Arianna Answers All

ANNOUNCEMENT! GOOD NEWS!

Sidney — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 12:29:59 +0000

ANNOUNCEMENT! THIS BLOG IS MOVING! PLEASE UPDATE YOUR BOOKMARKS!

THE NEW ADDRESS IS:

http://www.ariannaskye.com/blog

YAY! I’m hosted now!!

Elemental Ink

Sidney — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 05:00:19 +0000

Well, it’s Wednesday! Time for another installment of Wednesday Weirdness! Check out this weird tattoo! Feel free to leave your caption in the comments. Everyone’s a winner this week, because we all get to laugh!

Okay here’s mine (Beware! It’s lame!)
Yay! Now I’ll never fail another chemistry exam!

Cheers!
Arianna

Spring into Caramel

Sidney — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 05:00:34 +0000

Guess what? Today is the first day of Spring. So I thought I would spring this recipe on you all.

Caramel fudge

The flavor of this fudge comes from caramelized sugar. Is that why it’s called caramel?

Ingredients

1/2 c. butter or margarine
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 c. light cream
6 c. granulated sugar, divided
8 1/2 c. (2 pounds) pecans, broken

Directions:

Combine 4 cups sugar and cream in a heavy 4-quart saucepan and set aside.

Put the remaining 2 cups sugar in a heavy 10-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly until it begins to melt. Heat sugar-cream mixture over medium heat. Continue melting sugar in skillet, stirring and watching closely so it does not scorch. As soon as it is completely melted, pour liquid sugar in a thin stream into boiling sugar-cream mixture, stirring constantly. Do not let sugar remain over heat after completely melted; this will produced a scorched taste. Cook combined mixtures to 246 degrees F (Oops, apparently we are supposed to magically know when it reaches 246 degrees. It would have been nice if they included mention that you need a candy thermometer ). I. Remove from heat and add baking soda and butter. Stir in and let candy stand for 30 minutes. Add nuts. Stir to mix; pour into buttered 9-inch square pans. Cool slightly and cut into squares.

This recipe seems rather complex and convoluted. But I am a caramelphile (This should be a word, don’t you think?), and just couldn’t pass it up. If there are any brave souls that try this recipe feel free to let me know how it turns out for you.

Happy Friday!
Arianna

For All Those Godfather Fans…

Sidney — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:10:46 +0000

Okay… It’s Wednesday Weirdness. Check out the photo below and leave a catchy caption in the comments. There’s no prize this week, but what’s wrong with a little fun?

Here’s my try:
I’ll make her a pillow she can’t refuse…

I’m sure you all can do better!

Have fun!
Arianna

Some Irish Cheer

Sidney — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 05:00:25 +0000

Yep, you guessed it. My latest recipe includes liquor. Hey, what would St. Patricks day be with out some Bailey’s in your life. I found this recipe earlier while searching for some treats to make for our annual family New Year’s Eve party. OMG! It is to DIE for. YUM!

Irish Cream Truffle Fudge

Ingredients

* 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
* 1 cup white chocolate chips
* 1/4 cup butter
* 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
* 1 cup Irish cream liqueur (Bailey’s is the bestest!)
* 1 1/2 cups chopped nuts

Top Layer:

* 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
* 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
* 4 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur (Bailey’s or DIE!)
* 2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

Butter a 8×8 inch pan. In the top half of a double boiler melt the 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips, 1 cup white chocolate chips and 1/4 cup butter until soft enough to stir.

Stir in the confectioner’s sugar and Irish cream until mixture is smooth. Stir in nuts. Place mixture in the prepared pan and lay a sheet of plastic wrap over top; press and smooth top down.

In the top half of a double boiler melt remaining chocolates until soft. Remove from heat and with a fork beat in the butter and Irish cream until smooth. Spread topping over cooled fudge with a knife. If a smooth top is important place plastic wrap over the top. Refrigerate until firm, 1 to 2 hours at least. This fudge can be easily frozen.

Enjoy, and happy St. Patty’s Day!
Arianna

Wednesday Weirdness has moved for the day… Yay!

Sidney — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 05:00:26 +0000

Agh! I forgot to post last week’s winner. Julie Robinson, congratulations! You win the amazon gift card. Thanks to everyone for stopping by and leaving your captions. I’ve moved Wednesday Weirdness over to Romance Roundtable for the day. There’s a $20.00 B&N gift card up for grabs. See you there!

Arianna

How about some cheese?

