Smoky Strawberries

What to do with so many strawberries? At first they were eaten as is, though more recently they've been robbed of their solid nature by perhaps the loudest kitchen appliance ever created. Some sort of dessert was needed this week, and TJs furnished me with an 18 ounce slab of dark chocolate to this end. I've been slightly obsessed with chili-spiced chocolate ever since having some gnarly concoction in Santa Fe over thanksgiving. I normally find chocolate-covered strawberries somewhat boring, so the anchos are meant to make everything a bit more interesting.

As with most experiments, I decided some cumin would even things out a bit. This apparently satisfied some people and turned others off — not everyone seems to have the same cumin tolerance I've developed. I used to have some ancho powder sitting around, but it got used up long ago. Making chili powder is luckily a pretty easy affair as long as one has an extra coffee grinder sitting around (or doesn't mind a little kick in the morning coffee). I would recommend adjusting the amount of chili powder purely by taste, as my measurements were highly imprecise.

As I said before one can omit the cumin, though I'd be curious to go all the away and shoot for mole-covered berries. That would be interesting!

Strawberries Covered in Ancho Chili Chocolate

For around two dozen large strawberries

The Chili Powder

• Two ancho chilies, stemmed and seeded, torn into smaller pieces
• One, two, or maybe no tbsp. cumin seeds
• 1/2 Tbsp Oil

The Rest

• 2 Tbsp. Butter
• 8 Oz. Dark Chocolate
• Around 4 loose Tbsp. Chili Power, above
• 2 Dozen or more strawberries, washed and dried
• Wax paper

The Chili Powder

1. Heat a skillet to medium heat and add oil
2. Add chilis, torn into smaller pieces, and coat with oil. Allow to toast until very fragrant.
3. Add cumin and toast until its smell can be discerned
4. Remove from heat and let cool before grinding up in coffee or spice grinder

The Rest

1. Put wax paper on a sheet pan and let it chill in the freezer while melting chocolate
2. Set a metal bowl over a saucepan of simmering water to approximate a double boiler.
3. Add the butter, let it melt before adding the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted — the length of this process will depend largely on the size of the chocolate pieces.
4. Add chili powder until the desired flavor is arrived at. I think I ended up using a full 4 loosely packed tablespoons or so. A dash of salt may also be desired.
5. Lower heat to almost nothing, dip strawberries so they get a reasonably thick coasting, then place on the wax paper to cool. Place the sheet pan back in the fridge until everything has solidified and cooled back down.

NB: It will be really hard to make this too spicy given the nature of ancho chili, the adventurous soul may try adding some cayenne for a real kick.