Bonni Brodnick Blog

I have made about 18,000 batches of "Hello Dollies" this holiday season. Many thanks to my dear colleague (and you know who you are!) ... friends and family continue to depend on me for providing this "I can't stop eating it," gooey, chocolatey, coconut-y absolument delicious holiday treat. I share, herein, a sacred recipe from my inner cookbook files.   Now you're cooking! ~ H el l o D o l l i es ~ These are also known as 6 Layer Bars - because the 6 ingredients in the recipe are layered one by one in the pan. You can't get much easier than that and they are so good that folks will be begging you to stop baking them.  Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter 1 1/2 cups graham wafer crumbs 1 cup chopped walnuts 1 cup chocolate chips 1 1/2 cups flaked coconut 1 can sweetened condensed milk (Eagle Brand, 300ml) Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt butt...

My daughter's flight from Oahu to JFK was ahead of this horrendous storm band. She is safe at home with us. So incredibly wonderful to have her back in New England. I wish you all the very best this holiday season. Take a moment for "OM" and appreciate your family and friends. Merry Christmas !

Has it happened to you yet this season? You are at a holiday party and you see a friend or colleague wearing an outrageous Christmas sweater. You mumble quietly to yourself as you take a swig of eggnog, "Are you serious ?" or ... "Realllly??" or ... "I love your moxie," or ... "You've got it goin' on guy (or girl)," or ... "Did you buy that sweater at CVS or Michael's?" or ... "I think I've all respect for you," or ... "Is the popcorn stitch back in fashion?" This is the week to pull out your ugly holiday sweater and go for it! We love BOLD . Show the world your savoir-flair as a Christmas fashionista. And if "they" don't like it ... well, they can go to ...

Ordered my holiday cards. The big transition question this year was how to sign them. Since the children are 24 and 26, grownup, with jobs, one living in Hawaii and the other in Manhattan, do we continue to sign the card with their names?  For decades I sent great photo holiday cards. I have an album of them saved. The cards feature shots of the children (at 4- and 6-years old) sitting in a row boat or (at 7- and 9-years old) in a pile of autumn leaves. Another shows them playing on the beach at Martha's Vineyard (11 and 13-years old). Remember the one (at 14-and 16 years old) hugging our Corgi, Willis in the field in Pound Ridge? Or the one of David and Annie under a palm tree (at 15- and 17 years old) in Puerto Rico? Because of their geographical locations in 2014, believe it or not, I have one ... count ONE ... photo of my children together: goofing around in the pool wearing swimming goggles and straw hats. The shot is over-bleached from the sun on a hot August afternoon. S...

Click here for a few tips from my Huffington Post , "Conversation Etiquette Tips for the Holidays (And Always)." Go ahead. I'll forgive you if you don't look up at me, talk my head off and, even worse, do so with food in your mouth. It's the holidays!

Inspired by the work of the Italian sculptor, Luca della Robbia (1400-1482), this style of arrangement is luscious with its combination of artificial fruits and pine cones. The wreath bespeaks the holidays. I happened upon this one on a table at a local holiday bazaar that was about to close. I had found a treasure. When I went to pay, I asked who had made it, since it looked Pound Ridge Garden Club vintage ... and likely I knew its creator. "You'll have to ask Virginia. She would know," said my friend at check-out. I saw Virginia at a party today and was thrilled when she told me. Pat Medvecky. A brilliant floral designer who was my mentor. I am honored to have this (along with an alligator handbag she once bequeathed me.)  Pat passed away several years ago , but this beautiful della Robbia is a lasting tribute to her artistry and flair.

This was, by far, the best question I was asked today. I was at the supermarket and noticed a forlorn older couple walking up and down the snack aisle. (They were actually pretty adorable on their mutual quest.) "Have you seen where the Mallomars are?" the wife asked me as she pushed her shopping cart. "I heard they only make them in the winter," the husband said. "He just loves his Mallomars," the wife said as her husband continued searching. The winter thing piqued my interest big time. Was the husband dispelling an Urban Myth? I did a little research and ... yes, it is true. Nabisco Mallomars are only available six months out of the year. According to cookie lore, production is suspended during the summer months because of a low melting point and possible discoloration of the pure chocolate coating. Basically, Mallomars are for folks who don't want to sit by a campfire and make S'mores in the winter.  Production of Mallomars st...

Many thanks to all who came out on this rainy day for the Pound Ridge Past   book signing. It was great to see you! If you missed the signing and would like a copy to give as a gift for the holidays,  click here . Read about Pound Ridge when it looked the like hills of Hollywood. Learn where the "Wizard of Oz" lived. And was that Tallulah Bankhead sitting on the bar singing at Emily Shaw's Inn? Are there still ghosts near the wine room? What happened the day World War II ended? And who built a bomb shelter in their backyard in the 1960s? So much to learn about this wonderful town that is often referred to as "God's Country."  If you order a copy of Pound Ridge Past  now, I'll be sure you have it in time for Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa.

I'll be at Pound Ridge Library on Saturday, December 6 from 11-2pm signing my book, POUND RIDGE PAST: Remembrances of Our Townsfolk. (Have you read the one about it snowing on Christmas Eve in the hamlet in the late-1940s and the bell at Conant Hall ringing? It's one of my favorites in the book.) Come down for some holiday cheer and meet the Pound Ridge Authors Society. 

Black and White and  Color.

William Powers embraces simplicity in his journey from a Queens townhouse to a 350-square foot apartment in Greenwich Village. Find your sanctuary. This is an inspiring interview on NPR ( click here ).  (I also like the simplification of having only six things hanging in the closet. Everything is all white.) 

Mark your calendar!  More than 15 Pound Ridge authors will be at the holiday gig at the library from 11-2 on Saturday, December 6.  I'll be signing copies of my book,   POUND RIDGE PAST: Remembrances of Our Townsfolk  and look forward to seeing you! (You can also order copies by clicking here .) Books are great gifts that can be opened again and again ... and again. (And who doesn't like a gift like that?!?)