out of north korea, the funeral procession for kim jong-il, the reception through the streets of pyongyang and people weeping uncontrollable. was that for real or was that staged? we'll get into all of that. also ahead, money questions answered, for example, how do you manage to pay down debt in your life, while managing to keep enough money on the side to actually enjoy your life. our money 911 experts will be weighing in on that question and many others. >> we have a lot of good questions this morning and also a segment made tailored for resident germophobe, mr. matt lauer. how to avoid nasty germs on flights. >> unavoidable. >> don't fly. carl quintanilla is in while natalie is taking time off. good morning. >> good morning, everyone. a rare glimpse into north korea as a massive funeral procession for long time leader kim jong-il paraded through the streets of pi i don't think ang. nbc's adrienne mong has the latest from south korea. >> reporter: in the end, they put on an elaborate show, under heavy snowfall, a long line of vehicles made its way slowly through the capital pyongyang. it was led by two vehicles in particular, one a limousine, bearing a portrait of the late kim jong-il and another the hearse believed to be carried the remains, joined by kim jong-un, also joined by his uncle. thousands mourning and wailing, asking for their dear leader as they called him to come back, telling everybody that he was the man who gave them everything. back to you, carl. >> nbc's adrienne mong in seoul, thanks. new information on the cause of a deadly krs mass morning fire in stamford, connecticut. for the if, time we're hearing one of the 911 calls placed as the tragedy unfolded. craig melvin is in stamford this morning. good morning to you. >> reporter: carl, good morning to you as well. workers behind me have been removing what's left of the badger family home. there's a memorial, flowers, teddy bears, a card from a small child. you can't see it but i talked to a firefighter who left a flower there a short time ago and he talked about what dozens of the firefighters saw here on christmas morning. he said they were so traum tilesed that many of them have had to have not one but two rounds of counseling. neighbors saw flames shooting as high as the trees and heard the trapped children screaming. >> there is a huge fire at the house next door to us, the whole house is on fire. it's a major fire and there's three kids and a woman. >> we have the fire department on the way, ma'am. >> please, please come quickly. >> are. >> reporter: firefighters arrived and found 47-year-old madonna badger on the roof, shouting. frantic, shouting, desperately she tried directing firefighters to her family but the flames were too hot, the smoke too thick. >> after 37 1/2 years, 38 years on the job, you're never prepared for anything like this. it's heartbreaking. >> reporter: officials believe badger and her friend, mike, had started a fire in the fireplace. shortly after 3:00 christmas morning they put it out. >> the fire appears to have been caused by hot fireplace ash and embers which had been gis carded. discard discarded. >> reporter: the blaze spread quickly to the second and third floors. everyone woke up and tried to get out but five didn't make it. lily badger was 10. twins sarah and grace 7. their grandparents, lomer and paula johnson, were visiting for the holidays. the day before he died, lomer played st. nick at saks fifth avenue. firefighters found him just outside an upstairs window, trying to help his granddaughter escape. >> there were a pile of books. looks like she was placed on the books so he could get out the window and then reach in and grab her, but when he went out the window, that's when he succumbed. >> reporter: tuesday officials said no one should have been living in the victorian house because of ongoing renovations. they are not sure if the home had working smoke detectors or fire alarms. they'll know for certain when they talk to madonna badger again. right now, they're letting her grieve. >> that poor woman lost her entire family in one foul swoop. i couldn't imagine how she feels. >> reporter: michael boracina last check was in fair condition at a nearby hospital. at this point we have not heard about funeral arrangements for the three small children or two grandparents. >> craig melvin, thank you for that. new reports this morning as to what sparked a huge brawl at minnesota's mall of america on monday. nine people were arrested, up to 200 shoppers reportedly involved in the scuffle. fighting each other, grabbing items from other shoppers and kiosks. witnesses are reporting the frenzy was touched off by rumors the rappers lil wayne and drake were visiting the mall. local police did conot confirm the rumors were to blame. there were no serious injuries reported. the clock is ticking toward the big celebration that will mark the end of the year in new york. on tuesday, workers installed the final panels on the glittery ball that will drop new year's eve from high atop times square. this year's theme is let there be friendship. and there's a new video of roller man, the real life transformer