The 3rd Blog of Christmas

A Few of Martha’s Favorite Things

(to the tune of A Few of My Favorite Things)

verse 1
Menus and recipes
And artistic decor,
Baking and gardening
And knitting and crafting,
Indulgence and comfort
Perfection held high
These are essentials of domestic bliss.

verse 2
Tasty food gifts like
Biscotti and coffee.
Creative craft gifts like
Snowglobes and candles.
Holiday wreaths and
Liquored up fruitcake.
These are all things featured on Martha’s show.

refrain
Martha the maven
Wildly successful
Her passion for teaching all homey things.
Though not a true chef,
She’s here to improve you
To inspire to bake some more.

verse 3
A creamy eggnog
And gingersnap cookies.
Creaming and baking
The butter and sugar.
Whisking and whisking
Ribboning egg yolks.
These are some goodies
That I made from Martha.

refrain
When the bell dings
When the rum’s in
Then you’re feeling great.
Just simply start baking
These fabulous cookies
And then you can indulge
In eggnog.

***

Over the years, I have developed a group of people important to me who I consider my mentors. It may be someone I’ve never met, someone I’ve read, or someone I’ve watched, but it’s always someone who’s had a significant impact on my thinking. Ms. Martha Stewart – homemaking guru, domestic diva, entertaining expert, brilliant business manager, middle America success story – is someone I consider a mentor. I’ve always had a soft side for Martha. With simple solutions to everyday problems, her craftiness and everyday celebration of life are greatly inspiring and initiated my obsession with entertaining and baking. Growing up, many days would revolve around her show, absorbing tips from her books, stirring together her recipes and toiling over her crafts. Today, I still find myself reaching for her magazines and tuning into her show, because Martha also offers something else I crave: entrepreneurial vision.

So, as tribute to Martha Stewart, I made her eggnog and gingersnap cookies, which, I admit, were delightfully polished off in a matter of minutes.



Certainly a guilty pleasure, no other drink epitomizes Christmas as wholly as rich, creamy eggnog gliding effortlessly over your lips. Perfect on a brisk winter night, the almost immoral scent of winter’s sumptuous spices fills the air as the sinfully enchanting custard simmers on the stove. Although I followed Martha’s recipe mostly as written, I did add a few dash of cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. The recipe also calls for freshly grated nutmeg, and, if used, you will be pleasantly amazed by the results. The alluring spice just tempts and taunts with its exotically sweet fragrance. And, yes, I highly advise the alcohol; otherwise, it’s just empty calories.

Thin and crispy, this classic sugar-dusted gingersnap adds a festive sparkle to your holiday cookie jar. Although Martha’s recipe for this spicy snap calls for sweetening with maple syrup, I did slightly alter the ingredients to achieve a deeper, spicier and more complex taste, using all butter and the traditional sweetener, molasses. Laden with the sensuous spices of winter, gingersnaps are an ideal companion to a mug of luxurious eggnog, especially consumed fireside while an opulent blanket of white envelops the city landscape.



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