On the third Wednesday of every month, my Bible study ladies meet for lunch. We are a mixed group of ladies: some are young with kids in diapers, some are very seasoned and wise, and some of us are right smack in the middle.
On a typical luncheon Wednesday we all pitch in and bring our assigned food item, but being that it is "Valentine's week" as my friend Darcy says, I offered to make and bring lunch for everyone today.
Beautiful chocolate bowls filled with fresh strawberries, blueberries and, of course, a few raspberries.
Not to worry, I also made a yummy chicken salad with red grapes and cashews to load up on fresh mini croissants, and stalks of blanched asparagus, marinated in an vinaigrette dressing, then wrapped with a stripe of pimento.
And as my mother taught me years ago ...
It's all about color, balance and presentation.
Tutorial:
Blow up balloons to be whatever size you want your bowl to be. Water balloons work the best.
Melt your chocolate according to the instructions on the bag. I always go with the microwave instructions.
Spray the balloon with Pam and wipe a little off, then dip the balloon in the chocolate. If your bowl is shallow, you may need to swirl the balloon around a bit.
Then let the chocolate harden on a foil lined cookie sheet. Hint: Before placing them down on the cookie sheet you may need to hold the balloon upside down for a minute or two to avoid all the chocolate from sliding down and forming a puddle.
When the chocolate is completely hardened, pop the balloon with a pin.
And there you have it ... fill and serve.
Oh, one last hint: When you lift the balloon off the cookie sheet, sometimes there is a hole in the bottom, just melt a bit more chocolate and patch up that hole.
As you can imagine, the fillings are endless ...
Brownie a la mode, oh my!
I'm having a bridal shower at my house......the table is going to be PINK....I think I will melt the bowls out of Pink chocolate.....Another fun and great idea cynthia.....
Posted by: Lee Ann | February 16, 2011 at 07:55 AM
Beautiful! Yummy to see and to eat, no doubt. I certainly could hear from the Lord with all that goodness waiting for me. hahaha! Bible study friends know how to enjoy the good things.
Posted by: Marcia | February 16, 2011 at 08:37 AM
Cynthia -- what a delightful blog!! You are just full of surprises! Lunch was AMAZING today and I'm sure you could tell by the Oooo's and Ahhh's that we were all just blown away by how lovely everything looked and how tasty it was. Thank you again so very much!! You are a blessing!!!
Posted by: Christine | February 16, 2011 at 01:24 PM
Love this idea Cynthia, I plan to make treat for my birthday party. xxx susan
Posted by: Susan Hosueman | February 16, 2011 at 07:09 PM
Wow, this is fantastic! I will try and make those for my daughter's party in April!
Posted by: Helena | February 17, 2011 at 01:52 AM
Hi Cynthia!! This is such a fantastic idea...I might just have to steal it!! lol!! (promise to give you credit!!) I love it! I have lots of lunches and am always looking for new ideas! Thank you!
Posted by: Cheryl F | February 20, 2011 at 10:46 AM
ooo really cool! Are those bowls dark chocolate??
Posted by: Beth | March 07, 2011 at 10:22 AM
These are amazing! I just discovered your blog and am truly inspired. Thanks so much for sharing! :)
Posted by: Roberta | April 16, 2011 at 08:14 PM
Thank you Cynthia for sharing with all of us your creative
ideas. So simple and yet so elegant.
love, love, love
Posted by: Gisa Nogueira | May 11, 2015 at 09:18 AM