Holiday Favorites

Growing up in the 60's, I clearly recall the first time I watched Rudolph, or Charlie Brown, or the Grinch.  I would sit as close to the television as I possibly could and be totally absorbed in the annual holiday tales.  Fast forward to my 50th year on this planet and I still enjoy watching the classics just as much as I did when I was a wee lad.  As a matter of fact, I doubt I've ever missed a year of their network broadcast. 

While I own my holiday favorites on DVD, there's something that just says, 'Christmas' watching them on network TV.  My routine is still pretty much the same year after year.. I'll curl up on the couch or in my easy chair, snuggle under a nice warm throw, and enjoy the show.  Silently I still cheer when Rudolph saves Christmas, and I get a tear in my eye to hear Linus share the true meaning of Christmas. 

My musical theater days come to mind when I watch "White Christmas"  with Bing, Danny, Rosemary, and Vera.  I can picture myself in grand dance form, twirling about to "The Best Things, Happen While You're Dancing."  Or, dressed in a velvet Santa outfit for the final number, "White Christmas."  Musical movies of the 1950's were the BEST.  You know you want to sing it... go ahead... "sisters... sisters.. there were never such devoted sisters..." 

I stumbled upon a blog that makes finding your favorite holiday special or movie easy; "It's a Wonderful Movie."  This site has a calendar of all the air times for the various holiday specials and movies for this year.  It's a great resource for a holiday special sap like me!

What's your favorite holiday special or movie (or both!)?  Grab a cup of hot chocolate and share your favorites!

A Very Merry Beekman Holiday

If you're looking for unique gift ideas this year, look no further than the Beekman 1802 Mercantile.  With an expanded line of merchandise, Beekman 1802 is a 'go-to' destination for all of your cyber-shopping needs. 

The Beekman 1802 Mercantile is just one portion of the lifestyle and media company, Beekman 1802 , owned and operated by Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Dr. Brent Ridge. Devoted to the artisanal and the hand-made, Beekman 1802 inspires visitors of the site to celebrate each season through heirloom gardening, wonderful craft ideas, decorating ideas and excellent recipes to cook and enjoy. 
The Mercantile reflects the Beekman commitment to supporting local artisans and living in a more environmentally responsible way.  To learn more about Beekman 1802, visit their website. 

The cornerstone of the Mercantile is a full line of goat milk soap,  made from the milk of the [now famous] goats that call Beekman farm home. Each bar of soap is hand-made using the highest percentage of goat milk possible.

The Year in the Country goat milk soap collection offers one bar of the specialty soaps produced each month, inspired by the scents of each season.  The Year in the Country soap collection comes in a beautiful wooden box perfect for gift giving.  (to see Brent make goat milk soap with Martha Stewart, click here)

Do you like giving the gift of fine foods for the holiday?  The Beekman 1802 Mercantile has two delicious choices for the gourmet food lover on your holiday list.

 

The Beekman Generous Fruitcake is a new product this year. Each cake is hand-wrapped in brandy-soaked cheesecloth. As the cake is consumed, keep the remainder wrapped and continue to brush the cloth with your own brandy. The flavors will continue to develop. Baked at the Black Cat Bakery in Sharon Springs, New York (one of our favorite places in Sharon Springs), each fruitcake is a hefty 1.5 pounds of natural deliciousness!

Ingredients: dried figs, dates, dried apricots, golden raisins, dark raisins, dried cherries, dried pineapple, pecans, butter, white sugar, brown sugar, eggs, salt, white flour, and Lairds Applejack, brandy.

The cheese lover on your list will love what we believe to be the best tasting cheese on the market.  Beekman 1802 Blaak is the first artisanal cheese produced from the goats at Beekman Farm. Blaak is an Italian-style semi-hard cheese made from a 60:40 mix of unpasteurized goat and cow milk giving the cheese a mild but distinctive flavor. In keeping with traditional cheesemaking practices, this rare cheese is aged for 4 months in our caves and is coated with ash at each turning to promote the ripening of the wheel. The resulting edible black rind gives the cheese its name and makes it a true conversation piece on your table.

Give a gift that will be enjoyed for many holidays to come.  The Beekman 1802 Christmas Sampler Throw is a beautiful 100% cotton throw measuring 60x48 inches features beautiful huck embroidery designs that are perfect for the holiday.  Each throw is hand-made and hand- tasseled. 

An item that is on MY own wish list this year is a beautiful historic weave silk scarf.  Each scarf features a tight weave of the signature Beekman Stripe pattern and is finished with a vintage honeycomb stitch. They were woven especially for Beekman 1802 on historic looms by the award-winning Thistle Hill Weavers in neighboring Cherry Valley. All I can say about these scarves:  I want, I want, I want!

A beautiful holiday card says so much.  The Beekman 1802 limited edition 2009 holiday card is the perfect card to share your well wishes.  The Beekman 1802 Holiday Card design, "Star", was inspired by a lone pine tree that stands near the Beekman barn. The design, from an antique plate, runs off the edge of the card as if the reader is looking up to find the "star" atop the tree.  Each card is hand printed on Cranes fine paper (the exact paper that William Beekman sold in his mercantile)  Cards come in a wrapped set of 10, with envelopes, and each measures  3.5 x 5 inches. 

These are just a few of our favorite things at Beekman 1802 Mercantile.  Stop by the store and see the full line of merchandise available this year.  You're sure to find the perfect gift!

