Happy New Year! 2010 is here and to help ring it in, we had our traditional fondue party last night. We’ve been doing this for years. It started as something fun to do while we were home with small kids and has now become a tradition among our daughter’s friends, who come every year. I like it because it gives a purpose to the holiday for me and we have fun food, and then I can go to bed at 10!

In addition to the cheese and chocolate fondue, this year I made some appetizers. I made cocktail wieners – so not Martha but a kitschy thing I like to make. It’s very simple – mix a bag of mini wieners with half a jar of grape jelly and half a bottle of chili sauce and heat it up.

I also made stuffed mushrooms. I used baby bella mushrooms and filled them with a mix of crabmeat, cream cheese, mustard, dill, lemon juice, bread crumbs and salt and pepper. I put the mushrooms in a baking dish and just covered the bottom with chicken broth. I covered it and baked for 15 min at 400.

I bought a bag of mini vegetable egg rolls and served those with sweet and sour sauce. Then I made up a puff pastry item (channeling my inner Martha). I started with two sheets of puff pastry, which I rolled out to make a bit thinner. Then I mixed 3/4 jar of pesto with 8 oz. of goat cheese in the Cuisinart with some pepper. I spread this mix on the puff pastry and then placed prosciutto on top (I used about 12 pieces of paper thin prosciutto). I rolled them into logs, sealed the edges with water, and refrigerated (a trick I learned from Martha). Then I sliced them and baked at 350 for about 10-15 minutes until they were brown and cooked through. I liked them, but thought they were a little salty.

The fondue went well, but as always it is hours of cutting up food! With the cheese, I served: ham, chicken sausage, marinated chicken breasts, French bread, pumpernickel/rye, pear, apple, grapes, cherry tomato, broccoli, and cauliflower. With the chocolate: pretzel logs, graham crackers, marshmallows, pineapple, blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, banana, tangerine, rice krispies, pound cake, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, and chocolate chip biscotti. We had rainbow sprinkles, chopped nuts, and chopped white chocolate to roll things in as well. Beverages were sparking apple juice, sparkling white grape juice, sparkling red grape juice and cola. We had a bottle of sparkling apple pomegranate juice, but the screw top lid was stuck and when Mr. MarthaAndMe finally got it off, it ended up breaking the top of the bottle off, so we had to toss that one.

I loved the way my table looked, even if it was not up to Martha’s standards. I used my gold tablecloth. I went to the party store and bought plates, cups, and napkins that say Happy New Year. I bought a string of New Year garland which went down the center of the table. Each person got a hat, a noisemaker and two little champagne poppers. Also in the center of the table I placed a few different metal noisemakers, a big horn, a little gold hat and a feathered New Year’s tiara. It looked festive and cute.

Happy New Year! 2010 is here and to help ring it in, we had our traditional fondue party last night. We’ve been doing this for years. It started as something fun to do while we were home with small kids and has now become a tradition among our daughter’s friends, who come every year. I … Read more →

My grandmother made the world’s best sugar cookies. I’ve never tasted any like them, ever. Her cookies are soft, moist, and delicate. Because I grew up eating these, I have been spoiled and don’t care for the harder sugar cookies most people seem to make. The key ingredient is buttermilk, which makes for a soft dough, but is also responsible for the texture and flavor. Because of the soft texture, you need to make this dough, then freeze it completely before you attempt to roll it out and cut it out. There are many family stories about this. One year my aunt took the entire batch out to a table set up in the garage and rolled them out in the garage where the dough would stay cold. The first time I attempted it, I didn’t freeze it long enough and I ended up with a huge mess.  The other trick is picking the right cut out shapes. The dough spreads and softens as it cooks, so many shapes become unrecognizable. I’ve found that stars work quite well. Candy canes also work. Santas, snowmen and trees tend to just blur and become blobs. My grandmother often just made these as circles.

As my Christmas gift to you, dear readers, I’m going to share this special family recipe.

Gai’s Sugar Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 cups buttermilk

4 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Alternate adding dry ingredients with buttermilk. Freeze the dough for several hours. Roll the dough out using lots of flour on the counter and on the rolling pin because it will stick if you aren’t careful. Roll this out a bit thicker than you would with regular sugar cookies – you want it to be about a 1/2 inch thick. Flour the cookie cutters. Place on silpats in a oven preheated to 375 degrees. Bake for 10-12 minutes. You want to take them out when the bottoms are just beginning to brown.  Don’t let the top of the cookie get brown or it will be too hard. Let them rest on the baking sheets until cool and then remove them.

