Days 4 & 5 of 12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Fudgy BonBons and PB&J Bars

So my internet was down from yesterday morning thru late this afternoon. Therefore you get two cookie recipes!

The first is Fudgy Bonbons. I got this one from a Pillsbury cookbook. It originally came from a lady named Mary Anne Tyndall who was Pillsbury's grand prize winner in their 1994 contest. And because of the glory of all things on the internet, I do not have to type it up! (although if the link does not work, let me know and I will post it)

http://http//www.pillsbury.com/recipes/fudgy-bonbons/96997a31-793f-4411-b43e-e8b154de46c1/

I do not do the drizzle over the cookies because I just don't want to. Instead I take a shaker of powdered sugar and lightly dust the cookies. I find they look more festive.

Now your healthy meal: Filet with Merlot Sauce. A bit on the fancy side but super easy if you know how to cook a steak. And because I want to make my life easy tonight here is the link:

http://http//www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Filet-Mignon-with-Merlot-Sauce-5653

I only cook this at Christmas or for my birthday so it is served with either mashed potatoes or twice-baked potatoes. To keep with the healthy theme though, serve it up with a salad and maybe some sauteed green beans.

Yesterday was a day to run around. And around. And around. Luckily I had my momz to chauffeur me while my Christmas/Birthday presents were being installed on my car. I am seriously going to put bows on my tires Christmas Eve and make the kids go to the driveway to see what Santa brought Mommy. Or maybe just the one new car bow and have four hangy-down bits with arrows pointing to the tires. Yeah, that's it. So I am going into the grocery store to pick up five things when the garage calls to tell me the car is ready. Cool, I only a few things then I can pick up the car! Of course when I go into Harris Teeter they are having another free Holiday Wine Tasting!!!! FREE WINE!!! AGAIN!!! And of course I do not have time to hang out. Blast.

The cookie recipe for today is from Ina Garten. Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars. I came across this one while flipping thru a cookbook at the library. It has that lovely salty/sweet combination and I believe I used blackberry jam instead of raspberry although I bet any jam would be good. I just picked up a jar of Marionberry jam yesterday so now it knows its purpose. Here is the link:

http://http//www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/peanut-butter-and-jelly-bars-recipe/index.html

For your healthy dinner I am going to take the easy way out tonight because I am just that tired and I need to finish a book that is already overdue at the 'brary and it is late and I think I still have laundry in the wash. . . . . . . . . Yes, I do. Frick. Ok, so before you make or eat the PB&J bars have this for dinner: Baked salmon with this marinade:

The marinade does have a bit of heat from the red pepper flakes but is sooooo tasty. I get it at either Harris Teeter or Fresh Market. Serve it up with some steamed broccoli!

Ok, there is a lot going on in the news lately, something about Wikileaks and some dude who does not mind spreading secrets but wants his house-arrest location kept underwraps and then there is something about taxes and politics. I really would like to know what is going on but it is hard to listen to the news in the morning with two kids all up in my grill while I try to guzzle a vat of coffee to keep up with them. The one thing I did learn from the Today Show this week is that Teva and someone else made a Teva stiletto. Four-inch high sandals. And they can be yours for the low, low price of $330.00.

http://http//www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/fashion/2010/11/30/2010-11-30_teva_stiletto_heels_have_velcro_straps_teva_sole_shoes_have_fourinch_heel_retail.html

I also learned that some guys will think that a wrapped tampon can look like a Christmas treat:

http://http//www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/40606754#40606754 or try this one:

http://http//www.nbc.com/news-sports/today-show/meredith-hoda-willie-geist-try-alcohol-whipped-cream/

If you watch this video, the bit I am talking about is about 7 minutes in and if you let the video load, you can fast forward to the Bobbie Thomas section.

Tastes so good I want S'more!

Yes, I made S'mores Bars. Yes, they are brilliant. Yes, I need to get the rest of the pan out of my house. And yes, I will share the directions for the yummies. It is adapted from the No-Bake S'more Fun Brownie recipie in the Fat Witch Brownie cookbook and I have changed some stuff so I figure I can post it here. Fingers crossed I don't get sued. I highly recommend this cookbook if you like the brownies (or bar cookie things, like lemon bars, etc.) Here is the link: http://http://www.fatwitch.com/FWBcookbook.html (See! I am giving you free marketing Fat Witch!!)

S'more Bars

2 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup mini hershey kisses (in the bag)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks
8 tbsp butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Grease brownie pan (8x8 or 7x9). Mix graham cracker crumbs, 1 cup marshmallows, 1/2 cup mini kisses, 1/2 cup semi-sweet chips/chunks.

