Fake It in the Kitchen!

I've always adored entertaining- I love to throw big, elaborate meals and feel that a dinner party I throw should have course after course after course on lush candle lit tables.

Dinner parties at my house are legendary affairs, one of which is simply referred to as 'the' dinner party and of the many parties I've thrown, there is never any confusion which one is being referenced. Once, Mom called me one afternoon and suggested dinner that night. "We'll just come over to your house and order a pizza or something", she said. "Oh no", I thought. No dinner at my house was going to be eaten from a box. Immediately, visions of lush pastas, field greens, fresh baked breads and sumptuous desserts filled my mind.

Keep in mind- I have never been particularly rich in time nor money. Champagne on a beer budget doesn't even begin to describe me. I have, though, always worshipped the God of All Things Fake. So I even fake it in the kitchen.

Over the years, I've collected recipes from Sandra Lee, time saving techniques from Rachel Ray, and money saving wine tips from my father to become quite the efficient little gourmand- if I do say so myself.

I thought I'd share one of my favorite recipes with you for faking it in the kitchen. Truffles are a simply delectable treat that are usually purchased at high end chocolate boutiques for an arm and a leg but are very classy. When your guests hear that you've made them yourself, I promise they will be in total awe of your kitchen goddess status.

You can find a truffle recipe in almost every gourmet cookbook, but I've combined several recipes and added my own advice and tips from trial and error to give you the world's best (and easiest) recipe.

Ingredients:

8oz. Semi-sweet baker's chocolate

16oz. (1 bag) chocolate or white chocolate chips

3 tbsp very heavy whipping cream

1tbsp of your favorite liqueur- mine is Kahlua. Mint or almond extract work well, too.

In a large pan half filled with water, place a smaller, heat-safe bowl. The stove should be at about medium. Add the baker's chocolate to the smaller bowl and stir occasionally until it's completely melted. Add the whipping cream and stir completely, then add the liqueur or extract and mix well- then take it away from heat immediately.

Place the bowl with the chocolate in the freezer for 40 minutes or an hour, until the chocolate is firmed up enough to be malleable and keep it's shape. Roll the chocolate into 1 tablespoon balls, put them on wax paper.

What you've just created is ganache. Some people just leave it at that- ganache is delicious! you can roll it in powdered sugar or chopped nuts and still make a big hit. However, for a true truffle, the next step is so easy and fun I've never successfully avoided it. The ganache can also be made far in advance and kept in an air tight container in the freezer until you're ready to use it.

Put the ganache in the freezer and let it firm up for 20 minutes. Take about 3/4 cup of the chocolate or white chocolate and microwave it in a small bowl in 30 second intervals. Between intervals, stir vigorously. Chocolate is only tricky to work with if you forget that it can burn and will keep it's chocolate chip shape as its melting. Stirring it vigorously between microwaving will help it break up and not burn. Using smaller quantities at a time will help, too. It usually takes three 30 second intervals to get the chocolate smooth.

Take the ganache out of the freezer and one by one, drop it in the melted chocolate. To make sure it's coated completely, use 2 forks to 'juggle' it. That's it! Place your truffles on wax paper and wait until they firm up- usually 4 or 5 hours. You'll want to leave them at room temperature- if you stick them in the fridge they'll get that gross white stuff on the surface.

I like to dip my truffles in milk chocolate and then melt and color white chocolate and splash it over for my truffles as an added accent. The photo above shows green truffles I'm making for St. Patrick's Day!

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

Boxed In

In her opening monologue for the Oscars, Ellen DeGeneres said that she wouldn’t be critical of any of the Oscar nominees, unless she was halfway into a box of Chardonnay. It was a modestly funny bit, but it got me to thinking about boxed wine.

When we spent the summer in Spain some years ago, the best value in all of Spain was their boxed Sangria for about a dollar a box. Of course, Sangria is a fruity wine blend and not really serious wine, except if you drink too much of it and, then, the following day it can have a variety of serious effects.

Anyway, I have never tasted a boxed wine, except for the aforementioned Sangria. So, when I saw a 3 liter box (four bottles worth of wine in a box a little larger than an economy size box of Decon, except heavier) of Delicato Syrah for $16, I thought how bad could it be?

The answer is that it was great! It reminded me of the kind of wine that people in Italy Spain and France to drink very day. It is not expensive. It is good and it goes beautifully with food.

