With Thanksgiving coming up any moment now and winter holidays close on its heels, it’s time to start planning now for your decorations, not to mention the menus. The menus are almost easy, for many people anchored in traditional food items. The decorations are the really tough part.
Imagine having these place settings for your holiday dinner. You know you need them because Great Aunt Maude won’t sit next to Uncle Howard since the incident nobody speaks of but is only known as The Incident and you have been curious about since you were nine. And then there’s your cousin Susie, who is bringing her ne’er-do-well boyfriend again, who is a nice enough chap but you know Susie’s father doesn’t approve of him because he has had seven jobs in the two years they have been together. And in the end, all you want is for everyone to get along and share a nice meal. Can’t we all just get along for one day out of the year?
Anyway, these place settings are attractive and amazingly simple to make. Get some nice, ripe bosc pears, dip them in melted dark chocolate and let them dry on waxed paper. Then put a hand-written name tag on each and place them on the plates where you have decided each guest should sit. The best part? It’s also a dessert.
To melt chocolate for dipping, use a double boiler. In the bottom part, heat water almost to boiling, then turn off the heat. Insert the top part and put chocolate in it. Stir until the chocolate is melted, then dip until your heart’s content.
Chocolate Place Setting by Marco Arment.
