This year Martha is all about “handmade, homemade” gifts and decorations. Very smart, for this economic climate. In her Handmade for the Holidays special issue (page 59), Martha has instructions and a template for making a stuffed pig out of an old sweater (yes, really). You can probably tell already there’s no way this could go well for me.

The day of the pig began with a shopping trip. I had to buy batting ($3.50)  to stuff said pig and then I had to make a trip to Goodwill to find a sweater. Here is probably where my first problem was. Martha says to use a “felted wool sweater”. I have no idea what that means. I am sure Martha’s closets are filled with lined and sacheted shelves containing a heavenly multitude of sweaters in every color and design. The selection at Goodwill is a bit more, shall we say, limited. I have to say I was pretty impressed with Goodwill though. Everything on the racks was in quite good condition and they had some decent looking things.

I ended up buying a purple acrylic sweater with white snowflakes on it ($4.49). I believe the acrylic may have been the problem. I also think now that Martha intended a sweater that was more tightly knit than the one I chose.

Mr. MarthaAndMe kindly blew up Martha’s template by scanning it, working some magic and printing it. I cut out the template and pinned it to the sweater. I cut out the shapes.

Martha says to sew the underside of the pig to the sides. I did ok with this, but the feet on the underside ended up smaller than the feet on the sides, so I had to be a little creative in getting it to go all together.

Once I started sewing, I started to realize why a more closely knit sweater would have been better. The sweater was unraveling at the cut edges, making it very difficult to sew it together.

I sewed the sides together. Then I attempted to make the tail. My first attempt was a disaster. I had to start over and cut a piece bigger than the template instructed. Somehow my sweater was very thick and once I sewed the original piece together, I could not get it to turn inside out – it was too thick.

Martha says to cut out a round piece of wool for the nose. Mine kept unraveling – it was just too small a piece. I improvised and instead sewed a button on for the pig’s nose.

I had some trouble with the ears  – again, I had to go and cut them out bigger than the template in order to get them to turn inside out.

I stuffed the pig with batting and finished sewing him up. At this point I realized I had some serious issues. The pig was pulling apart at the seams in many places – because the edges were so unraveled. So, I had to do some repair work on the spots. I found this great thread I have in my sewing box that is like fishing line – invisible. I used that and you can’t tell I had to patch things.

The end result? Well, let’s just say I would not actually give this to someone as a gift. This is not where my talent lies! The ears are too tall and they look like rabbit ears. The nose is not centered. The whole thing is just weird. Maybe some people are good at this, but well, I’m just not. It was sort of fun to do – although it would have been a lot more fun if the material hadn’t kept unraveling on me.

This year Martha is all about “handmade, homemade” gifts and decorations. Very smart, for this economic climate. In her Handmade for the Holidays special issue (page 59), Martha has instructions and a template for making a stuffed pig out of an old sweater (yes, really). You can probably tell already there’s no way this could … Read more →

On Martha’s show this week she’s doing a cookie week. Love that – thanks Martha. Tuesday’s show had Rufus Wainwright and the McGarrigle family singers (clueless as to who they are – I’ve heard of him, but not them). Rufus’ mom showed how to make her Ski Biscuit Cookies (while Rufus made it clear he’s never been in a kitchen in his life). These looked so cool on the air. They are long cookies shaped like skis, with a curve at the end like a real ski. I had to give this a try.

What’s weird about the recipe is you make it in a pot! First you cook butter, brown sugar and molasses until it boils. Then you add the dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger and baking soda). This part was very easy and I appreciated being able to make it all in one pot. You chill the mix then roll it out into a rectangle and use a knife to cut out ski shapes.  This part, well, it was slightly more challenging for me. I used the edge of a cutting board to get some straight edges so that was no problem.

The hard part was sizing the skis. The first ones I did seemed a little skinny, so I cut the next ones wider but somehow they then puffed out of control in the oven and I was left with toboggans not skis.

Before you put this in the oven, you’re supposed to use candied ginger and candied dragees to make the design on the cookies for the thingie that holds on the boot. They ran out of time on the show and didn’t really show what this was supposed to look like. I am not a skier (please, do not make me dredge up very disturbing memories of a bunny slope and an instructor shouting at me to snowplow) so I didn’t really know what to do here.

