9 days till Christmas

9 days till Christmas
December 16th
Movie of the day: The Family Stone
This is a great story of one large family's Christmas where the eldest son brings home his girlfriend (for the first time) and asks his mother for his grandmother's wedding ring. There are a lot of great actors in this one and you can tell they had a good time filming it.

Christmas Carol of the day:
God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman
http://www.christmas-carol-music.org/SATB/GodRestYeMerry.html



Christmas Trivia
(brought to you by howstuffworks.com)
What is The Legend of Bûche de Noël?
A classic French dessert, Bûche de Noël is a delicious confection of chocolate cake and rich pastry cream rolled into the shape of a log. The cake symbolizes the belief that a large log should burn continuously on Christmas night.
If it goes out, it means bad luck in the coming year. The next morning, the ashes from the log are scooped up and kept as a good luck charm to heal sickness, bring on needed rain, and guarantee success in business.
http://christmas.howstuffworks.com/games/christmas-trivia8.htm


By PetitPlat by sk_ on Flickr


This one is made out of fabric! By thisisloveforever, on Flickr


This one has a vegan recipe attached. By laurat, on Flickr


By theMouseMarket, on Flickr


By distopiandreamgirl, on Flickr

I always do some sort of holiday baking: cookies, brownies and the like, but I have never tried a Buche De Noel. My mother and I make pretzel almond bark treats with M&Ms on them every year. One recipe I keep going back to is for Baileys brownies.
Brownies:
1 (19.8oz) Package fudge brownie mix
1/2 c oil
1/4 c Baileys Irish Cream liqueur
2 eggs
Frosting:
1/2 c powdered sugar
2 Tb. Baileys Irish Cream liqueur
1/2 tsp vanilla
2-3 tsp milk

Heat oven to 350*F. Grease bottom only of 13x9-inch pan. In a large bowl, combine all brownie ingredients; beat 50 strokes with spoon. Spread in greased pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until brownies are set and begin to pull away from sides of pan. Do not over bake. Cool 45 minutes or until completely cooled.
Beat 1/2 c butter in a small bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in all remaining ingredients; add enough milk for desired spreading consistency (for stronger frosting flavor, use Baileys instead of milk). Spread over cooled brownies.
Refrigerate till firm then cut into bars.
Enjoy!