Ritzy Chocolate Covered Nuts

---CANDY

--- 2 c Almond slivers

1 c Sugar

1/3 c Water (or less)

--TOPPING

-- 12 oz Chocolate (can use

-chips, but if they -have a gray bloom, -they might not melt) In a heavy sauce pan, boil almond slivers, sugar and water over low to medium heat until all the water is gone and the sugar crystallizes on the peanuts. Pour almond slivers out onto a well-greased baking sheet. Separate clumps with a greased fork. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F. oven about 15 minutes. Be careful not to burn. Melt chocolate over low heat with constant stirring. When candied almonds have cooled, dip into melted chocolate. Place on foil to set. Her notes: * These nuts -- which are "quick and easy" for holiday entertaining -- were inspired by a presentation Shirley attended at a cooking schools convention at the Ritz Carlton. They are basically the same recipe Paula Murphy uses for candied peanuts; she uses raw, Spanish peanuts instead of almonds, and she doesn't coat them with chocolate.