I usually make a simple frosting of butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and milk (which you can color with food coloring if you want different colors) and then we decorate them with colored sugar. As you can see in the photo, my kids really get into it!

My grandmother made the world’s best sugar cookies. I’ve never tasted any like them, ever. Her cookies are soft, moist, and delicate. Because I grew up eating these, I have been spoiled and don’t care for the harder sugar cookies most people seem to make. The key ingredient is buttermilk, which makes for a soft … Read more →

Martha has definitely inspired me to take decorating more seriously. For years, I’ve been moaning about how I don’t like some of my Christmas decorations. I’ve finally started to get rid of the ones I don’t like and focus on collecting things I do like.

Last year when I was shopping the after Christmas sales, I picked up three glass tree toppers are bargain basement prices. this year, I added a mercury glass tree topper I found at Target and a smaller pink vintage German topper I bought on eBay. I’ve got them displayed on my mantel in front of the mirror and I’m thrilled with them. I hope to keep adding to this collection.

Martha has definitely inspired me to take decorating more seriously. For years, I’ve been moaning about how I don’t like some of my Christmas decorations. I’ve finally started to get rid of the ones I don’t like and focus on collecting things I do like. Last year when I was shopping the after Christmas sales, … Read more →

We are not Jewish. Yet every year I make Chanukah bread.  And every year we remember that Hal Linden is (was? I don’t even know if he is still alive) Jewish and pay homage to him. It’s definitely a little kooky, but let me explain.

Back when we were first married, I was in college. My fall semester ended and I was in our apartment on my first day off decompressing with daytime tv. I was watching some talk show that has been lost to time and Hal Linden (of Barney Miller fame – younger readers probably have no clue who this is!) was a guest and he made a recipe for Chanukah bread. It looked so good, I grabbed a pen and scribbled the recipe down (I still have that piece of paper). I made it for dinner that night and we loved it and so since then I’ve made it every year, with some tweaks over the years. Sometimes we have it during Chanukah, sometimes just during the Christmas season. It’s always a special event though.

Hal Linden’s Chanukah Bread (adapted)
1 loaf sliced bread (I usually use Italian, but you could use plain white bread or even wheat)
1 stick butter, softened

2 tbsp olive oil

2/3 cup minced onion

6 tbsp country style Dijon mustard

2 tbsp poppy seeds

4 tbsp lemon juice

Mix butter, oil, onion, mustard, poppy seeds and lemon juice together. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 8 x 12 glass baking pan (first test your loaf to see if it will be held in place and not flop apart – if you have a shorter loaf, use a shorter pan so that the bread is supported by the ends of the pan – it is also possible to just wrap the bread in foil to hold it together). Place the bread in the pan. Using a knife or small spatula, spread the butter mixture on one side of every piece of bread and reserve enough to spread all across the top of the bread.

Hal’s recipe calls for Swiss  and American cheese – but I use Swiss and cheddar. You could substitute any type of cheese you like Place half a slice (I’m referring to those presliced pieces of cheese you can buy – if you’re slicing your own, just approximate this size and remember to keep it thin) each of Swiss and cheddar between each slice of bread.

Smear the remaining butter mix across the top.  Cover with foil and bake for at least 30 minutes or until all the cheese is melted (it could take up to 15 minutes more if your cheese is thick or your loaf is very large). If it is getting too brown, reduce heat.

This is even better the next day.

We are not Jewish. Yet every year I make Chanukah bread.  And every year we remember that Hal Linden is (was? I don’t even know if he is still alive) Jewish and pay homage to him. It’s definitely a little kooky, but let me explain. Back when we were first married, I was in college. … Read more →

We are not Jewish. Yet every year I make Chanukah bread.  And every year we remember that Hal Linden is (was? I don’t even know if he is still alive) Jewish and pay homage to him. It’s definitely a little kooky, but let me explain.

Back when we were first married, I was in college. My fall semester ended and I was in our apartment on my first day off decompressing with daytime tv. I was watching some talk show that has been lost to time and Hal Linden (of Barney Miller fame – younger readers probably have no clue who this is!) was a guest and he made a recipe for Chanukah bread. It looked so good, I grabbed a pen and scribbled the recipe down (I still have that piece of paper). I made it for dinner that night and we loved it and so since then I’ve made it every year, with some tweaks over the years. Sometimes we have it during Chanukah, sometimes just during the Christmas season. It’s always a special event though.