Sidney — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:52:47 +0000

Sorry I’m late in posting! I am in the midst of packing for Indianapolis. I’m heading to the Write Business Conference. I get to pitch to an editor! Deep breath! Deep breath! Okay, all better!

Now onto the fudge business…

Thanks to Patty G., one of my fellow chaptermates for this interesting fudge recipe.

Here’s what Patty had to say:

“I got this recipe from the National Dairy Association about 15 years ago when I had them come and do a demonstration with my elementary class. It sounds gross, but the Velveeta gives it a unique flavor.”

Velveeta Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients:

1 lb Velveeta
1 lb butter (margarine)
3 lbs powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup cocoa
nuts, optional

Directions:

Melt Velveeta and butter. Remove from head and add cocoa, vanilla and sugar. Pour into lined or buttered jelly roll pan and freeze. Keep refrigerated or frozen. Serve cold.

Being one who likes unique flavors (case and point: Vegan fudge) I’ll have to give this one a shot. Sounds pretty easy, too. Thanks Patty for sharing!

Happy Friday everyone!
Arianna

You are getting sleepy

Sidney — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:45:25 +0000

So, I’m pretty sure this is a doctored photo. If not, I so want to know where I can buy this clock. *evil maniacal laughter*

And, because it’s the first wednesday of the month, one lucky commenter will get… drum roll please… a clock! Just kidding. I’ll give you a $10.00 amazon e-certificate that you can use to buy a clock. Or if you really want a clock, I’ll see what I can find

The rules: Look at picture. Leave a caption. I will pull a random commenter from a hat and pick a winner. Oh, have fun is the most important rule

Cheers,

Arianna

Vegan Fudge — The final decision!

Sidney — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:51:34 +0000

So I found the ingredients to make the vegan fudge recipe I posted on February 21st. While at the health food store, I also discovered Green & Black’s dark chocolate (72% cocoa content). Despite the $5.49 price per baking bar, I went ahead and bought two. After all, it said it was great for vegans and vegetarians. So with Toffuti, chocolate, and a bunch of other goodies I found in hand, I made my purchase and headed home.

Being the curious gal that I am, I took a little taste of the Tofutti “Better than Cream Cheese.” I put it in quotations for a reason, by the way. Now I was really starting to worry. If the non dairy cream cheese tasted less than what I was expecting, what was the fudge going to taste like? Then again, the recipe did call for 4 1/2 cups of powdered sugar. Any bunkiness would be covered up by all that sweetness, right?

So the next day, I set out all my ingredients, took a sample of the G&B chocolate (YUM!) and followed the instructions to a tee. I put the fudge in the fridge to harden. After a few hours, much to my delight, it hardened perfectly. But the final test is obviously the taste test, right? I cut my self a little tiny piece, not expecting anything spectacular. Boy was I wrong. It was good. REALLY good. Whew! I think the combination of powdered sugar and Green & Black’s helped! LOL!

So Vegan Fudge has the official Arianna Seal of approval. YUMMY!

Take care!
Arianna

You had me at “Rum”

Sidney — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 05:00:57 +0000

ATTENTION: Please—please—PLEASE—Did I say please?—send me your personal fudge recipes. My inbox feels neglected. It’s hard work looking up all these recipes by my lonesome. Plus, if you’re an author and have a book coming out, what a great way to promote your new release as well as your stellar baking abilities? Oh! Another thing! If you don’t have a recipe but have a request, feel free to email me too, and I’ll see what I can come up with. Again, that email address is arianna@ariannaskye.com. And Now I return you to today’s blog, which is already in progress…

No, I swear I’m not an alcoholic. It just seems the good fudge recipes have liquor in them. This one just popped out at me while I was perusing some recipe sites.

Cherry Nut Rum Fudge

Ingredients:

3 c. sugar
1 sm. can (5 oz.) evaporated milk
3/4 c. butter
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate pieces
1 (7 oz.) jar marshmallow cream
1 c. chopped pecans
1 c. candied cherries, chopped
1 tsp. rum

Directions:

Combine sugar, milk and butter in heavy saucepan. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook for 5 minutes or candy thermometer reaches 237 degrees (soft ball stage).

Remove from heat, add chocolate pieces, stir until smooth and melted; beat in marshmallow cream, nuts, cherries and rum until well blended.

Spoon into buttered 8 x 8 x 2 inch pan; let stand until set. Cut into squares. Store between layers of waxed paper in a metal tin with tight lid. Makes 3 pounds.

Enjoy!
Arianna

PS: Tune in on Monday when I blog about my Vegan fudge tasting experience