Cocktail of the Month: The Capricorn

Here's a delicious way to enjoy Champagne - in a flute crowned with citrus-laced sugar. For the main ingredient, use an affordable bubbly. Dry and floral, La Caravelle Rosé is a new addition to the line crafted by the former owners of the legendary New York restaurant. Serve this drink to ring in the New Year with a sweet and sparkling toast or anytime you want to have a special celebration!

La Caravelle Rosé Champagne
$37, lacaravelle.com

Makes 1

2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated kumquat zest, plus 1 kumquat slice
Rosé Champagne, chilled

Combine sugar and zest. Wet rim of a Champagne glass; coat rim in sugar mixture. Drop kumquat slice in glass, and fill with Champagne.

Happy New Year!

Wishing you and yours a safe and Happy New Year!

Martha Stewart Living Magazine - A Decade of Inspiration

By now, you're probably tired of all the "year in review" and "decade in review" footage on the news, but I wanted to share a decade of Martha Stewart Living magazine with you in this little video.  You might recognize some of the music too!  Happy New Year!

The D. Landreth Seed Catalog

The cover of the 2009-2011 Seed Catalog

When I looked in my mailbox today I was so happy to see the 2009-2011 Landreth Commemorative Seed catalog. This beautiful vintage inspired catalog is breath-taking in not only its content, but its design as well.

This year, Landreth celebrated its 225th anniversary. In the United States, only four other companies have celebrated such a milestone. To honor the anniversary, the special commemorative edition of the catalog was created using imagery from over 60 catalogs, wholesale price lists, Rural Registers and Alamanacs covering a period from 1839-1924. The catalog is filled with articles, testimonials, advertisements and artwork from the 60 year archive. It’s a catalog worthy of a place among your favorite coffee table books.

From humble beginnings in Philadelphia in 1784, David Landreth started the seed company and sold seeds to the City of Philadelphia and several nearby estates. As his reputation steadily grew, his customers included George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Joseph Bonaparte (Napoleon’s brother).

David Landreth introduced the Zinnia into the United States from Mexico in 1798. In 1811, Landreth introduced the first truly white potato. In 1820, he introduced the tomato, known then as The Love Apple, and later perfected the first variety of yellow tomato. In 1826, the Company introduced a new kind of spinach to the American gardener. The spinach eventually became known as Bloomsdale Spinach, one of the most popular vegetables ever grown and a favorite of gardeners even today.

A page from the archives

The Landreth family treasured America’s and the world’s agricultural and horticultural heritage. For more than 200 years, the Landreth Catalogues, Rural Registers and Almanacs introduced and chronicled the development of seeds, many of which are now heirlooms. Bloomsdale, the Landreth family home, had the best collection of trees in the United States-only Judge Field of Princeton and the Sargent family of Boston were in the same class.

Today, the D. Landreth Seed Company is the fifth oldest corporation in America. Among its many historical claims is the fact that the company sold seed to every American president from George Washington to Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Landreth story is the story of an American family business which was born near the time of America’s birth and grew with America over three centuries. It’s a story of strong minded men and woman of principle, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters who pursued a path of innovation and exploration with the pioneering spirit that will always be the essence of what makes this country great.

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting the current owners of the D. Landreth Seed Company during our visit to Sharon Springs, NY this last fall. I was so impressed with the knowledge, the passion and the commitment they have for their business and for their customers.

You can visit the D. Landreth Seed Company on line and learn more about this incredible American institution.

Martha Stewart Clean Now Available at Home Depot

Martha Stewart Clean, the new line of eco-friendly cleaning products are now available at The Home Depot.

While making a last minute stop at our local Home Depot store just before the holiday, I saw a large display of the complete line of Clean products for sale. The product line includes an all-purpose cleaner, glass/mirror cleaner, bathroom cleaner, laundry soap, fabric softner, toilet bowl cleaner, wood floor cleaner, dishwashing/hand soap, spot carpet cleaner, and dishwasher soap. 

I purchased my stock of Clean a month or so ago and I've had a chance to use all the products in the line.  I put them to the cleaning test as I prepared for the holidays with some mixed results.  I've rated the cleaning products based on my own experience: 

**** Four Stars:  My top picks from the cleaning line are the all-purpose cleaner, the glass/mirror cleaner, and the wood floor cleaner.  Each worked very well without any residue or obnoxious odors. 

*** Three Stars:  Toilet bowl cleaner, bathroom cleaner and carpet cleaner.  All performed well, handling the daily cleaning.  Because there are no chemicals in the cleaners, they did not work as 'fast' as I'm used to with other commercial products.  The carpet cleaner took two attempts to remove the spot stain. 