Hal Linden’s Chanukah Bread (adapted)
1 loaf sliced bread (I usually use Italian, but you could use plain white bread or even wheat)
1 stick butter, softened

2 tbsp olive oil

2/3 cup minced onion

6 tbsp country style Dijon mustard

2 tbsp poppy seeds

4 tbsp lemon juice

Mix butter, oil, onion, mustard, poppy seeds and lemon juice together. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 8 x 12 glass baking pan (first test your loaf to see if it will be held in place and not flop apart – if you have a shorter loaf, use a shorter pan so that the bread is supported by the ends of the pan – it is also possible to just wrap the bread in foil to hold it together). Place the bread in the pan. Using a knife or small spatula, spread the butter mixture on one side of every piece of bread and reserve enough to spread all across the top of the bread.

Hal’s recipe calls for Swiss  and American cheese – but I use Swiss and cheddar. You could substitute any type of cheese you like Place half a slice (I’m referring to those presliced pieces of cheese you can buy – if you’re slicing your own, just approximate this size and remember to keep it thin) each of Swiss and cheddar between each slice of bread.

Smear the remaining butter mix across the top.  Cover with foil and bake for at least 30 minutes or until all the cheese is melted (it could take up to 15 minutes more if your cheese is thick or your loaf is very large). If it is getting too brown, reduce heat.

This is even better the next day.

We are not Jewish. Yet every year I make Chanukah bread.  And every year we remember that Hal Linden is (was? I don’t even know if he is still alive) Jewish and pay homage to him. It’s definitely a little kooky, but let me explain. Back when we were first married, I was in college. … Read more →

Gingerbread cupcakes – what could be a better pick for December? I was so enthusiastic about these, I even bought holiday cupcake papers and little gingerbread toothpick guys to decorate. This recipe is from the Martha Stewart Cupcake book. Visit the MSC Cupcake Club page and other members if you get a chance.

As always, these cupcakes were a breeze to whip up. There was only one small problem – I didn’t have quite enough ginger. I only had 1 1/2 tbsp and the recipe called for 2 tbsp. Sorry Martha!

This made 22 very small cupcakes. Usually I like to fill my cupcake tins pretty close to the top and have them rise out of the tins. There wasn’t enough to do this and they didn’t rise a lot.

I just made a plain white frosting and decorated with my toothpick guys (as always I am sure I will be embarrassed once I see the other club members’ creativity!).

As for taste, I was not a big fan. I would rather eat real gingerbread. The kids liked them and so did Mr. MarthaAndMe. I sent most of these off to school with Teen Martha who fed them to her Virgil (Latin) class.

Gingerbread cupcakes – what could be a better pick for December? I was so enthusiastic about these, I even bought holiday cupcake papers and little gingerbread toothpick guys to decorate. This recipe is from the Martha Stewart Cupcake book. Visit the MSC Cupcake Club page and other members if you get a chance. As always, … Read more →

At this point, dear reader, you must be scratching your head and thinking “What else could she have inherited from her grandmother? Her house must be full!” But, as I’ve been doing since my grandmother passed away in May, I continue to find ways to use, display, and enjoy her belongings with some inspiration from Martha.

It should be no surprise that now I’m working through the Christmas items I got from her. My grandmother’s Christmas tree was always filled with blue ornaments – blue was her signature color. My own tree is pink (which is my signature color!), so her ornaments don’t work on my tree. I do have a lot of blue in my house, so I gathered all of the blue ornaments I received and put them in a Heise glass bowl she gave to me. It’s on the coffee table in the family room and looks very pretty.

Among her things we also found some pink ornaments – mostly hot pink, which doesn’t quite go with my tree. So I took these and put them in a glass container to display. They look great in my dining room.

Since everything on her tree was blue, she had a few interesting items you wouldn’t normally find in blue. The most memorable for my kids and me were her blue Santas. She had two blue Santa ornaments she bought in Japan. Every Christmas we would talk about these with her. She was so proud of them. “You never see a blue Santa!” she would say. Since there were two, each of my children got one (and fortunately they are identical so there was no squabbling). The Santas are hanging on the kids’ tree in the family room. They’re a bit old and falling apart (after all, she went to Japan probably 40 years ago)

She also had some elves, very 1960s elves, which are of course blue. I tried to put these in my kitchen, but the green color clashed with the sea green of my tile, so instead I gave them to the kids and they hung them on their tree.

