Chocolate Caramel Slice

I had to come out of hiding to share this bit of deliciousness. This was in the May 2007 issue of Bon Appetit and when I laid eyes on it I knew that we would be instant friends, it was love at first sight. I just got around to making them today and boy howdy are they good, good enough to break my vow of silence in the blog world. Think Twix candy bar but 10x better, maybe 20x even. This is the recipe that I used, but I wasn't crazy about the crust. There are better recipes out there for a more buttery crust. The caramel and chocolate were perfect together, how can you go wrong with those two? They are a match made in heaven. I did a Google search for these babies and found a lot of variations, some with coconut in the crust, some use crushed cookies, plus I learned about Copha (a shortening derived from coconut)but most stay true to the same ingredients. Bring these to your next barbeque and you will be the most popular person there. Really, I don't know where these have been all my life or how I have managed to get this far without them in my life. I do believe my life is now complete. Now I will resume my hiatus, I've got more important things to do, like watch So You Think You Can Dance.

Photo: Taste.com.au

Salsa

I need a good bottled salsa recommendation. I have been on a lifelong quest for THE perfect "go to" salsa that I can keep on hand. I have tried a number of mediocre jarred salsas in my lifetime, but none of them are worth keeping around. It used to be Pace Picante, but it lacks that certain something, then Goya Pico de Gallo, but either they changed or I changed. I've tried the Desert Pepper brands and they are good, but not knock your socks off good, Newman's, Chi Chi's, Frontera Grill to name a few, I think I have tried them all. I recently tried an Archer Farms brand that has promise, but I continue to search. If you have found your true love, your soul mate in salsas will you please share the love? I am sure I am not alone in this search.

photo: williams-sonoma.com