Robert Burns

After being pushed into another new year kicking and screaming, I have taken off three days IN A ROW--an entire weekend at that. And since it is only the second of January and the tune of "Auld Lang Syne" still reverberates in the air, I am contemplating the sincerity of my half-assedly made resolutions. Already I am led to recall another of Burns' more famous contributions to us all: "The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men/Gang aft a-gley." Yep, the desire to blog once a day--hey, it could happen--began with a misstep since I missed the first. But I have plenty of material today, so with a little extra prep time, here we go.

The second resolution and the one I was and am most resolute about is the desire to run a dessert special every weekend of the year. 52 specials. Admittedly I should have been doing this all along, but it can be daunting when the fruits aren't exciting or I need time off to do a cake or I am going out of town or there is a special event demanding my attention. The excuses--yes, I recognize them for what they are--are being thrown to wayside.

A little challenge to myself, I say, and I will begin the challenge by running a dessert this weekend while I am not even at work. A lotta leftover love from the New Year's eve spec--dark chocolate mousse, tempered chocolate squiggle decos, minuscule fresh raspberries, and a vat of raspberry sauce--needed a home. I rocked out 20 almond brittle baskets for holding the mousse and berries. The raspberry sauce took to the plate in the form of the trusted graduated dot design. I poked around in the walk-in and found some tasty port poached Bosc pears that had been relegated to the back of the shelf during the NYE prep frenzy. Three quenelles of the mousse filled each basket. Those were sprinkled liberally with the fresh berries. Squiggles slipped into the quenelles and were finished off each with a raspberry topper.

So if you need a chocolate fix, head downtown. The special runs all weekend or until we run out.