At this point, dear reader, you must be scratching your head and thinking “What else could she have inherited from her grandmother? Her house must be full!” But, as I’ve been doing since my grandmother passed away in May, I continue to find ways to use, display, and enjoy her belongings with some inspiration from … Read more →

This year I bought one of Martha Stewart’s turkeys. Martha seems to be slowly making her way into the food market, so I was interested to try her turkeys. Martha’s turkeys are described as organic (although not certified), pasture fed and humanely treated – three things that are important to me. Last year I bought an organic turkey at my supermarket, but it was not pasture fed nor humanely treated, so I jumped at the chance to buy one of Martha’s. The cost made me choke a bit. I paid $85.51 (including shipping and AFTER a $15 discount) for a 12 lb turkey. That is quite steep.

The turkey arrived frozen on the day scheduled. I left it in the fridge to defrost. This took much longer than Martha said it would. I got the turkey exactly one week before Thanksgiving and it was not fully defrosted until the day before.

I did a wet brine this year (last year I tried Martha’s dry brine). I used 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup salt, 2 oranges quartered, 2 lemons quartered, fresh thyme and rosemary and about 6 peppercorns. I added this to 2 gallons of water and brought it to a boil and then cooled it before adding the turkey. I ended up adding about another gallon of water to get the turkey completely covered. I let it brine for about 16 hours.

When we took the turkey out of the brine to get it ready for the oven, we realized it was missing part of a wing! Martha would NOT approve of this.

I decided to attempt Martha’s cheesecloth method of turkey roasting (which was described in the instructions included with the turkey). You soak a piece of cheesecloth in butter (Martha says to use wine also but I didn’t use wine). You rub the turkey with butter and salt and pepper it (I also added some fresh sage, rosemary and thyme). Then you lay the cheesecloth over the turkey and bake at 425 for 30 minutes. Then brush it with the butter and reduce heat to 350, brushing with butter every 30 minutes for 2 hours.

After two hours, you remove the cheesecloth, baste with pan juices and continue to cook until the turkey reaches 165 (Martha says about 1 to 1 and a half hours). Ours was done in about an hour.

I did stuff my turkey- regular stuffing in one end and cornbread in the other end. We got a little excited after we took the turkey out and it rested – we didn’t remember to take a photo until after we scooped out the stuffing.

This was absolutely the BEST turkey we’ve ever had. It was moist, tender, flavorful, and it just about melted in your mouth. I am sure the quality of the turkey itself played a large part in that, but I also think the brining and the cheesecloth added to the taste and texture. I will definitely use this method again next year. I would love to buy Martha’s turkey again next year, but I hope I can find a local organic turkey that is pasture fed and humanely treated instead (not to mention less expensive – the shipping alone on this was $30). If not, I might end up with Martha’s again.

One other tidbit – I bought a potato masher – one of those handheld thingies you smush the potatoes with (highly recommended by Martha) and tried that for the mashed potatoes. I was surprised at how quickly they did smash up with it. However, I did not like the texture. It was too grainy. So I quickly got out the mixer and whizzed it with that – then it had the creamy texture we like. So the potato masher was a failure!

This year I bought one of Martha Stewart’s turkeys. Martha seems to be slowly making her way into the food market, so I was interested to try her turkeys. Martha’s turkeys are described as organic (although not certified), pasture fed and humanely treated – three things that are important to me. Last year I bought … Read more →

If your holiday budget is small this year, you might be wondering if there are any handmade gifts you could make, even if you aren’t a gifted crafter. Martha to the rescue! I’ve collected my 10 favorite handmade gift projects that even the most craft-impaired person can make. So while the rest of the world is out fighting the crowds on Black Friday, why not enjoy a quiet day at home and work on some low-cost DIY gifts with Martha?

1. Decal Candles. This craft is ridiculously easy and Martha even provides the templates.

2. Bath Fizzies. Cute and easy to make. What woman wouldn’t enjoy receiving these?

3. Velvet Ribbon Belts. Who wouldn’t love a fab new belt?

4. Map Coasters. I made these and they were actually quite easy. Perfect for a man or a woman, and easy to personalize with maps from their favorite vacation spot, cabin, or even where they honeymooned.

5. Photograph jewelry. Any gift that involves buying something and sticking a photo in it is doable for even the most craft-impaired. You know you can make any mom or grandma misty eyed with this kind of gift.

