On Friday night, my friends at the Old Colony Club toasted Scottish poet Robert Burns in style with Scotch and a Haggis.

It's great to have friends who can get past whatever calumnies they have heard about this famous dish of Scotland and give it a fair try. It is rich and savory, seasoned with nutmeg and other spices and filled with oats that soak up the flavors and lighten the "pudding".

As Burns toasted the Haggis:

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin'-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak yer place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o' a grace
As lang's my airm....

There is more to Address to a Haggis, which you can read here. The next time you serve a haggis, you might address it thus, or you might just stab it with your dirk and have at it with crackers and Scotch whiskey!

Have you had a haggis experience? Tell us about it through the Comments link below.