** Two Stars:  The dishwashing / hand soap and laundry soap both are given the two star rating.  While they work for daily use, the dishwashing/hand soap did not perform well with grease removal.  The laundry soap is excellent for your basic laundry needs but additional products will need to be used for stain removal. 

* One Star:  The lone disappointment in the entire line was the fabric softner.  With a front loading, He machine, the fabric softner is too thick to be used with the auto dispenser on my washer.  I will need to thin out the softner so it will automatically dispense into the machine at the rinse cycle.

The Clean line is 99% plant based, with no additional coloring or perfumes added.  I like knowing what I'm using to clean my house is chemical free, given I have 4 cats wandering around!  My grade for the Martha Stewart Clean product line:  B  

and to all, a good night...

Christmas Eve, 2009

Dear Readers of House Blend,

As we settle in this Christmas Eve and await Santa's arrival, I wanted to take a few moments to express my sincere thanks to each of you who have made House Blend a regular blog stop in your internet travels.

2009 was an incredible year of growth for House Blend and 2010 will bring several new changes that I hope you will find enjoyable:

-- Video blogging

-- Great interviews are lined up throughout 2010 with interesting and creative people

-- More diverse content that will cover all aspects of daily living

-- A new blog design that will make House Blend more visually appealing

-- and much more!

Of course, you can always count on House Blend to share the lastest in MSLO news. 

Look for these exciting changes in early 2010. 

Thank you for a wonderful year.  I hope you'll stay with House Blend throughout 2010.  Living is always an adventure and I hope we can share it all together. 

More Baking - Chocolate Espresso Sno-caps

My holiday baking madness continues with these easy and delicious Chocolate Espresso Sno-caps. 

I had no intention of making these until I opened my email today to find my "Cookie of the Day" email from Martha Stewart Living which featured these classic treats.  The espresso powder makes these cookies taste so rich and so full of chocolate flavor.  This particular recipe said it would yield 18 cookies, but I managed to get a full two dozen!  This recipe is worth printing and adding to your cookie recipe box!

Treats for Santa

I awoke at my usual early hour of the morning to find a fresh blanket of pristine snow.  Finally.  A thin blanket of white to make Christmas week picture perfect. 

After a cup of my seasonal favorite, Starbucks Christmas Blend (make that a few cups), I decided to take my Saturday morning and make cookies.  My friend Mike sent me an early present, a vintage cookie press so I knew I would have to try it out and make for the first time ever, Spritz cookies.  I also wanted to make a cookie that became a favorite last year, German Chocolate Cake Cookies. 

A throwback to the 50's with this fabulous "cooky" press!

It took me a few attempts to find just the right number of twists to make the perfect spritz cookie.  I have never used a cookie press before (or as the box says, "cooky" press) so I had to play for a while to get the perfect cookie.  I used Martha Stewart's Spritz cookie recipe and it was excellent. 

A classic Spritz

The German Chocolate Cake Cookies are to die for.  The recipe was found in the 2008 special issue of Paula Deen's Holiday Baking.  The are easy to make and oh so good!  The recipes for both cookies can be found below. 

German Chocolate goodness!

Spritz Cookie Recipe:

3 sticks of unsalted butter, creamed

1C sugar

2 egg yolks

1/4 t salt

3 3/4 C all purpose flour

1T vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Add the egg yolks, mix to combine.  Add vanilla and salt, mix to combine.  Slowly add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. 

Fill the canister of the cookie press with dough.  Press the cookies out onto a CHILLED,  ungreased half sheet baking pan. 

Bake at 375 degrees for exactly 12 minutes. Do not let the cookies brown!  Remove from the baking pan and allow to cool on a wire rack.  Makes about 6 dozen cookies!

German Chocolate Cake Cookies:

1 stick unsalted butter (softened)

1/2C firmly packed brown sugar

1/4C sugar

1 large egg

1t vanilla

1 4oz bar of German's sweet chocolate, melted

1 1/4C all purpose flour

1/4C unsweetened cocoa powder

1t baking soda

1/4t salt

1 1/2C sweetened flaked coconut

1C chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 359 degrees.  Line half sheet baking pans will parchment or silpat baking liners.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugars at medium speed until fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla, beating until combined.  Add melted chocolate, beating until combined. 

In a medium bowl, combine clour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.  Gradually add to the butter mixture, beating util combined.  Stir in coconut and pecans.  Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are set in the center.  Let the pans cool for 2 minutes and remove cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.  Makes approx. 3 dozen cookies