6. Stenciled Stool. Stenciling is a quick way to dress up a child’s stool, and a stool is a gift a young child will use every day at the bathroom sink.

7. Holiday Drink Mixers. Just mix and give – no crafting required! This is a gift that says “invite me to your next party.”

8. Pecan Clusters. You can’t go wrong with candy and these are classier than homemade fudge any day. Sneak a couple for yourself.

9. Popcorn tins. This all-purpose gift is even less expensive when you make your own at home. There are many yummy options available.

10. Organza Sachets. This is a great project for kids to work on with you or do on their own with a little guidance.

If your holiday budget is small this year, you might be wondering if there are any handmade gifts you could make, even if you aren’t a gifted crafter. Martha to the rescue! I’ve collected my 10 favorite handmade gift projects that even the most craft-impaired person can make. So while the rest of the world … Read more →

I decided to put together a Martha Stewart product gift guide. You don’t have to be a Martha fan to appreciate the things she sells. Martha could probably fill an entire store with her products at this point, so my challenge was to isolate just ten to recommend to you this holiday season. Check the list out for things you might want for yourself, hostess gifts, and presents for the ones you love!

1.Martha Stewart’s Cookies.  This book will be adored by anyone who likes to bake.  The cookies are organized by texture, which is a new approach, and includes classic recipes (peanut crisps, shortbread and snickerdoodles) as well as more adventurous kinds (bratseli, cornmeal thyme cookies, and Earl Grey cookies). $24.95

2. Fine Tip Glue Pen.  This is a great idea for anyone who crafts, has kids, or has lots of fun office supplies.  This dual purpose glue can be used wet for a traditional glue or once the applied glue has dried for a tacky, temporary stick. It’s a bargain at $3.06.

3. Glitter. Martha Stewart is now probably one of the biggest purveyors of glitter – she has over 100 colors and types. Pick up a pack for crafters or kids. The glitter is excellent quality and the shades of color available are just astounding. $15.95 for a 12 pack.

4. Tropical Toile Kitchen Towels. These are perfect for a hostess gift.  The vintage look of these towels means your grandma will like them and so will your newly married cousin.  $8.99 for a 3-pack.

4. Trousseau Pillowcase Box Gift Set.  Beautifully edged heirloom quality pillowcases will make a welcome gift for anyone. Choose from lace, scallop or delicate blue edging. Because they’re white, they will match any sheet set and the 300 thread count means they will feel luxurious to weary heads. $29.99 for 2 pillow cases.

5. Wedgwood French Knot Beverage Pot in Gold. What’s a gift list without a bit of luxury? Martha has her own line of Wedgewood dinnerware, and this elegant coffeepot/teapot is the perfect gift for the woman who has everything. Its delicate design will complement any china pattern and will identify her as a woman of class and taste. $189.

6. Asian Strainer. A fabulous stocking stuffer that will be welcome in any kitchen, this kitchen tool is bigger, lighter and more functional than a slotted spoon and is perfect for scooping veggies or ravioli out of boiling water. $7.99.

7. Magnetic Recipe Divider. You’ve decided to cut your aunt’s cookie recipe in half, but what’s half of a 1/3 of a cup? Take the guessing out of reducing recipes and buy your Secret Santa this magnetic doohicky that does it all for her!  $9.99.

8. Counting Baby Quilt. For the mom-to-be or the new baby in your life, Martha’s 100% cotton quilt will be a cherished gift whether it is used as bedding or hung on a wall with the attached rod pocket loops. $79.99

9. Whiteware Cake Stand. Whether you choose round or square, these elegant cake stands will make any cake look like a gourmet treat.  Select 8″, 10″ or 12″ for $22 to $42.

10. Petite Hydrangea Plant.  Send this to your friends and family who won’t be coming home for Christmas (and maybe send one to yourself too!). Martha’s 1-800-Flowers collection includes these lovely live plants, in pink or purple, which will last much longer than a cut flower arrangement and can be planted in the garden come spring, for years of enjoyment. $39.95

Looking for other great gift ideas? Here is a round up of some other terrific gift guides:

Gifts for dogs and dog lovers

Irish music

Gifts for travelers who read

Gifts for travelers

Gifts from paradise

Foodie gifts under $20

I decided to put together a Martha Stewart product gift guide. You don’t have to be a Martha fan to appreciate the things she sells. Martha could probably fill an entire store with her products at this point, so my challenge was to isolate just ten to recommend to you this holiday season. Check the … Read more →