In a small pot, melt butter over low heat and add the sugar, egg and vanilla stirring constantly. Once the sugar dissolves and it looks all good and mixed up, set aside to cool.

Add butter/sugar mixture to crumb/chip mixture and stir well. The chips and marshmallows should melt a bit. Stir in remaining marshmallows and chips. Press into pan and let cool for 45 minutes. Sooooooo gooooood.

In an effort to further hop everyone up on sugar, I am going to start my own version of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies tomorrow. I have picked my favorite cookies (not including those unbelievable Congo Bars) and a couple that I have not tried but that look fantastic! But so you don't think I live on flour, butter and sugar, I am going to include in each entry a nice healthy recipe for dinner or lunch. It is all about moderation people! Plus if you only eat plain lettuce for three days then of course you can totally annihilate a pan of Congo Bars!!!

On other non-eating related topics, I want to share an observation. Stop reading here if you do not want to read emotional crap.

Are you sure?

Ok. So I was driving down Colony Road and there is a tree on the side of the road that has a memorial set up for a teenager who was killed when the car he was in hit a tree in that area. According to the little information I can find, the car was going 92 miles per hour. This is a residential area one lane in each direction with a median and I am pretty sure the speed limit is 35. So the family of the boy maintain that area and decorate the tree for various holidays. It is now decorated for Christmas. The boy's name was Alex and his parents started a campaign to get people to slow down and have distributed bumper stickers reading "Slow Down for Alex." I have seen these stickers and this memorial for a few years. When I see the bumper stickers I think "you know, people really do need to slow down. This is a good thing." Then a few times I would drive past the decorated tree and think that Alex's spirit (or whatever you believe, if anything) is not at a tree! He would be with his family or friends or something. I know if I was killed in an accident, I wouldn't hang around on the side of the road. And I have wondered how long the family or friends will keep up the tree? It has been about 3 1/2 years now. Isn't that long enough? But then I decided it is good that they keep up the tree. This memorial and other road-side memorials make me think not only of those I have lost, but they also remind me to be thankful for and cherish the family and friends that I still have. So, there you have it. Every time I ride down Colony Road and see that tree, I will be thinking of you. Well, not of you. Well, maybe you. I guess it depends on who is reading this. Drive carefully!

Avast Ye, Landlubbers!!

I just found out that the folks who so brilliantly brought us "Wallace & Gromit" are making a movie out of "The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!" This just mere hours after I suggested these books! I must have some sort of special power! However I have no idea what it could be and how I can use it to clean my house, get my kids to nap or put some doubloons in the kitty for new windows.

Here is a news bit about it from the author's website: http://http//www.gideondefoe.com/page3.htm

I decided to re-read the books because they make me laugh and am coming up with a list of pirate names that I think I should start signing on my receipts and tax returns. For example, "the pirate with moxy" and "the pirate who sees too much poo." Or, for my Chanukah folks, "the pirate with chutzpah." I am so excited that I am following, in a twitter manner, the director of the film who just posted that they have completed roughly 14 minutes of the movie so far! With any luck my total social security distribution should just about cover the ticket price when the movie comes out. In the meantime, I shall reread the books and eagerly await the next in the series.

In baking news, I made Congo Bars from the Fat Witch cookbook "Brownies, Blondies, and Bars From New York's Legendary Fat Witch Bakery." Since this came from a non-web-based source and I could not find the recipe on-line, I am a little hestitant to reproduce it here what with all the copyright infringement lawsuits flying around. If you would like me to pass it along I would be happy to do so. Verbally, on a secure line or in person under conditions determined at the last minute by me via a prepaid cell phone. There are a lot of versions out there but this one is a graham cracker crust bar, with chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, coconut and sweetened condensed milk baked to a lovely golden brown. It is a chocolate chip macaroon on a graham cracker crust. Glorious!!! Here is what they look like out of my kitchen:

And here is what it looks like about to be eaten:

I would also like to introduce a new segment that I am calling "Things I Learned from the 'Today Show'." I admit it, I like the Today Show. I find Al Roker hilarious and I believe I heard Meredith say "shit" this morning during a cooking segment with the Barefoot Contessa. Awesome. What I learned today is that with some anti-bacteria cleaners, you have to spray it on a surface then let it sit for 10 minutes before wiping it up! Who knew? I did read the directions and it clearly states to do so on the label, but really, how many of you read the labels for something like a spray cleaner? All this time I was all spray-spray-spray-wipe-wipe-wipe. There are some cleaners with less drying time so I am going to look into that. 10 MINUTES YA'LL! And all this time I thought my boy was sniffly from hanging out in and on germy things at the My Gym.