Once decorated, you then bake the cookies, taking your silicone lining and pulling it up so it curves up at the edge of the pan – this makes the skis curve. That worked well. The recipe didn’t make a whole heck of a lot.

They taste like gingerbread. Here’s a little confession though- I tasted the dough and it didn’t seem sweet enough to me, so I added some more brown sugar. They’re very thin and crisp (I am more of a moist gingerbread gal). Mr. MarthaAndMe is loving these though, so they will certainly be enjoyed.

I’m a little worried about the curved ends breaking off while in storage – they seem brittle to me. If I give any of these away, I think I am going to take two and cross them in an X and then tie some ribbon around the middle. I’m worried no one will know these are skis otherwise!

On Martha’s show this week she’s doing a cookie week. Love that – thanks Martha. Tuesday’s show had Rufus Wainwright and the McGarrigle family singers (clueless as to who they are – I’ve heard of him, but not them). Rufus’ mom showed how to make her Ski Biscuit Cookies (while Rufus made it clear he’s … Read more →

I’ve decided to give some candy as gifts this year. I’m using some of Martha’s recipes for this endeavor.

On page 226 of December Living is a recipe for Penuche Fudge. I had never heard of this fudge, but it sounded good.

This was a very easy recipe. I boiled evaporated milk, brown sugar, white sugar, butter and salt. It has to get to 236 degrees on a candy thermometer. Fortunately, I have one. I’ve even made candy before, so I wasn’t as terrified as I might have been if this was all new to me.

I always forget how long it takes for candy to reach the right temp. You can be cruising right along up to 200 degrees and then it will take what seem like an hour to crawl up to that soft ball stage.

Once the candy reached the right temp, you mix in powdered sugar for about 4 minutes until it is smooth. Then you add vanilla and nuts (I used pecan instead of walnuts) and pour into a loaf pan.

Very simple, very nice. The candy tastes good. It’s got a caramel flavor and because it is fudge, it is not hard to chew. I would say it is good, but not great.

If you want a fab candy, I’ve got an amazing one for you. The December issue of Paula Deen’s mag has a recipe for a Kit Kat bar that is awesome! It’s made with crackers and is really simple.

I’ve decided to give some candy as gifts this year. I’m using some of Martha’s recipes for this endeavor. On page 226 of December Living is a recipe for Penuche Fudge. I had never heard of this fudge, but it sounded good. This was a very easy recipe. I boiled evaporated milk, brown sugar, white … Read more →

Welcome to my holiday home. Since I’m trying to do everything as Martha would, I am especially proud of my decorations this year. Here are photos of my living room tree and mantel (complete with Martha Stewart tree skirt and stockings that came from KMart several years ago). I’m also popping in a photo of my office tree. Since I’m a writer, it’s a book tree. Enjoy!

Welcome to my holiday home. Since I’m trying to do everything as Martha would, I am especially proud of my decorations this year. Here are photos of my living room tree and mantel (complete with Martha Stewart tree skirt and stockings that came from KMart several years ago). I’m also popping in a photo of … Read more →

In my quest to do things the Martha way, I am taking to heart the suggestions in the December issue of Living.

On page 4, Martha provides what she calls “gentle reminders”. I’ve read her tipping guide. I don’t have that many people to tip, although I do have to buy gifts for teachers, tutors, and a house cleaner. Usually I do gift cards for these people and I’m going to do that again this year. However, I may be cutting back on the amounts (isn’t everyone cutting back?) and giving some candy (Martha’s recipes) in addition to the gift card.

Next, Martha suggest we create handcrafted gift card holders. I am going to give this a try for some gift cards I am giving to relatives.

Martha suggests we organize all of our paperwork from the holidays – receipts and warranties. I’m ahead of the game on that. I have a manila folder in my desk I put every receipt in. What I really need to learn to do, however, is to write on each receipt what it is for and what item it is. In the spirit of Martha, I’m going to add that to my to-do list.

Protecting our pets is the next tip. I actually have a funny story about this one. I have a gumdrop tree. It’s a metal tree that you stick gumdrops on. My kids love it. It usually sits on an end table in the family room. Last year one of our dogs disappeared while we were eating dinner at some point in December. He returned licking his lips which is a bad sign. It turns out he completely denuded the gumdrop tree! This year, we put it out again and I forgot about that, so he promptly helped himself again. We’ve now moved it to the top shelf of a bookcase in the family room. He occasionally walks over there and lifts his nose in the air and sniffs to let us know he would really like some.

