Blake Makes

Hello, Blake Makers. Before we jump into the fudgy bliss pictured below, allow me to talk about the photo itself. This post marks the debut of the first picture taken in my nifty, DIY light box. Thanks to my buddy Michael, I was able to build my box in about 30 minutes (and for less than $50).

I’ve still got some tweaking to do, both with my lights and with my camera’s settings, but so far I’m pretty pleased. Now, I can take food pics at midnight if I want. Yay! Let’s talk about this fudge.

I knew it was going to be good when licked the pot I cooked it in clean. It was more than a little dangerous as the pot was hot. Seriously, the remaining fudge was just this side of molten. I burned my lips a little, but was numb in a happy coma so I didn’t feel a thing. The pot looked like it had been scrubbed in hot, soapy water when I was done with it. Yum.

I’ve tried to make fudge before, and ended up with a watery, chocolate soup. Now that I think about it, I haven’t attempted fudge since college (I wonder if Patrick remembers that debacle?). My mom makes amazing fudge, and knowing that I could never top hers, I rarely try. I’m not sure what makes her’s so good. Maybe because she’s a great cook, or because she calls it “Fantasy Fudge.”

No matter. This stuff is good enough to have me sneaking cubes of it at least six times a day. It can’t stay in our house for another day, so the people in my office will be really happy tomorrow!

The Recipe

Melt 1 stick of butter in a medium sauce pan. Add 5 oz. evaporated milk and 3 cups of sugar. Stir constantly and bring to a rolling boil. Boil the mixture for 5 minutes stirring constantly.

Remove from heat, and add 7 oz. marshmallow fluff, 12 oz. bag of semisweet chocolate morsels, and 1 tblsp. of vanilla. This recipe also called for 1/2 oz. of praline liquor and 1 cup of chopped pecans. We couldn’t find any praline liquor, but decided to add the pecans.

After you’ve mixed everything together, pour it into a 9 x 9 pan lined with foil. It will (should) be thick. Good luck! I hope you don’t end up with chocolate soup!

This recipe is from The Encyclopedia Cajun & Creole Cuisine by John Folse.

I’m pretty busy. I’ve got three blogs, a food show, a secret (OMGF) and a full-time job. However, recently I was asked to blog for Brita’s Filter For Good site. Blake Greens is a blog that I’ve planned on launching since I wrote this post, but, alas, there’s no way I can do that. At least not right now.

Apart from Filter For Good being a paying gig, it’s allowing me to express my greener side along with Beth, Siel, Sarah, Stefani, and Neil.

I’ve got a couple of posts under my belt over there, but I’m just getting started. I’m really interested in blogging about green living in New Orleans, and green businesses. Check out the FilterForGood Blog every Wednesday for a new post from me, and hopefully soon, I’ll be shooting videos for that blog, too!

I’ve got a small request. We all know that bloggers live for comments, and I want to make Brita proud. So, if you have a chance, could you pop over to the Brita blog and comment on my posts? I’ll love you forever!

Very clever, Axe. Very clever. It turns out that the chocolate arm that arrived over a week ago was sent by Axe. They’ve got a new product line coming out that they say is as irresistible as chocolate. I brought this to work, and was surprised when my female co-workers liked it. Watch the hilarious commercial here.

They’ve got a contest to “Win The Sweet Life” at AxeDarkTemptation.com.

Go to BlakeSips.com to watch the champagne portion of the Surf & Sparkle celebration that’s going on at Bacco right now! Watch the lobster video here.

I freaked out a little when I opened a box delivered to my house today to find a human arm inside inside. It’s made of chocolate. I think I know who sent it. More news to come.

Watch this video in HD. Stay tuned for the Sparkle video (Part 2) on BlakeSips.com soon!

Hello Blake Makers! The momentum is building, and we’re starting to film more and more food shows for you to savor and enjoy! Gustav delayed post-production on our last show, but it’s up now, ready to be watched, commented on and shared with everyone you know.

Go watch now on BlakeSips.com or BlakeTakes.com. We’re shooting another show tonight. Lobster and champagne! Stay tuned!

Hello, Blake Makers. Gustav has come and gone, and we survived. Well, we lost the fence in our backyard, but we’re not complaining. We were going home to Alexandria, Louisiana for the long weekend, but our little holiday quickly turned into a week-long evacuation. 

At first, it looked like Gustav was going to slam right into New Orleans, but right at the end, it jogged a little West, and hit Baton Rouge (and eventually Alexandria). People started going a little crazy in Central Louisiana, but as they were preparing (panicking), I ate pie.

Lea’s Lunchroom is in Lecompte, Louisiana which is about 20 minutes outside of Alexandria.

They are known for their pies, and I’ve always wanted to eat there (like literally all my life). I needed to get away, and get my mind off the storm.

Pie’s good at that. 

It was lunchtime, and I was hungry, so I started with a plate of red beans and rice.

They were alright, but I think mine are better (two words, Blue Runner). To be honest, I just got the beans to justify eating a ton of pie. I guess I was right to feel a little embarassed, because the waitress looked at me funny when I ordered three slices.

From where I was sitting, I could see the glass case filled with pies – there had to have been at least 50 in the case.

Most of them were topped with gobs of tanned mounds of meringue. I browsed the list at my table, and chose banana cream (pictured above), coconut cream, and pecan.

Let’s take the banana and coconut at the same time since they were essentially the same pie.

Both had too much meringue, and their custards didn’t taste homemade. They didn’t have much flavor, or at least the kind of flavor I like. The banana contained large, awkward slices of the fruit, and the coconut was sprinkled with toasted flakes.

The pecan pie, however, was a horse of a different color. Its flavors were dark and deep and sticky – just like I like it.

The pecans weren’t whole, but chunky (I hate it when they’re minced). I’d go back to Lea’s just for another slice of this pecan bliss.

I actually bought a whole pecan pie to bring home, and ride out the storm with.

I bought the pie on Saturday. By Monday, it was history.

I don’t like to ruminate on these storms. They come. They go. We move on. But I just had to share a little glimpse of what we woke up to the day after Gustav came ashore.

Hello, Sooper Heroes (and Blake Makers)! Sorry I’m posting the winners a day late. Fay knocked out our internet this weekend, but better late than never. The first Spoon Sisters giveaway broke the Blake Makes record. We had the most comments ever on a single post! Give yourselves a pat on the back.

The following winners were selected completely at random (well, almost). I couldn’t resist the Dr. Seuss poem!

1. Kristy
2. Ashleigh
3. Denise
4. Kelly
5. Elly
6. Nikki
7. Susan
8. Amy
9. Derek
10. Stephany
11. Melissa
12. Rachel

CONGRATS!

You should have your spoons in about a week. Special thanks to both the big and little Spoon! Trust me when I say this is just the beginnning. Stay tuned for our next giveaway!

This giveaway is officially closed! We’ll announce the winners this weekend! Stay tuned!

Remember my dear friends, the Spoon Sisters? They blogged about all kinds of spoons in their post a couple of weeks ago.

In it they mentioned the dipping spoons and how they brought us together.

When I introduced them, I told you that we’d be giving away some of their spoons, and that day has arrived!

I’ve got 12 sets of dipping spoons to giveaway! Comment on this post for your chance to win.

You’ve got all day to comment, but at midnight tonight, the contest is closed.

Make sure you’re a registered Sooper Hero. Good luck!