Fruit and nuts

Give Cadbury's some competition -- make your your own chocolate candy. I was captivated by Ina Garten's recipe for chocolate bark. Unlike the American version where all the goodies are mixed into melted chocolate, Garten -- The Barefoot Contessa -- in her latest cookbook, Back to Basics, presents a French version. It's a veritable throw rug of cashews and crystallized ginger, dried cherries, golden raisins and diced dried apricots. (I subbed dried pears for the apricots: 1. pears and chocolate are a divine combination and 2. I didn't feel like walking to wherever the heck the dried apricots were hiding in the grocery.)

I varied the recipe a bit because I love dark chocolate. Here are the basics: Melt 14 ounces of good-quality dark chocolate (I used 70-percent in the microwave in 30-second increments until it is just melted. Let it sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it is completely smooth and cooled slightly. On a piece of parchment paper, spread out the chocolate into a 9"-by-10" rectangle. Then evenly sprinkle on the goodies in this order: 1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger, 1 cup whole roasted cashews, 1/2 cup dried cherries, 1/2 cup diced dried apricots, 1/4 cup golden raisins. Make sure everything is stuck in the chocolate, lest a few raisins roll off like pebbles later. Let it cool for about 2 hours then cut into medium-sized pieces.

The whole thing will look like a gorgeous Turkish carpet before it's sliced. And it'll make a fabulous sweet for the holidays.

--Nan