who seems to have roller blade skates growing out of every part of his body. he is the alter ego of 41-year-old jean yves blandeau, who likes to speed down roads in the french and swiss alps. probably needs a good chiropractor. six minutes past the hour with stephanie and a check of the weather. >> i don't know what's more dangerous that or two 16-year-olds getting their license. what are you going to do for your 16th birth day? >> i'm going to see "wicked." >> what are you doing? >> shopping. >> carl this is what you have to look forward to when your babies grow up. you're going to be celebrating with a mess into the northwest but don't let that stop you. enjoy it, clouds, rain, snow into the higher elevations over the next 24 hours, otherwise the rest of the country is looking pretty dry here and sunny. >> good morning.k ahe dryer conditions but the wind is picking up. gusts >> and it's a baby boy. i said where is the baby? you said -- >> belly. >> not quite out yet. savannah, all yours. ♪ money, money, money, always sunny ♪ >> thanks. now to "today's money 911" where we answer some of your most pressing financial questions. courtney reagan, correspondent for cnbc, david bach, founder of finishrich.com and author of "debt free for life" and sharon epperson, cnbc's personal financial correspondent. good morning. too early to say happy new year? >> happy birthday. >> thank you, i was stretching it out one for day. first question e-mail, jacqueline in honolulu, hawaii, i havele examinent credit but i just canceled one card as i wanted another airline card. i was told it could hurt my credit score if i cancel a card. is this true? courtney, a lot of people wonder this. you hear this. what is the truth? >> seems not to make sense but it does impact your credit negatively if you cancel a credit card. there are five factors that go in to determining that credit score, payment history, amount owed, types of credit, it's new credit and all of these things together make up that credit score. two of them make up your credit utilization, so the easiest way to explain this is with an example. if you have four credit cards, say that total is $30,000 of available credit and you have 10,000 of an outstanding balance. 10,000 divided by 30,000 is 30%, you're managing your credit fairly well according to the credit agencies. however, you cancel one of the cards you lose $10,000 of available credit, so now you're $10,000, over $20,000, you have a 50% credit utilization. not as good. >> around 30% is a sweet spot. >> keep it at 10% you may improve your score. that's what they want to see. >> 10% would be ideal. >> 10% boo be ideal. >> david, next one for you, skype, kevin in sherman oaks, california, up early with us. kevin, good morning. >> good morning. >> go ahead with your question. >> my wife and i have two kids, ages 3 and 1. plus a third on the way. we'd like to start some sort of college fund for them. we've heard about a 529 account, but don't know if this is the best option. what else is out there for us? also, if we do set up the fund, we set it up in their names or in our names? >> first of all mostly you're speaking about saving for college and the key is to save automatically. so every time you get paid, whatever plan you use, you want to be saving every two weeks when you get paid. having that money removed from your checking account into whatever you choose to use for college savings. the 529 plan is what i use for both my kids. here's why. first of all it's in my name. i looic that. in your case it's in your name. i control the money, you control the money, the kids don't control the money. the money grows tax free until i take it out for education costs. it will be the same thing for you. so it's tax deferred growth and you control the money, that's the key. if you choose not to do a 529 plan, you can look at what's called an educational i.r.a. or a cloverdale account. i don't like those because you can only put up to $2,000 into it and it depends on how much money you earn so i choose the 529 plan, go to savingforcollesavingforcolleg savingforcollege.com, review the 529 plans across the country. every state right now has a plan. in many cases the plan in your state will allow to you get an extra tax deduction, a small tax deduction but check based on your state. >> thanks, kevin, hope that answers your question. another e-mail from michelle who writes, "our oldest daughter will begin college in the fall of 2012. we established a 529 account for her years ago and contribute to it regularly. recently a high-interest cd of hers matured and we're wondering whether we should roll this into her 529. how does it affect the fafsa, and is there any advantage of having the money be in her name or in our names?" sophisticated viewer this is morning. >> i have a 529 for my kids. i love it. the reason why it's terrific, this is in your name and when it's in your name, that's better for financial aid. you'll be assessed at a lower rate than it was in the students' name so that cd should go into a 529 plan, regardless of who the owner is, it will be assessed at the parents rate that's under 6% compared to the