Recipe

*** Easter Egg Caramel Slice ***

Ingredients:  1 and 1/2 cups plain flour, sifted
                      1/3 cup caster sugar
                      80 grams butter, chopped
                      1 egg yolk
                       2 tablespoons cold water
                      500 grams mini solid Easter eggs
                      1 cup shredded coconut
                      395 gram can sweetened condensed milk

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease a 3cm deep, 16.5cm x 26cm (base) slab pan. Line base and sides with baking paper, allowing a 2cm overhang on all four sides (for easier removal from tin later)
2. Combine flour, sugar and butter in a food processor until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. (This can also be done by hand)
3. Add egg yolk and water and process until mixture comes together. Press mixture into base of pan and bake for 15 minutes or until light golden. Set aside to cool.
4. Unwrap Easter eggs and place on base to cover. Sprinkle with coconut.
5. Drizzle condensed milk over the slice. Bake for about 30 minutes or until edges are deep golden and centre is firm to touch. Allow to cool in pan.
6. Cut into slices and serve.   

     
I'm unsure as to the origin of this recipe. C had cut it out of a magazine and pasted it in her recipe scrapbook. It may have been from "Super Food Ideas" but I can't verify this. Anyway, it is certainly delicious and a family favourite here. We have so many Easter eggs in the house right now I think I may just have to make it again!

Football update: Hawthorn lost. Much disappointment. Despite my earlier statement about not watching this game, I'll admit I watched most of it except for the last ten minutes which was so stressful I had to leave the room.
Here's a photo of two of the girls taking it easy at the MCG, presumably before the game started, which I stole from E's facebook page.

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While I'm here, an overdue movie re-cap is probably in order.
There is nothing on TV at the moment. Not a single program that interests me. Consequently, I've been watching movies most nights.
Quite a mix from 1940-41 and one recent film. Some good. Some better than others. I fell asleep during two of them which was more to do with my excessive tiredness than any particular fault with the movies involved.
Without being too long-winded (hopefully), I have watched the following:

"Waterloo Bridge" starring Vivien Leigh as a beautiful ballerina who ends up doing what is necessary to survive on the streets of London after her fiance, Robert Taylor, goes off to war and is presumed dead. A real tear-jerker, although to be honest, if it starred anyone other than the divine Vivien Leigh, I probably wouldn't have watched it again.

"The Grapes of Wrath" is set in the Depression era and concerns a family who are driven off their land in Oklahoma and must make their way across the USA to California in search of work and a better life. Brilliant and heart-breaking and uniformly well-acted by the entire cast.

"The Maltese Falcon". First example of the Film Noir genre. Extremely complicated plot where close attention is required in order to determine who exactly is double-crossing who. Humphrey Bogart's rapid fire method of delivering his lines doesn't help! Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet in supporting roles definitely steal the show.

"Sergeant York" starred Gary Cooper in the oscar winning lead role as a peace-loving farmer who goes to war and returns a hero. I loved this. Gary Cooper's acting style is understated but excellent.

"How Green Was My Valley" won the Best Movie oscar for 1941. Set in a Welsh mining town, it deals with hardship, strikes, mining accidents and family scandals, all from the point of view of the youngest child in the Morgan family - Roddy McDowall, aged about 11. Wonderful.

"Penny Serenade" starred Cary Grant and Irene Dunne, two of my favourites as I've mentioned previously. It veered between comedy and drama with the latter more prominant as it progressed. Sad but enjoyable.

"Sullivan's Travels" is, admittedly, a relatively recent discovery. I watched this for the first time only two or three years ago. Joel McCrea is a wealthy film maker who travels across the US in the guise of a hobo in order to research the lives of the down and out for a movie he wants to make. Veronica Lake is a struggling actress who accompanies him on his journey. Very enjoyable.

  

"Meet John Doe" starred Gary Cooper in the title role as a homeless man at the centre of a media con who ultimately inspires everyone around him, including the headline-grabbing media types, to be better people. Definitely brought a tear to my eyes.

  "Citizen Kane". So much has been written about this movie over the years. There's nothing for me to add except to say that it is an amazing work of art. Every single camera angle and screenshot has been so perfectly created. Pure genius.

 Finally, I watched one more recent film : "Midnight in Paris". So very beautiful. The opening few minutes which consists of gorgeous image after image of Paris from morning to night is breathtaking.

Well, there's nothing quite like an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink blog post is there? Probably should have waited until tomorrow but I had some time on my hands while waiting for our dinner to show up!