Because we have big dogs with big tails, I don’t do candles, except for one Yankee candy that sits on a high table. I don’t have anything else that is dangerous for our dogs, so I think they are safe for the holidays.

Page 134 has tips for simplifying the season.  Martha suggests keeping a master calendar. I already do that. Next she says to remember to unwind. I do need to remind myself of that. Yesterday I ordered a holiday mystery for myself from Amazon and I am going to make time to sit down and enjoy it.

Another tip is to update your address book. When we got out the Christmas decorations, I found the cards we received last year in the basket I keep them in. I went through them to see if I could make any into gift labels and came upon a note from friends with a new address. I’ve got to add that into my address book (which I now keep in pencil so it is easy to make changes!).

Last year I cut back my Christmas card list and stopped sending them to people we don’t really know. I’m continuing with that this year. I bought one box of cards and that’s going to be it. If I need more, I have lots of leftover ones from years past.

Martha recommends postponing some holiday festivities. This is good advice. My dad’s family does not celebrate together until Jan 2 this year and we usually see my in-laws a few days after Christmas. It eases the craziness and gives you something to look forward to after the big day.

Another suggestion is to reevaluate gift exchanges. Oh, wouldn’t I love to do this! We buy gifts for some people that we barely know and I would love to put an end to that. It’s easier said than done though and negotiating something like in my family is nearly impossible.

Our decorations are completely up (I’ll post some photos soon) and my shopping is just about done. Next I’ve got to get serious about wrapping and baking.

In my quest to do things the Martha way, I am taking to heart the suggestions in the December issue of Living. On page 4, Martha provides what she calls “gentle reminders”. I’ve read her tipping guide. I don’t have that many people to tip, although I do have to buy gifts for teachers, tutors, … Read more →

This month’s cookie from Living is a Chocolate Peppermint cookie. These looked gorgeous in the mag – covered in white chocolate and sprinkled with crumbled peppermint candy.

I got started making these and realized I didn’t see I needed peppermint extract, so off to the store went Mr. MarthaAndMe (good thing I could bribe him with the white chocolate). The dough was simple to make – butter, sugar, egg, peppermint, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. The recipe said to make it into two disks and refrigerate. I did so and rolled it out. Then it said to

freeze it before cutting it out. Bah. I skipped that step since it was quite firm and went right to the cutting out.

Martha says to use a 2 inch circle cookie cutter. Well, I don’t have that but I had a little glass measuring cup – until I dropped it on the floor about halfway through and it shattered! Clean up aisle 4, Mr. MarthaAndMe. I then used a spice jar lid for the rest and that worked quite well.

After cutting them out, you bake them for about 12 min. Easy. They came out looking very nice. Once they cool, you dip them in white chocolate. I melted my chocolate in the microwave – Martha says to do it over hot water. Bah.

Dipping the cookies in was a little messy. It’s hard to drain the chocolate off them before setting them back down. Half the time I dropped them back in the chocolate by mistake. I had plenty of chocolate though. Mini-Martha sprinkled on the crushed peppermint (which he also had the job of crushing – the perfect task for a 10 yr old boy). I let them dry and they look terrific.

Now, as to who will eat them. We have conflicts! Mini-Martha and I don’t like

white chocolate, so we ate some plain cookies. They were really good, very similar to Girl Scout Thin Mints (I might try this again and dip them in dark chocolate to make them just like those). Mr. MarthaAndMe loves white chocolate, but regular chocolate makes him break out. He did sample one and gave it a total thumbs up. That leaves only the teen daughter who with the perpetual diet will likely not eat many. Looks like another batch to give away.

I recommend this cookie though – very pretty, not to complicated, tasty and also very Christmassy. A good thing.

This month’s cookie from Living is a Chocolate Peppermint cookie. These looked gorgeous in the mag – covered in white chocolate and sprinkled with crumbled peppermint candy. I got started making these and realized I didn’t see I needed peppermint extract, so off to the store went Mr. MarthaAndMe (good thing I could bribe him … Read more →