student's rate which would be assessed at 20%. the other thing that as david mentioned the tax free withdrawals and the growth tax free, that's great for financial aid purposes as well. the thing to remember, less than a year, couple months away from going to college, don't. you the this money all in equities. you can find cds, money market accounts within a 529 plan, that's where the money should be invested, savingforcollege.com a great place to go and also for financial aid. >> lisa's question from granger, india indiana, i'm in debt, trying to climb out but there is no money left after paying bills. is there a way to attack debt load and still live a bit, that i'm not seeing? >> i think this problem is two-fold. first thing is tackle that debt, make it as low as possible. the first thing i would do is call up the different billing companies or billing agencies that deal with the different debts that you owe. see if they will settle with you, if you agree to pay it a little bit sooner, perhaps even immediately, they will not knock some of that off. second prioritize those debts. pay off the ones that have the highest interest rates first so that's the first part. second part, stretch that income. what i want you to do is write down everything you spend for a month, everything from the rent that you pay to the soda that you buy at the gas station. it's going to be hard but it's like a food diary. will you see where every penny goes and it's much easier to cut back that way, and last but not least, make little cuts where you can. pack your lunch, carpool to work. all of that adds up in a big way especially if you do it over time. >> thank you so much. good questions from our smart viewers and smart panelists, courtney reagan, david bach, sharon epperson thank you. coming up next, staying healthy while you travel, how to avoid catching a cold on your next flight. plus sweet treats from the sugar mamas. we'll have them coming up. oh, hi, yes...wow, you really went all out on the decorations, huh?! yeah, but i'm so slow taking them down after all the fatty holiday food. but that's normal. what do you mean that's normal? it doesn't have to be. to me, normal, means feeling good inside. not slow. try some activia. activia helps with occasional irregularity, when eaten 3 times a day. keep a video diary and let me know about your new normal. love your new normal or it's free. 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[ male announcer ] now there's a mileage card that offers special perks on united, like a free checked bag, united club passes, and priority boarding. thanks. ♪ okay. what's your secret? ♪ [ male announcer ] the new united mileageplus explorer card. get it and you're in. ♪ come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away ♪ this morning on "tooled's health" germs on a plane. the scariest thing you might encounter when you're flying over the holidays is a fellow passenger hacking and coughing. what can you do to stay healthy? dr. cakeri peterson, contributo to "women's health." flying is nasty. >> it is, if you don't take proper precautions. >> what is the likelihood of getting sick after a flight? >> there have been great studies that looked at this. when the h1n1 virus came out, 2% of passengers that boarded the plane with a virus. they followed up with all the passengers a week later, and five additional percent of the passengers had gotten the same exact strain of virus and depends on where you sit in the plane. if you're sitting within two rows of someone who has flu symptoms you increase your likelihood of getting sick by 3.6% and within two seats of someone beside you, it doubles to 7.7%. >> so it's not a coincidence. >> no. >> you say there are four main reasons you get sick on airlines and you start with the security checkpoint. >> um-hum, even before you get on the plane you're putting yourself at risk of exposure. people are bunched in lines, they're on top of you, in front of you, behind you, they're coughing and sneezing all over you, probably not covering their mouths, and then think about the security bins that you put your handbag in, your jacket in. what else are you putting in there, your shoes, the bottom of your shoes that have touched every germ imaginable on the floor are lining that bin. you might as well take the bottom of your shoe and wipe it on your clothing. >> you already mentioned passengers nearby in the hot zone so to speak and the environment on the plane, the air we know is relatively dry and that makes your body less likely to fight off infection. >> it does at 30,000 feet the air is dry and viruses thrive in that environment and not to mention that same dry air drys out the lining of your nose. when your mucus membranes are dry you're more susceptible to infection and more likely to become dehydrated and dehydration makes you susceptible. >> whether or not the air is recirculated enough. they have filters. >> a lot of people think they're not effective but they happen to be extremely effective. they filter 99.7% of germs and viruses and bacteria. however, the issue is when the plane is idle, when passengers are coming in and exiting