Whadya get...

... when you combine Frodo and Bilbo's birthday (September 22nd) with the Feast day of St. Pio (September 23rd)?

 No, I'm not kidding. Here at Chez Ouiz my kids are HUGE LOTR fans.
Seriously.
They even know the names of all the SWORDS, for goodness' sake.
It's intimidating.

So, what DO you do when you combine two "feasts" of such magnitude?

Well, you make a dessert, that's what!

But, being short on time (today was a l....o...n...g day of homeschooling) and not much inclined to spend hours making a traditional Italian dessert, we punted and did what we at Chez Ouiz do best -- being creative and making do! I looked at various tiramisu recipes on line and decided that (1) I have no idea what marscapone cheese is, nor do I want to make a dessert with it and (2) I don't have hours to "let the flavors blend." So, I went my normal route and fudged, made do, and created my own. (I am NOT a good recipe-follower. I use it as a guide, mostly)

Lady fingers? Yellow cake mix is fine.
 Frangelico liqueur? Kahlua will make a fine substitute.
Marsapone cheese? Nah... chocolate whipped cream frosting with kahlua will be a smashing substitute.

So, off I went!

I made two yellow cake "sections" (what do you call them??) and after they came out of the oven, I brushed a generous helping of kahlua all over the top of it... while reassuring my children that no, they would NOT be getting drunk after eating this.

Reilly made an amazing chocolate kahlua whipped cream frosting that was uber yummy.

What REALLY made it special, however, was the decorations.

 We wanted to celebrate BOTH "feasts," but how?

 Voila!

 

Yes, indeed...  you are, in fact, seeing a link of hobbits and elves led by Gandalf without the hat, which looks amazingly like Padre Pio.

The banner, which they are carrying, reads:

HBDBAF (We love you!)

HDDPP (Pray for us: we need it!)

Translated, that is:

"Happy Birthday, Bilbo and Frodo"

"Happy Death Day, Padre Pio"

We were laughing so hard in the middle of a gruesome Latin assignment over the possibility of such a dessert, that we decided that we had to stop and make it... and so we did.

Better view of Padre Pio, leading the way for the elves and hobbits.

I am truthfully not worried about the mixing of LOTR and Padre Pio, because we had a great time this evening talking about Padre Pio and the wonderful miracles and such attributed to him... and LOTR is such a huge part of our family lore, and we are well aware of all the Catholic symbolism in it. 

If it helps my children to remember, I am ALL for it!

So, Happy Feast Day, Padre Pio!

And happy birthday, Frodo and Bilbo!

[and yes, I'm already contemplating a joint "Feast of the Annunciation/Fall of Sauron" decoration that will forever fix in their minds the melding of the two]

God bless!