Instead of paying $10 a bottle for everyday wine, my suggestion is to buy one box of Delicio Syrah and save $24. My next bit of advice is to take the $24 you saved and go to http://www.ashleysbigsecret.com/ and buy a gorgeous necklace or a funky pearl set. Better yet, drink most of the box of wine and, then go on line to http://www.ashleysbigsecret.com/ and buy wonderful jewelry until you either fall asleep or you credit card maxes out.

In wine we trust, J

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

Do You Fake It?

We've always been big fans of pulling off costume jewelry without lying- here's how:

1) Never, ever lie. If you're really faking it correctly, you just don't have to.

2) Wear good costume jewelry. It's out there, and doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. There is no excuse to wear cheap dime store jewelry that looks obviously fake or worse- turns your skin green. Our sister site, Ashley's Big Secret, specializes in just such jewelry.

3) Treat your costume jewelry with respect! Dress up for it the same way you would with the real thing. If you are dressed to the nines, everyone will simply assume that your baubles set you back a month's rent.

4) Blame it on someone else. Many women I've spoken to have told me that when asked directly about where a ring came from, they say, "oh, my mother gave it to me", or "don't I have the best husband?" Your mother is so sweet and you do have the best husband... no one needs to know your big secret!

We hope these tips help~ Remember... always dress like the DIVA you are!

Check out our newest adventures at www.DoYouFakeIt.com!

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

I totally know Jack!

Remember that really addictive game, You Don't Know Jack from about ten years ago?

Go ahead... see if it's less addictive now. I dare you. I played this game for hours on end back in the day when I was supposed to be doing my homework or some such thing. Now, you can play it online when you're supposed to be working or some such thing.

It's A Great Time to Be Single!

Spring is almost here, and it's a fantastic time to be single! I have long held a dating theory that goes something like this:

If you are in a relationship for Holloween, it's bound to last through Valentine's Day. If you're dating someone on Holloween, no matter how long you've been dating, you'll probably make it to Thanksgiving. Once you hit that turkey of a holiday, it's too much to break up before Christmas, so you're in through Christmas. Even if you decide not to introduce each other to the folks, you can't make it through Christmas without ringing in the new year together. Once you've shared the new year kiss at Midnight, you're in until Valentine's Day because what's one more holiday together?

It is simply cruel to break up before anyone of those winter holidays, and besides- who wants to be single for New Years? Upon getting to V-Day, a couple has either had too much of each other or still can't get enough. Those who still can't keep their hands off each other after Christmas cookies and candy hearts will stay together- those whose coupledom isn't going to make it will realize that no more obligitory hoidays are coming for another eight months and break up. Suddenly, every year about this time, eligible bachelors and bachelorettes come on the market in scores.

So, all my fellow single Divas, it's time to put our game faces on. Which brings me to another piece of brilliant dating advice: boys like shiny things. Yep, of all the rules of attraction, this is the easiest and most sure fire way to get the man of your dreams.

It may seem like I'm comparing the male population's mental capacity to that of apes, but it just so happens that if you want to get the attention of either ape or attractive human male, go for shiny. I prefer a dazzling, wild necklace like our gold necklace with dangles, or a fun silky necklace with matching earrings. The bigger the better, and if your best friend thinks it's a bit too much, it's perfect- you're a total man magnet.

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

Christina Ricci and other news

I just found this picture of Christina Ricci, who I just adore, wearing a stunning pair of black pearls. Do you think she spent more or less than $28.00? She always looks so gorgeous- I love a dramatic look!

So I decided to do something about my unfortuantely expanding rump and joined a Curves! Yay for me! One of the things that I really like about it- other than it only taking 30 minutes- is that there are NO BOYS ALLOWED! I think this is about the greatest thing ever. Girl, if I'm going to hop around sweating in spandex, you can bet I don't want any boys to see.

The owner of my Curves, Julie, is really great about giving away prizes to the ladies who lost the most weight, the most inches, or who have been really good about coming 3 times a week. I decided to help her out, and gave her some fun jewelry- she loved it! She even was able to get someone who was on the fence about joining to sign up by giving her a Kissaka Pearl Necklace as a welcome gift! We are so happy that our jewelry is helping women in so many different ways!

Happy Day!

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

Whew! What a week!

Our Valentine's Day 14 cent sale was a HUGE success! We're so glad you all had such fun getting such gorgeous things for so little!

I love our customers- you guys have phenomenal taste! Although our 14 cent sale is over, we still have fabulous deals all month, and new items coming online all the time.

