Thank you, V-day, for giving me an excuse to eat chocolate.

This morning the roomie and I headed east to meet up w/ K-Jo for our annual Valentines cookie making event.  This year, we decided to focus on brownie truffles.  Yummo-o!

K-Jo and I met in *gasp* 3rd grade and were pretty much inseparable during our elementary years.  As we rolled and chocolate-covered what seemed like endless number of truffles, we fondly reminised about our childhood.

(our infamous Halloween costume we were so proud of...in 5th grade?)

And here they are, the fabulous brownie truffles:

This year, we even stepped it up a notch and worked on the packaging too - don't they look almost professional??

Here's the recipe for those of you who are interested:
1 baked chocolate cake according to box instructions
Crumble the cake in a very large bowl
In a sauce pan add:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup apricot preserves
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Mix over low heat until it becomes smooth and glossy
Add to crumbled cake and start forming tight little balls, to the size you like. I never go over 1 inch.
Melt chocolate in microwave, being careful not to get the chocolate too hot.
Dip gently with a fork or spoon on waxed or parchment or silpat.
Make sure they look pretty, so take your time.
Drizzel them, or decorate them while the chocolate is wet.

Afterwards, I headed to my parents' place to pick up my dogs and a bite to eat, of course!  On the menu tonight was sukiyaki, one of my favorite winter dishes.  What is "sukiyaki," you ask?  Well, it just a bunch of vegetables and beef thrown into a hot pot, really. 

Until today, I thought the dish's name translated to mean "suki" = to like and "yaki" = to cook.  But according to wikipedia, the dish's name stems from peasants who used their spades ("suki") to cook ("yaki") on.  Wikipedia, you win again, hmph.