cookiesinheaven

and picks up some items and the current issue of Edible Santa Barbara. It's a good thing.

Labels: Edible Santa Barbara, Farmer's Markets, Martha Stewart, Onions

Labels: cake, Flag Cake, Holidays, Ina Garten, Martha Stewart

Labels: cupcakes, Martha Stewart

In Martha Stewart’s Cookies, the editors of "Martha Stewart Living" give you 175 recipes and variations that showcase all kinds of flavors and fancies. Besides perennial pleasers like traditional chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin, there are other sweet surprises, including Rum Raisin Shortbread, Peppermint Meringue Sandwiches with Chocolate Filling, and Lime Meltaways.

Cleverly organized by texture, the recipes in Martha Stewart’s Cookies inspire you to think of a classic, nostalgic treat with more nuance.

Labels: Cookbooks, Cookies, Martha Stewart

Macy's is in the process of working out a deal to bring a 20,000 square-foot grocery store to the basement of its State Street flagship location in Chicago sometime early next year.

Macy's, which has faced a shopper revolt over its decision to drop the Marshall Field's banner, has come to the publicly-stated conclusion that it has done all it can to address the issues of the disaffected and has to move on to bringing in a new group of customers. Bringing in an upscale grocery store to the location would be one way to attract shoppers. - Retail Wire

The department store chain is talking to several companies about opening a 20,000-square-foot in-store supermarket, and a deal could be reached as soon as early next year, Guzzetta said. He declined to disclose candidates, but said, "I would like it to be organic." - Chicago Tribune

I'm sure they will be carrying Martha Stewart Wine. Macy's kitchen section has become "everything Martha". And, yes...you heard me right. Martha Stewart signature wine. But, the question remains - will it be a "good thing?"

If you are looking for recipes to use up that "after Thanksgiving Turkey", you might want to make Marshall Field's Walnut Room Special Sandwich!

One fresh, crispy head iceberg lettuce
Three to five thin slices of freshly roasted turkey breast (white meat only), room temperature
Three-fourths cup thousand island dressing (recipe to follow)
One thin slice of aged Swiss cheese
One fresh slice of Jewish or other mild (but flavorful) rye bread
One to two teaspoons butter, softened
Two slices of your favorite bacon
Slice of hard-boiled egg
Slice of tomato
Olive and parsley garnish

Butter rye bread and place on a large cold serving plate. Cover bread with Swiss cheese slice, followed by one or two slices of turkey. Take a nice large outer lettuce leaf from the head of iceberg and set aside. Slice the iceberg lettuce in a few large sections and arrange a section on top of the turkey and Swiss cheese.
Cover the open-face "sandwich" with big lettuce leaf. Top with several slices of turkey. Pour a very ample amount of dressing over the lettuce, allowing it to puddle slightly all around the plate. Place a slice of bacon and an olive on either side of sandwich mound. Place tomato slice and egg slice atop mound with parsley sprig. Serve immediately.

Yield: one Special Sandwich

Yield: One entree-size serving

Thousand Island Dressing

One cup real mayonnaise
One-half cup Heinz chili sauce
Two tablespoons sweet pickle relish
Two large green olives, pitted and finely chopped
One-half teaspoon dried tarragon
Dash Tabasco
Dash Worcestershire sauce
One hard-boiled egg, finely chopped (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Serve.

Yield: One and three-fourths cups dressing

Labels: grocery stores, Macy's, Martha Stewart, Wine

1 liter Maker’s Mark
Lots of fresh spearmint leaves
1 cup distilled water
1 cup granulated sugar
Powdered sugar for garnish
Mint sprigs for garnish

1. To prepare the mint extract, remove about 40 small mint leaves – wash and place in a small mixing bowl. Cover with 3 ounces of Maker’s Mark. Allow the leaves to soak for 15 minutes. Then gather the leaves in a clean, soap-free piece of cotton cloth and vigorously wring the mint bundle over the bowl of whisky. Dip the bundle again and repeat the process several times. Then set aside.

2. To prepare the simple syrup, mix 1 cup of granulated sugar and one cup of water in a cooking pot. Heat to dissolve the sugar. Stir constantly so the sugar does not burn. Set aside to cool.

3. To prepare the mint julep mixture, pour 3 1/2 cups of Maker’s Mark into a large glass bowl or glass pitcher. (Pour the remaining whisky from the liter bottle into another container and save it for another purpose). Add 1 cup of the simple syrup to the Maker’s Mark.

4. Now, begin adding the mint extract 1 tablespoon at a time to the julep mixture. Each batch of mint extract is different, so you must taste and smell after each tablespoon is added. You may have to leave the room a time or two to clear your nose. The tendency is to use too much mint. You are looking for a soft mint aroma and taste – generally about 3 tablespoons.

5. When you think it’s right, pour the whole mixture back into the empty liter bottle and refrigerate it for at least 24 hours to marry the flavors

6. To serve the mint julep, fill each glass (preferably a silver mint julep cup) half full with shaved ice. Insert a sprig of mint and then pack in more ice to about an inch over the top of the cup. Then, insert a straw that has been cut to one inch above the top of the cup so the nose is forced close to the mint when sipping the julep.

7. When frost forms on the cup, pour the refrigerated julep mixture over the ice and add a sprinkle of powdered sugar to the top of the ice. Makes 26-30 servings.

Labels: blogs, Horse Racing, Kentucky Derby, Martha Stewart

How does a woman with five kids make a few hundred thousand marshmallows? Very, very well. World, meet Laura Dhuyvetter, the only woman in the history of time to have five kids under the age of ten and launch a company that is inarguably one of the world's most important gourmet s'mores creators.

It was a glorious age, if you were a candy watcher: "He did tremendous rabbits and chicks and shell eggs," recalls local candy wholesaler Jack Lees, admiring the work of Harold Schafer, now deceased.

It is a common refrain, more a lament, really, among Philadelphia's aging band of candymen. This season (even as Hershey decamps, in part, to Mexico), Harry Young, another stalwart of Easter, is gone: His iconic shop on Girard Avenue closed after his death last year.

But a happy reversal of fortune is playing out beneath the massive rafters and overhead flywheels that spun the belts to mix the buttercream at the Schafer's plant: Michael and Julie Holahan have opened a candy store.

Imagine a wedding dress made entirely of icing. Michele Hester did - complete with elaborate lace bustier and sleeves, flouncy skirt and a huge bow that looks like satin.

It's all made of sugar and eggs, a concoction she calls SugarVeil that's more commonly used for elaborate cakes and other edibles.

....And after years of cold calls to chief executive officers and hours on her feet at trade shows selling her inventions, a remarkable thing happened. Martha Stewart came by.

Labels: Candy, Food Section, Martha Stewart, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Texas