the plane, or if it's delayed on the tarmac there is a high incidence of germs spreading like wildfires. there have been studies as well, a plane stuck on the tarmac for three hours with 54 patients on it, 72% of them got the flu from one source passenger. >> wow. >> and that is why the faa actually began advising planes to get passengers off the plane if it's idle for more than 30 minutes. >> 30 minutes. so you say preparing yourselves, let's start by talking about what you can do before you go to the airport. >> okay, there are a few things. first get your flu shot. the best way you can protect yourself against getting the flu and at "women's health" bring a travel health kit, put in tissues, pain relievers and anti-bacterial hand rub if you don't have water and also soap. and then finally eat healthy, lots of fruits and vegetables and exercise. those boost your immune system. >> while you're traveling, there are more tips on that front, right? >> especially on the plane. hydrate well, bring a bottle of water and saline spray to keep your nasal passages lubricated, bring disinfek cant wipes and wash down the high risk areas, the armrests, tray tables and television buttons and wash your hands frequently and use sanitizer. three things to avoid, the first is avoid shared items. if they're not wrapped in plastic like the pillows, the blankets, the magazines, stay away from them. here is another little trick, the air vent, don't blow it on your face. direct it just in front of you, it directs the germs away from you instead of on you, and then finally, be aware of your surroundings if you hear a passenger within that two-row hot zone, ask if you can change your seat. >> good luck with that last one. >> if there's a seat available. >> keri, thank you very much. dr. keri peterson. coming up, are you worried whether your child will find a job after graduating from college? what they can do now to improve their chances, but first these messages. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? 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[ female announcer ] delicious, creamy, yoplait light. over 30 flavors each around 100 calories. do the swap today. over 30 flavors each around 100 calories. fresher less processed foods introducing freshpet recipes so fresh the only preservative we use is the fridge freshpet fresh food for fido you're welcome, mija! coraliz has the manners of an adult and something else adult-like. my treatment. at st. jude children's research hospital, we pioneered the new use of an adult cancer drug that could help save kids like coraliz across america. what does research mean? to mommies and daddies, it means everything. give thanks for the healthy kids in your life and give to those who are not. go to st. jude.org or shop wherever you see our magnifying glass. john. loo. latrine. head. bog. the oval office. the porcelain throne. the toilet. no matter what you call it, clorox has been trusted to keep it clean for nearly 100 years. you squashed my willpower like a fly. you looked so innocent and so sweet. convinced my lips that we should meet. you were a relentless flirt. oh no we had indecent dessert. twinkle twinkle hope appears. a stevia leaf erased my fears. it made my willpower a super hero. as for calories, it has zero. twinkle twinkle truvia® star, natural sweetness, i love just what you are. truvia®. honestly sweet. still ahead, kathie lee and hoda catch up with bret michaels. >> and delicious desserts with the sugar mamas, after your local news. ...there are no sick days. ♪ vicks dayquil. defeats 5 cold & flu symptoms. [ snoring ] [ indistinct talking on tv ] [ snoring ] [ male announcer ] vicks nyquil cold and flu. the nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep you ever got with a cold...medicine. ♪ is this your normal? jamie lee curtis?? oh, hi, yes...wow, you really went all out on the decorations, huh?! yeah, but i'm so slow taking them down after all the fatty holiday food. but that's normal. what do you mean that's normal? it doesn't have to be. to me, normal, means feeling good inside. not slow. try some activia. activia helps with occasional irregularity, when eaten 3 times a day. keep a video diary and let me know about your new normal. love your new normal or it's free. man: i propose 3 cheers for those we leave behind. hip hip hooray! [cheering] father: congratulations. it's in paper now. [laughs] great job. congratulations. i'm proud of you. all right. oh, fine. ensign elliot. who's gonna salute him? guys, who gets to salute him first? >> live, local, latebreaking. this is a wbal-tv 11 news update. >> sunshine today, gusty winds out of the west. it will make things look pretty chilly. highs only reach into the low 40's. not much of a warming trend today. we turn chilly tonight. warmer weather [ female announcer ] they've been off limits to dieters since time began. not anymore. fiber one is bringing brownies back. at 90 calories, the only thing between you and chocolaty brownies... ♪ ...is a nicely designed package. ♪ you can have brownies again. fiber one 90 calorie brownies. in the granola bar aisle. caramel...pretzel 90 calorie bar. ♪ [ laughter ]. and we're still laughing. that's michael mcarthur, the baby who put smiles on millions of faces in 2011, laughing hysterically as his dad ripped up a job rejection letter. that's been viewed more than 32 million times on youtube. he'll be here with other folks who made it big on youtube, that's tomorrow on "today." stephanie apparently a fan of the "friday" song. it is tough out there to find a job, no question about that. believe it or not there is good news as well, where should your young adults looking for work look and how much can they expect to make? answers coming up. deborah sharpe author behind the "mace bauer" mysteries. we are new book is filled with mysteries and laughs, too. the self-proclaimed sugar mamas. everybody should have a sugar mamas. they're in the house to share some of their favorite dessert recipes, unapologetic sweet stuff. >> i love it, two former lawyers i believe. >> and rock stars. >> two sugar mamas, not just one sugar mama. you got two. >> let's get a check of the weather. stephanie abrams is here. >> new year's eve is right around the corner. here we go your midnight forecast, it is really looking phenomenal across the country, a little bit cold in the northern tier but nothing that you can't handle and as we take you into times square, look at this, partly cloudy, i don't know that you can call 36 to 40 degrees cold, right, guys? >> who writes that? >> i think it's cold. >> not for new york city. >> there you go. >> true, on new year's eve. what is your forecast >> good morning. the skies are clearing but the wind is picking up. high tempera >> are you guys the new year's resolution types? >> no, why bother. break them every year. you? >> no. >> good talk. >> i need to, i just don't bother. stephanie, thank you so much. coming up next what your college student can do to improve his or her chances of finding work after graduation, coming up right after this. ou h. ♪ imagination ♪ imagination imagination ♪ ♪ helps you see the world in different ways ♪ yay! yay! ♪ this is a pony ♪ and this is a choo-choo ♪ [ male announcer ] it's movie time. and this is a... 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[ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. millions of americans are struggling to find work, a fact that isn't lost on college students preparing to begin their careers. so what can recent college graduates and kids who are still in school do to improve their unemployment odds? cat cohen is ceo and founder of ivy wise. >> good morning. >> graduates and parents look around, see the unemployment rate is 8.6% and they think there's no chance. is that true? >> well, those numbers are scary but the good news is the unemployment rate for college graduates is only 4.4%. so you're twice as likely to be employed if you have a college degree, and i tell students, though, a job isn't just going to fall into your lap. students have to work for this. they have to be proactive. they have to network and utilize their resources and colleges are doing a lot to help students with the job placement. it's important when a student gets to their college, find out what the internship opportunities are and what the career service resources are available to them. >> when you graduate i think employers are in some cases looking for work experience and a new graduate might say i don't have much work experience. i just got out of school iof sc. what is your advice to them? >> they're not only being counseled on which career path they should choose but being provided resources on resumes, cover letters to interview etiquette and exposing their students to various industries, helping with internship placement, they might be hosting career expos on their campus, they're inviting professionals to come and speak, preparing students with alumni so for example, barnard has a program called m.a.p.s., matching alumni to partner with students. an alumni will mentor a student and they have this program, take a barnard student to work and what's also great about barnard you can borrow a suit from their suitable suits closet for your interview. >> that's a great program and the importance of networking and internships cannot be overstated in this case. let's talk about job sectors and salaries and where some of the hot spots are right now for jobs. >> right, well according to the national association of colleges and employers, january 2012 salary survey, they're reporting that the top industries for job placement are hospitals, elementary and secondary schools, justice, retail, computer systems design and actually the highest salaries are going to graduates in computer science, engineering, business, and health sciences, and in terms of colleges, actually, the highest starting salaries are coming from mit, cal tech, loma linda, molloy and harvey mudd. those start between $60,000 and $70,000 for a starting median salary and that's really high. >> the average salary overall is up year over year. >> it is. they're reporting, nace is reporting for the class of 2011, graduates, their starting salary is up to $41,701, which is up 2.3% from the class of 2010. >> so what do you