Beginning

Welcome to my blog, thank you for stopping by. If this is your first time to my blog, it's nice to meet you. If you've been here before, welcome back.

My writing journey has begun. The road will have some bumps and detours. I only hope that the first hill is not too high, and the journey is long.














Friday, February 24, 2012

Books With Cookies And Milk

See You At Harry's

See You At Harry's

Written by:  Jo Knowles

     I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of this book through NetGalley and I thought a lot about how I was going to write this review. I debated whether to do a detailed outline of what was going on in the story and finally opted on leaving that up to you as the reader and telling you a little more about Jo and just giving a touch on the story.   Jo has really done it this time!  I loved her first three books, “Lessons From A Dead Girl”, “Jumping Off Swings” and “Pearl”, but with “See You At Harry’s”, I felt more emotions than I thought possible with the reading of one book.  Jo takes you down a path where your heart breaks, heals and then soars.  She has a remarkable talent for writing; her words seem to flow effortlessly.  Jo captures the essence of her subject creating an inspiring reading experience.  I feel that her writing is a gift and she is the channel from inspiration to paper.  

     “See You At Harry’s” is coming out in May of this year.  This is Jo’s first, ‘middle-grade’ novel, where her other stories are for the Young Adult Genre, although I feel that this book is ageless. 
     When you stop by Harry’s you will meet, Fern, who is twelve, her older brother and sister, Holden and Sara, and then there is Charlie who is three.  Their parents own and run the family restaurant, “Harry’s Homemade Ice Cream and Family Restaurant”.  While reading this story I was drawn into the world of the characters and found their happenings truly realistic.  Here is a family that truly loves each other with realistic emotions of annoyance, grief, anger, despair and fear.
Thank you, Jo, for finding a way to share this beautiful story, not only for the sake of the story itself, but for the message you spread with it. 

If you haven’t already, please stop by her blog/journal at http://jbknowles.livejournal.com/ . 

     Reading her blog, leaves you with the feeling that you have known her forever, even though you may never have met.

 Chocolate Covered Brownie Ice Cream Sandwich Cookie Pops
For the Brownies:
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa, plus more for pan
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
pinch of kosher salt

For the Ice Cream Sandwiches:

1 quart vanilla ice cream, slightly softened
2 pounds chocolate chips
1 teaspoon oil
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 13x9inch pan. Place a sheet of parchment paper in the bottom, spread with butter, and dust with cocoa powder. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar, and 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder. When the mixture is creamy, and all lumps are gone, add in eggs, one at a time, incorporating well after each addition. Add in vanilla.
With the mixer on low, add in flour and salt. Mix until just combined. Spread into prepared pan and bake until shiny on the top, 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven, and allow to cool completely.
Remove brownie from the pan, and cut in half. Spread ice cream on one half, and top with the other half. Freeze for 2-4 hours, until firm.
Cut the large ice cream sandwich into smaller sandwiches. Insert wooden popsicle sticks, and freeze for another hour.
Melt the chocolate chips with the oil in the microwave in 30 second intervals, until chocolate is smooth. Dip each ice cream sandwich in the chocolate, and let set on a sheet of parchment paper. Wrap in parchment

Don't Forget The Milk!
Enjoy!

4 comments:

Lily Whalen said...

Sounds like a great book, Maeve, I'll look for it. The recipe sounds oh so yummy - too bad I gave up sugar for Lent... Mind you, Sundays are celebration days, and these brownie cookie pops sound like a great way to celebrate!

Patricia T. said...

I love MG novels. And, this one sounds very interesting. I like what you shared about the author,as I'm always intrigued about what inspires them. Wish I could eat chocolate.

Thanks for your comment on blog. Glad you liked the book. I thought of you as I reviewed it. I left you a note, but doubted you'd see it. I also reviewed another book the week before for parents called "Following Ezra," which is the best book out. The father wisely chooses to not fix his son, but to follow him. Great read and just good parenting.

Joanne said...

Looks like a great book! Cookie recipe looks good too! YUM!
Blessings, Joanne

Stacy S. Jensen said...

So delighted to see the return of books with cookies and milk. This looks like a great MG novel. Thanks for the review and recipe.