a very rich week

i like chocolate just as much as the next girl. depending on my mood, possibly even more than your average chocolate lover. last week i was in a choclately mood—one could even say i was teetering on chocoholism. i made a s’mores tart and mexican chocolate mousse. yum. and…for my birthday sean bought me a chocolate cake and my best pals (brooke and josh) got me these books. it was a very rich week indeed.

for the s’mores tart i adapted this recipe. i used a tart pan instead (reducing the bake time by about 10 minutes) because wanted to add a swirl of peanut butter, which i thought could be a bit overwhelming in pie form. i was actually self-conflicted about the pb, but knowing the company i would be in i figured it would go over well. i had dinner with my pb loving friends/sisters brooke, bailey (known to eat spoonfuls of peanut butter with milk), and katie. needless to say, it went over quite well. and, let me add that when deb says the marshmallow is sticky, it really is. really. thanks to katie for the help.

the chocolate mousse recipe was adapted from this one, by aran. i omitted the espresso (but you could certainly keep it and the flavors would all work nicely), added ½ tsp cinnamon and 1/8 tsp of chili powder. next time i might add a ¼ tsp of the chili powder for a bit more heat. it is not intended to be a super-spicy heat, but rather a warmth in the throat. it was very good and very easy. i served it with a dollop of creamy mascarpone.