say to those, all right, mit, i'm not going to mit. i might not go to an ivy league school at all. am i going to make anywhere close to that money? >> you don't have to go to an ivy league school as we see from the top salary list, none of which are ivies. the select school is not a dealmaker. we tell students college is what you make of it. you've got to make an impact while you're there. you want to network with your peers and your professors, take advantage of academic and research opportunities, get involved in organizations and local community. ultimately employers are going to be looking for how you've made that impact while you're there. and they're also going to be looking for things, what i call soft factors so your work ethic, your communications skills, how well you collaborate with others, problem-solving and critical thinking skills, and those, you can get at any college so that's, you should really cast your net wide. >> you make the point, too, if you're afraid of taking on a lot of debt to go to school it might pay off in the long run. >> it does. graduates aren't coming out of school, with an average of $25,000 in debt, they are coming out with that average, but think of this in terms of long-term payoff. college is an investment that will pay off for the rest of your life. the college board reports that people with a four-year college degree will actually make $1 million more over the course of their lifetime than those with just a high school diploma. i always say the more you learn, the more you earn. >> that will get people's attention. kat, thank you much. up next, deborah sharpe on her latest novel. and the sugar mamas will share their favorite cookie recipes. can't wait for that, but first these messages. 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[ male announcer ] fiber beyond recognition. fiber one. back now a movie shoot in a southern florida town that turns deadly and that's when the fun begins. the presence of mama sees stars." deborah sharpe, the author is here, practically related to us, also the wife of nbc's kerry sanders. deborah, good to have you here. >> thank you, great to be here. >> tell us about this latest one, mama sees stars, hollywood comes to your fictional town of himershey, florida. >> gave me the opportunity for the fish out of water. a hollywood movie company invades this town. mace bauer gets her job as a horse wrangler and her mama sees this as a chance to become a star. >> as the title indicates. what is mama's behavior? >> always over the top, happily over the top, right, and she just cannot wait to get a speaking role in this movie and she spends her whole time trying to do that. unfortunately, they find a body, and that kind of throws things -- >> i was going to say the drama seems to happen behind the scenes instead of in the movie, the executive producer turns up dead. how did that happen? >> well, it's funny, people always ask how do you get your ideas? this particular idea i was a former journalist, and i had an assignment to go and trail somebody on a movie set so i went to a big hollywood movie set shooting in florida, and this executive producer was so obnoxious to me and he yelled at me and he did this and he did that. he made me feel this small, so i thought 20 years later, so i'm going to kill that guy. >> you don't hold a grudge or anything. >> still hold a grudge, that's where the idea came from. >> turns up there are a lot of suspects. this guy is so mean, so nasty. >> that's right. >> he's got a lot of enemies. >> he really does, conkniniving crew members to the spoiled stars, a lot want him dead. >> there's humor in addition. mama, who is settling on her fifth husband. >> number five. he is a keeper she believes. we won't say that for sure. >> mace has complicated love relationships. >> mace bauer is the main character although mama thinks she's the main character. >> she does get the title character all the time. >> the middle daughter mace is the main character and the amateur sleuth and has a rocky relationship with her hot, hunky detective from miami, florida. >> the library journal gave you a starred review which is great. they noticed how you mixed humor in a murder mystery. is that hard to pull off? >> it is a little hard and a line to walk. really homicide is not funny. i was a reporter for many years but you have to find funny ways to go over the top with these characters and whatnot so that's what i try to bring the humor in. >> the nice buzz on the book and had a red carpet book signing i believe. we have video of you on the red carpet. ooh there's a lone paparazzi. no, i thought we were going to see keri there. you have legions of fans. >> legions. >> it's just you and i. is kerry supportive of your writing? >> he's incredible. >> did he ever give you good ideas? >> he does give me good ideas and he actually reads the book. >> good for him. is he legally required to? >> he must. >> are you working on your next one? >> i am, that's called "mama gets trashed." >> my goodness. based oen what we know about mama that's not really a surprise. deborah sharp great to have you here. "mama sees stars" is the book. thanks