The Decorating Begins

As always, the Friday after Thanksgiving is the day set aside to start (and with any luck finish) the holiday decorating inside the house. 

As mentioned in an prior post, I was going for a red/teal color scheme this year. With a touch of retro, I wanted to keep it simple and elegant. I think I'm headed in the right direction!

This year, we opted for a table top tree.  This 4 1/2 foot tree is so realistic looking and is charming in the corner of the family room.  With a mish-mash of teal, blue-teal, red, silver and white ornaments, it's just perfect.  I wish I could make a photograph of a decorated tree look good! 

In our kitchen eating area, we have a mantel shelf on the wall that tends to be the focal point of room decor as the seasons and holidays change.  Here, an antique pitcher is kept company with holiday plates from Martha Stewart Everyday (several years ago).  The garland is embellished with teal/silver/red ornaments.  I'm still debating if I need to add lights. 

I love my kitchen decorated for the holiday.  I prefer to use everyday kitchen items as part of the decoration.  On the antique Hoosier cabinet,  I filled a great serving bowl with stems of pine boughs and tossed in some color coordinated ornaments.  Festive, but simple.

The first year of the Martha Stewart Collection Holiday decorations included these big Kugels.  Here, the kugel hangs to the right of the Hoosier cabinet and is 'dressed' with a teal ribbon. 

I remember a very early Martha Stewart Living show when Martha made curtains from 'tea towels.'  I decided to use the concept with some great candy stripe towels I purchased from Macys (Martha Stewart Collection) last year.  A few simple cafe curtain rings and voila! - a festive holiday curtain.

We have an extensive collection of Jadeite which looks great with the teal/red colors.  Here, I used a clear domed cake stand to display snowmen (with red/teal hats!) on the table.  The dome keeps the cats away and keeps the artificial snow from blowing off the cake stand!

I still have a little bit of 'tweaking' to do before I can call the project complete.  I think we're well on our way for a holly jolly season!

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.  Share, Eat, Celebrate!

Thanksgiving Hotline Starts Today!

Still planning Thursdays menu?  Baffled by what to do with giblets?  Groaning over making gravy? Never fear!  The Martha Stewart Living Radio Thanksgiving Hotline begins today, Monday, 11/23 and runs through Wednesday 11/25. 

A host of expert chefs will be available to help you with all of your Thanksgiving questions.  Check the full schedule here.  Martha will be taking listeners calls today, from 4-5 pm. Just call 866.675.6675 and ask Martha!

Martha Stewart Living Radio is available on Sirius 112/XM 157.  Click here for a 30 day free trial!

Behind the Scenes: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2009

Here is a fun look behind the scenes at the most famous parade in America!

A Coffee for the Season

Coffee.  I love coffee.  I love a GOOD cup of coffee.  During the holidays one coffee that is a 'must have' for me is the Starbucks Christmas Blend. 

Since I'm not a cream and sugar kinda guy (my coffee has to be straight up.. no additional flavors!), the taste of the coffee is important to me. Starbucks Christmas Blend has a taste that is perfect for the holidays. 

Christmas Blend is sweet and spicy, with a flavor derived from bright, sparkling Latin American coffees and smooth, full-bodied Asia/Pacific beans. But it’s the Aged Sumatran beans, carefully held for 3 to 5 years before roasting, that give it that delicious signature spicy taste.

As I write this blog entry, I'm enjoying my very first cup of Christmas Blend this season.  Let the celebrations begin!

Starbucks Christmas Blend is available at any Starbucks location. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of this holiday favorite, Starbucks Christmas Blend is available in a special 25oz size, perfect for when the whole family comes to visit. (it's a great value at under $20) And like other good things, it also comes in small packages – in this case, 8oz and 16oz.

Now, who needs a warm up? 

Martha Stewart on Nightline

The ABC News series, "Nightline" will feature a full interview with Martha Stewart on Thursday evening, following your late night news.  (check local listings for specific air times)

There is already a great deal of media buzz about this interview.  Martha gives some straight talk on the company she founded, the legal troubles that impacted the company, and the rebuilding of the brand.  Sadly, what ABC News released as a 'promo' for the interview, included Martha's comments regarding Food Network personality Rachael Ray, referring to her as more of an entertainer than teacher.  As you can well imagine, media outlets are having a field day with that little sound bite!

After reading the story recap on abcnews.com, I have no doubt this will be an interesting interview to watch. 

What I find bothersome is the never ending attempt to change Martha.  Many people refer to Martha as a 'snob,' 'cold,' 'calculating,' and 'impersonal.'  Yeah?  So? 

What I've learned from following Martha for a number of years is to not expect her to be all warm and fuzzy.  She takes her role as a teacher of 'good things' seriously and is driven to be successful at what she does.  Could she win more hearts if she appeared to be a bit more personable?  Perhaps.  But what I appreciate about Martha is the fact that she just is who she is, like it or not.  If the public focused less on the personality and more on the content, I think they'd have a better appreciation for her work. 

What drew me in to Martha many years ago was her instructive style.  I recall on the old Living show,  the precise step by step, how to instruction that made me WANT to follow the steps and achieve the same results.  I was hooked. This was the kind of information I wanted and found valuable.  I wasn't looking for a 'best friend' to walk me through the steps; I wasn't looking to be entertained. I wanted a teacher to teach me.  I found that with Martha.  But... that's just me. 

So, set your DVR, or tune in to the interview.  I don't think we'll learn anything new or hear anything 'shocking;' but I will always find it interesting to see a 'day in the life of Martha Stewart.'