We have really cool stretchy bangles that go so well with our 24k gold overlay bangles. They're pictured together above. Both are a great deal and look so fabulous!

Again, congratulations on all your gorgeous new baubles!!!

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

Fab Feb Finds - ON SALE until Feb 14 for 14 cents!

There is a great restaurant in Chicago that prices their soup at the current temperature outside. If is 25 degrees outside, you get your soup for 25 cents!

We decided that they had a great idea and we would go them one better and offer many of our Fab Feb Finds at 14 cents each until February 14th.

After the 14th, our Fab Feb Finds will be a good deal, but they will never be 14 cents, again!

Look on our website for Fab Feb Finds!

The 14 cent specials only last until Valentine's Day and there is a limit of one 14 cent item per order, so get 'em while they're hot!

This is the place to buy yourself a great Valentines present. Tell your significant other that you will take care of the jewelry, he can take care of making reservations at the Four Seasons for dinner on the 14th.

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com.

Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

This year, the Chief Secret Keepers of Ashley's Big Secret decided to throw a Superbowl party! While we are not neccessarily inclined towards spectator sports (that's the polite way of saying it), we thought it would be fun to have some people over for cocktails, snacks, and well, ok- football.

We were very suprised at how into it everybody got, and we had a blast!

Pictured here are our friends Pat and Bev, who very clearly were rooting for the bears. Our guests were split just about down the middle between the Colts and the Bears.

The we had Pam, who came dressed for the weather in Miami, despite the cold temeratures here! We just love her spunk and enthusiasm!













I have to admit, I had much more fun visiting with everyone than I did watching football, but would have another Superbowl party again in a minute!


Our neighbors, Mary Lou and Bernie, were such fun! She is an artist, too, so we got to talk shop... I can't wait to see her paintings!











Our friend Elke and her husband, Larry, came as well. Elke is in the same boat as we are... we like socializing more than we like watching the game. She arrived looking gorgeous as usual, and employed on of my favorite party techniques for looking fabulous- overdressing. It works like a charm. If you're going to a party where everyone is wearing jeans, wear a skirt or black pants with some fancy jewelry. I dare you to try it next time you go out- it gets you lots of compliments and you end up totally being the best dressed. I had a party not long ago with some friends, and when my best friend called to ask what the dress code was, I told her jeans. We were both kind of surprised when she arrived... I opened the door, and we were both wearing dresses and heals. She laughed and said, "I knew you were lying about jeans!". Needless to say, we were the two best dressed people at the party and everyone commented on how great we looked.





Other fabulous things happened over the weekend, too! The morning after the superbowl party, I looked out of my window, and right outside were three deer! You never see that in the city! Life is much different in this country winter wonderland!


In business news, we have a huge february sale coming up! And great new stuff is being added everyday, including our new fauxture line, that I am very hyped about!




For fabulous accessories, visit http://www.ashleysbigsecret.com/. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

Much Maligned Merlot

Drinking wonderful wine is not about the money you spend. It, as in Ashley’s Big Secret (anything for a plug), is about being clever and realizing that the most important test of a great wine, or great jewelry, is whether you like it or not, not whether some critic says it is great, except for me, of course.

Let’s talk about Merlot. You probably like Merlot. You were probably insulted in the movie “Sideways” when the co-star screamed that he wouldn’t be forced to drink Merlot no matter how great the girls serving it looked.

Well, let’s talk about Merlot. First, the main grape variety used in the most expensive wine from France is, you guessed it, Merlot. The wine is called Petrus and if you are having some please give me a call. However, before you start inviting your friends over to taste this wonderful Merlot, you should know that it could cost well over $1,000 a bottle.

So, there you are, you like Merlot. I like Merlot and the guy in the movie is just being dumb.

In terms of great Merlots, my favorites are Paloma and Duckhorn. Both are a bit pricey. However, I’ll bet that you can pick out a great Merlot just by going to your local wine store and buying a Merlot in the $8 to $15 range. Buy a couple of different bottles and try each with a friend or two. Next, write me an e-mail telling me what you liked best. I can be reached at wino@ashleysbigsecret.com.

In terms of what to wear during your Merlot tasting, Ashley suggests the Silver Faux Omega Set and a Shiny Silver Cuff. Simplistic and very classy.

Lastly, don’t forget to include me if you decide that you must taste Petrus.

For fabulous accessories, visit http://www.ashleysbigsecret.com/. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.