version of the beloved favorite of foodie gifts this holiday:  huge strawberries + melted chocolate = a big smile from ANYONE!  ummm, unless they're diabetic or allergic to strawberries, then you'll have to think of something else.  these delicious treats tend to be quite expensive in stores to buy, so why not make your own?  and on a grad school budget, i'd rather make my own anyways.  added bonus is that they're super fast to make...maybe 15-20 minutes and DONE!

chocolate covered strawberries (EASY way)

(PREP: practically none / COOK: 15-20 min. / COOL: at least 45 min.)

• 12 large strawberries with stems, washed and dried thoroughly
• 2 4oz. Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate baking bars
• a sheet of wax or parchment paper

1. heat water (at least 3 inches high) in medium-sized pan on high heat.  while that's heating, make sure strawberries are washed and dried with paper towel.  set aside.
2. break chocolate bars in pieces (use a knife if you must), but what i've found out with semi-sweet chocolate, you can break them with your fingers and put in small heat-resistant bowl.  you know, the kinds of bowls you can microwave and won't melt on itself.  NOTE:  i used a ceramic bowl and it did just fine. 
3. once water is bowling, remove pot from heat immediately.  place bowl with chocolate in pot and allow to sit in the hot water for a few minutes, allowing for the chocolate to melt slightly.
4. once you notice the chocolate pieces are melting, stir with a  fork until smooth.  remove bowl from pot.
5. place parchment or wax paper on flat surface.  'prep' the each of the strawberries by gently pushing leaves upward towards stem so they don't get dipped into chocolate.  using your dominant hand, hold each strawberry by the stem close to the base and dip  the strawberry in chocolate filled bowl, turning it on its side so that chocolate covers the majority of the red skin.  make sure to allow the excess melted chocolate to drip back into the bowl from the strawberry before placing the fruit on its side on the wax paper to dry.  repeat for all strawberries.
6. allow the covered strawberries to dry for at least 45 min. in room temperature.  i know that the FoodNetwork recipe says "30 min," but the chocolate hadn't hardened yet for mine.