so much. >> thank you. coming up next some sweet suggestions to liven up your new year's celebration but first this is "today" on nbc. we're there already having fun. ♪ sugar, oh, honey, honey this morning on "today's holiday kitchen" tasty desserts to sweeten your new year's party. the sugar mamas, authors of the new cookbook "sugar, sugar, every recipe has a story. "kimberly, jenna, good morning. you nee to tie memories to sweets which as kids is something we all understand. >> absolutely. those are the best memories is around the desserts so we focused solely on that. >> as we like to say no one wants to talk about the brussel sprouts. everyone wants to talk about the dessert when they unbutton their pants at the table, silently. >> you guys became pals in law school and now you've moved on to this. what made you attracted to sweets. >> what doesn't? >> i guess that's the question. anything to not practice law. everybody goes to law school but -- >> right. >> that's what i was getting at. what are we making first? >> well, we are making some party pickups for new year's and we are going to start with lemon starlets. first you into ed to make your tart shells. you pink and push. if you want to pink a little dough off of there, roll it into a ball and press it with your thumb into the tin. you really can't get this wrong. >> are you sure? >> go with your basic store-bought dough? >> we've made this or you could grab store bought. >> let's be honest, the tart shells are a vehicle to get the luscious lemon filling straight into your mouth. >> how do we make that lemon filling? >> well, we're going to come over here and we have two eggs and two egg yolks and we are going to mishky the eggs together. >> is that from jewish cooking history in. >> yes, that's our technical term we like to use. then what you're going to do is just put the eggs over some boiling water. >> oh. >> and then if you'd like to, savannah, please add -- >> butter i think. >> butter. >> yep. >> this is going to make your lemon kurd. >> lemon kurd right now. then we are going to add -- >> you really do use sugar. >> yes. >> how much is there a full cup? >> yes. >> this is lemon juice and lemon zest. >> okay. >> and we are going to mix this together, and this is going to cook on medium-low heat for about ten minutes, until it cooks. >> you use the double boiler. >> you canboiler or a glass bowl over the pot. >> it gets to be the consistency of about mayonnaise and that's how you know it's done. >> exactly. >> we have our finished tart shells over here, and then we have the lemon kurd, and this is the fun part. now we get to assemble. >> okay. >> i like to take a spoon, and -- >> eat it out of the bowl. >> that's what i do. >> she does. >> for this segment we're not going to do that. >> she's very dainty about her spoons. >> you don't need to pipe it in a bag. >> i like to grab it and squeeze it in there. >> is there advantage to one technique over another? >> no, i like to make it pretty. >> and i've got pleases to be. >> what do you have on the top, meringue? >> we reserved some of the egg whites and added variety to the display. >> refrigerate how long? >> refrigerate until you serve and you want to serve these right before midnight to make sure that you pucker up for your midnight kiss. >> a little champagne would go great with this. these are h-bombs. >> chocolate h-bombs, explosion of flavor. we start with the liquor. if we'd drizzle brandy over the top of the amareti. >> drizzle about a fourth of a teaspoon of brandy. you can use bourbon, whatever liquor you choose. get it over each cookie to make sure the cookie absorbs the flavor. >> have some dignity about it. >> or don't. >> gently drizzle. this is chocolate melted with honey and i'm going to take my salted milk and egg yolk and pour it in there and incorporate it and if you would like to add my creamed butter and sugar. >> put this in there? okay. >> exactly. >> i thought i was going to get to turn the mixer on. i got excited. >> don't go crazy. >> yeah, i know. >> we got the creamed butter and sugar so we incorporate that nicely, a little bit at a time. until it gets to a nice smooth consistency over low heat. >> and ends up looking like this. >> it ends up looking like chocolate soup. no better soup than chocolate. >> does it have a strong alcohol taste? >> this has no alcohol in it at all. you put your vanilla in and throw dignity out the window and take your chocolate and slather it on. if you'd like to grab a spoon. >> i would. >> don't be shy. >> is there a technique to the slather? >> just go for it. >> i don't want to slather your outfit. there we go. slathering. >> yes. >> over here you have cherry slices. >> and we have some cakies and more alcohol bourbon balls. >> like shreddy balls but drunk. >> depends on how much you had new year's eve. >> thank you so much, sugar ma mass. >> thank you. >> kimberly and jenna, thank you, great stuff. coming up the best travel deals for 2012 plus kathie lee and hoda are hanging out with none other than bret michaels, he used to do voiceover work for nbc early in the day. we'll get to some sugar. here's your local news.