White Chocolate Mousse

March 9, 2013

I recently told you that I’m a news addict and have been far before I should have even been watching the news. I watch both local and national news, and at one time a few years ago I wanted to be a news anchor. I imagined sitting at that anchor desk, relaying the day’s top stories to my loyal viewers. Sharing some lighter stories and fun moments with said viewers as well, joking with my co-anchor, the weatherman, and the sports anchor. It seemed like such a fun and glamorous job.

But then, I started thinking about the odd hours they have to work. I’m not sure what’s worse: the morning shift that has one getting up at three in the morning, or the late night shift that leaves you driving home at midnight. Either way, it’s kind of crazy and didn’t seem like a lot of fun. Add to that the fact that pretty much everyone has to start at the bottom. I’m not the girl that’s going to move to rural Wyoming and report on whatever happens in rural Wyoming. And it’s a pretty cutthroat industry. Even locally, anchors are constantly being moved around from time slot to time slot, station to station, and some have been demoted or fired because someone who could increase ratings became available. I can barely take it when Foodgawker rejects my photos. How am I supposed to deal with that?

The reason I wanted to be a news anchor was that I loved watching it and Ioved the people I watched. They were there giving me the news day in and day out, often providing a good news story or a laugh on even the hardest days. In the midst of my news anchor phase, I actually had the opportunity to spend the day at my favorite local news station WDIV Local 4 here in Detroit.

I followed news anchor Ruth Spencer around all day. I met reporters and anchors and was more than a little star struck. Some of the people I met still work there, but since it’s been about nine years since I was there, most are gone. I saw a lot of editing being done, which wasn’t the most fascinating, but one of the editors was incredibly kind to me. The production meeting may have been the most interesting part of the day, as reporters pitched stories, talked about sources, and the producer decided which stories would be on live and which would be taped.

To round out my day, I watched the five and six o’clock newscasts from inside the studio. A rather large room with many cameras and lights, there was the main anchor desk, the weather green screen, and a seating area for more casual news banter. Just outside of the studio was the control room. Being in there was a great experience, as the director threw to different cameras and people and told when to put graphics and text on the screen. It was pretty awesome. I have tons of pictures and autographs to remember the day, and I remember most of it very vividly. It was a great opportunity and I am still thankful the station allowed me to come.

At the end of the day, I was exhausted. I’m not sure I have ever been more tired in my life. And if that happened now, I’d probably make this White Chocolate Mousse. In fact, I made it because I wanted a really easy to make dessert that was kind of light. And this fits the bill perfectly. Some melted white chocolate gets folded into whipped cream, it’s chilled, and dessert is served. I had to use the white baking chips because they do not contain cocoa, but if you are not allergic to chocolate like me, feel free to use some higher quality white chocolate, it will probably taste even better.

The end result is completely delicious. The texture is light, airy, and creamy and that white chocolate sweetness comes through wonderfully. Both the smell and flavor are intoxicating and will leave you wanting to eat the whole bowl, maybe while watching the news.