Mailbox Monday: December 13

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. (Library books don’t count, but eBooks & audiobooks do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists!

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia @ The Printed Page, is on tour! Last month's host was Julie @ Knitting and Sundries, and she did a fantastic job! Rose City Reader kicks off 2011.

Mailbox Monday is one of my favorite memes, and I am delighted to be hosting, especially during my favorite time of the year! I'll be putting the posts up on Sunday afternoons for all you early birds! (I'm early today, too! :)

Two digital ARCs for me this week, both from Simon & Schuster's Galley Grab:

Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is.

Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.

She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.

Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.

The American debut of an award-winning novel about a lady’s maid’s awakening as she journeys from the confines of Victorian England to the uncharted far reaches of Egypt’s Nile Valley.

When Lady Duff Gordon, paragon of London society, departs for the hot, dry climate of Egypt to seek relief from her debilitating tuberculosis, her lady’s maid, Sally, doesn’t hesitate to leave the only world she has known in order to remain at her mistress’s side. As Sally gets farther and farther from home, she experiences freedoms she has never known—forgoing corsets and wearing native dress, learning Arabic, and having her first taste of romance.

But freedom is a luxury that a lady’s maid can ill afford, and when Sally’s newfound passion for life causes her to forget what she is entitled to, she is brutally reminded she is mistress of nothing. Ultimately she must choose her master and a way back home—or a way to an unknown future.

Based on the real lives of Lady Duff Gordon and her maid, The Mistress of Nothing is a lush, erotic, and compelling story about the power of race, class, and love.

Since I anticipate my Mailbox to be on the lean side this month (at least until after Christmas :), I'm fattening it up by sharing the goodies I'm baking this month. I always have baked goods on hand in December! This is a new-to-me recipe but it has earned a spot in my permanent collection! This is quite possibly the best fudge I've ever made, and very easy, too! The recipe came from Nestle:

Peppermint Fudge

1 and 2/3 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup evaporated milk

2 tablespoon butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups miniature marshmallows

1 and 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

2 crushed peppermint candy canes

Line an 8-inch-square pan with foil. (I used a 9-inch square pan and it turned out fine.) Combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter, and salt in a medium heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat. Stir in marshmallows, chocolate chips, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract. Stir vigorously for 1 minute or until marshmallows are melted. Pour into prepared pan; cool for 1 minute. Top with crushed candy canes, pressing them slightly into the fudge. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan; remove foil. Cut into pieces and ruin your diet!

Tip: When making fudge you do have to stir constantly! It's very important! You can't give the mixture a chance to stick to the pan or start to burn. It takes about 15 minutes of total stir time to make this fudge, but you know I have a book in my other hand the whole time! Also, you may think 1/4-teaspoon of peppermint extract is not enough, but it is! Peppermint extract is super strong and it is very easy to spoil a recipe by adding too much.

Enjoy! Happy Holidays!