This post is overdue.  Way overdue.
I got distracted.
I'm sure that you are wondering what could have been so big that it distracted me from getting this post done.  And since you've asked then I suppose that I'll fill you in.  A bit.
I was celebrating.
My birthday.


I know that in my last post I told you all that I was beyond it, that I had matured and I was ok with things being a little more subdued than usual.  I didn't feel the need to have elaborate gifts this year (cause we're broke mostly) or go out to a fancy joint for some fancy food.  Truth is though that maybe I wasn't as mature as I'd hoped.  The gift thing... well, yeah.  It's nice to get something but maybe I am truly moving past the whole gift thing (love and hugs to those of you who gave me AWESOME gifts BTW).  I was lonely though.  I missed my friends both near and far.  I missed them a lot and I'm including family as my friends p.s.
D made it special... champagne and some chocolates from my favourite local (Torontonians into chocolate must frequent this place... MUST).   I had about 52 (not that I counted them or anything) birthday wishes on FB (I don't have a ton of 'friends' on FB ok - I'm choosy, Jeez).   Then I was thrilled when I got to go out with my BFF KT a couple of nights ago.  Just us... here, eating, drinking and having a great time together.  THEN... my other bestie T came over and cooked a meal for me... just ME.  And he brought champagne... 2 bottles (eek).  Then we sat back and had a great night.  Just eating and drinking and talking and lots and lots of laughing.  My kids made me the awesomest card and Kid #2 is just old enough now to write in his name.  It's the best.  So, with all of that going on I just got... distracted.  Who wouldn't with great friends like that around.
Can you imagine what this post would have been like otherwise... depressing.
Make these squares.  If you don't count the cooling in the fridge time then it will probably take you about 15 minutes (the fridge time adds another hour or so but the silver lining is that you don't have to sit in the fridge with these puppies and do anything to them).  Don't do what I did and forget to add the butter to the syrup stuff and then panic and spread butter over top of the pressed cereal in the pan.  Yeah that was weird but at the end of the day nobody cared 'cause they're damn tasty.



Crispy Rice, Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
1 square pan of bars

Crust:
1 3/4 cups crispy rice cereal
1/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp light corn syrup
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (I totally forgot this BTW)

Filling:
5 oz good milk chocolate coarsely chopped
1 cup creamy peanut butter (can I just tell you that I was VERY generous with this)

Topping:
3 oz good dark chocolate (at least 60% cocoa solids) coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp light corn syrup
4 tbsp (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

Crust:
Grease an 8 inch square baking pan.
Place the crispy rice in a bowl and set aside.
Pour 1/4 cup water, sugar and corn syrup into a heavy bottomed small sauce pan.  Gently combine with a wooden spoon.  Heat the mixture until a candy thermometer ready 235 degrees F.
Remove from heat and quickly add the butter.
Mix this with the crispy rice just until the rice is all coated.
Press into the bottom of the baking pan.
Cool to room temperature and make the...

Filling:
In a metal bowl (nonreactive) mix the chocolate and peanut butter.  Place over a pot of simmering water.  Stir until the mixture is smooth.  Remove from the pan and cool just a minute or two.  Pour over the room temperature crust.  Refrigerate for about an hour or until it's hardened.  Then add the....

Topping:
In another nonreactive bowl combine the chocolate, corn syrup and butter.  Simmer over a double boiler until it's melted and smooth.  Remove from the simmering water and cool just a minute.  Pour over the hardened peanut butter layer.  Refrigerate about an hour or until the top layer is hardened.
Cut the bars into squares and store in a tightly covered container.