Josh Kilmer-Purcell's Blog, page 44

Shiny and Bright

At Beekman 1802 our signature look is a mixture of the high and the low, and nothing demonstrates that more than this handy little project.

How many times have you wanted to use a metal tray, but when you pulled it out of the cabinet is was tarnished and you promptly put it back?

We’ve got an idea that will have you sparkling in half the time:

 

 

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5 Beautiful Things

Beekman Place Wreaths

I love Brent’s and Josh’s Christmas philosophy: “There’s no such thing as ‘too much’ when it comes to Christmas.” A series of new-old wreaths available for purchase at their online shop speaks to this commitment to holiday razzmatazz and seduced me at first sight. They were created by an artist named Cackie McCarty who lives in Virginia. She scours the earth for authentic vintage ornaments and incorporates them into dazzling wreaths, such as these. Many of the wreaths contain ornaments that are highly prized by collectors today, such as an original Bradford Santa & Sleigh mantel decoration and beautiful ornaments from the 1950s from the United States, Austria, Germany and Poland. Each wreath is one-of-a-kind. I’m seriously in love with them. Click here to see more from the Beekman 1802 holiday shop!

 

 

 

A Walk in a Nighttime Snow Storm

We recently had the first big snowstorm of this season, which dumped about 14 inches of snow on the farm. It came down so fast and furious that some of our Team Beekman colleagues had to bunk overnight at the Mercantile. Önder , however, loved it. She whined at the door until we let her outside. There’s something especially haunting about snow at night…check out the pics:

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Beekman Place

Life is a banquet and too many people are starving to death!—Auntie Mame

 

 

Christmas at Beekman Place

 

If you’ve never read the book or seen the movie that chronicles the story of Mame, then you’ve certainly heard the most famous song from the musical version of the story:

 

For we need a little Christmas

Right this very minute,

Candles in the window,

Carols at the spinet.

Yes, we need a little Christmas

Right this very minute.

It hasn’t snowed a single flurry,

But Santa, dear, we’re in a hurry;

 

Each year we try to come up with a unique holiday theme for the Mercantile, and this year we chose to honor this American literary icon (and it really has NOTHING to do with the fact that her address is 3 Beekman Place)

Mame traveled the world, re-decorated her home weekly, had a fortune, lost a fortune, took in an orphaned nephew, and all along the way never lost her zany zeal for life.

Whenever we’re feeling over worked or underappreciated, we always remind ourselves –no matter what time of year it is—that we CAN have a little Christmas, right this very minute.

All it takes is looking around and finding all those things that sparkle in your life.

 

All of the products we designed for the Christmas at Beekman Place Collection are of LIMITED EDITION, so if you see something you like, please click here to order now or call the Mercantile at 518.284.6039

 

 

Vintage Christmas

Photograph by Adam Milliron

 Jodi Hilliard is the official curator of the Beekman 1802 Vintage Collection. She shares regular posts about her finds and using them in your lifestyle. 

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…especially at my house! Snow on the ground and my favorite vintage holiday decorations going up. I enjoy mixing pieces that my mother has given to me over the years along with vintage treasures I find when out picking. I am always drawn to the holiday decoration section at sales and flea markets so that I can add pieces to the Beekman 1802 Vintage Collection (and, of course, my personal collection).

Some of my favorite vintage Christmas decorations include elves, and Putz houses. Elves are very “mid-century” and  were always present during my childhood Christmas’s.s look great on any tree–especially when accented with plenty of tinsel! And Putz houses are so much fun;  you can build your own little holiday village by collecting them. Early this year, I came across a really nice lot of Putz houses at an estate and am happy to share those pieces with you in the Beekman 1802 Vintage Collection.

I hope you enjoy the vintage holiday items I have curated for this season as it was so much fun gathering them. Vintage Christmas items seem to go really fast, so if you see something you like, be quick like St. Nick and grab it before it’s gone!

 

 Vintagely yours,

Jodi

Five Beautiful Things

Variations on the Ginkgo

Ever since I was young, I was enamored of the ginkgo tree. I love the shape of its leaves and the uniformity of its signature vibrant yellow hue during the autumn months. It seems I am not alone, either. The tree, also known as the maidenhair tree, is native to China and was considered beautiful enough to be planted on the sacred grounds of Buddhist temples. It was first cultivated in North America in 1784 in Philadelphia and is now planted worldwide as a landscape plant. The fan-like shape of the ginkgo leaf has been used as a decorative motif for centuries: from furniture to jewelry, wallpaper to textiles.

The ginkgo’s charm may lie in its resilience. It is one of the oldest trees in the world. Modern ginkgoes are virtually the same as fossil specimens of the same species dating back more than 100 million years. The only plant older than the ginkgo is the fern. Much like the fern, the ginkgo reproduces itself using ovules that are fertilized by motile sperm, which are released by pollen grains when the tree germinates.

There is a ginkgo grove planted not too far from where I work and I love visiting it this time of year on my walk home to marvel at the swath of vibrant yellow and the striking shape of the fallen leaves. Below are five beautiful photos of the ginkgo used as a decorative motif. The first photograph was taken by my friend Lori Coleman who lives in Culpepper, Virginia. This tree grows in her back yard.

 

Leftover Stuffing Hacks

 

Stuffing shouldn’t just be a Thanksgiving and sometimes-Christmas dish. We should be eating stuffing year round! It’s more versatile than you think…and can be paired with everything from fish to beef to pork to veggies. (No, we’re not getting paid by StoveTop.)

But while there are hundreds of ideas online for what to do with leftover Thanksgiving turkey, you won’t find many for leftover stuffing. Maybe people just toss it out because, after all, “it’s just soggy bread.” But we waste nothing on the farm. So over the years we’ve come up with a lot of fabulous ideas for using up stuffing post-holiday. Check ‘em out below.  (We’ve also got ideas for leftover cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes.)

FREEZE FREEZE FREEZE!:  Stuffing freezes better than any other part of Thanksgiving dinner. So while you’re cramming down leftover mashed potatoes and turkey to beat the spoilage clock, put your leftover stuffing on ice. Tip: it’s best to freeze it individually portioned spoonfuls or squares on a baking sheet first, then put in freezer bags.

STUFFING QUICHE:  Press leftover stuffing into the bottom and up the sides of a deep dish pie plate to use as the shell for your favorite quiche recipe.

MEATLOAF:  You know how meatloaf calls for breadcrumbs and spices? Well…what is stuffing anyway? Yep. Bread and spices. Mix stuffing into your favorite meatloaf recipe instead of breadcrumbs.

CHICKEN SOUP DUMPLINGS:  When you get that bad winter cold next February, pull out some leftover  Thanksgiving stuffing from the freezer, mix in an egg, roll into tight balls and drop into simmering chicken soup. If it doesn’t cure you, it will at least remind you to be thankful that it’s not pneumonia.

BLUE CHEESE BITES: Roll stuffing around a tablespoon-sized hunk of blue cheese. If stuffing is very wet, roll in dried bread crumbs and bake until cheese in middle is warm and gooey.

STUFFED SQUASH:  Place acorn squash halves in baking dish, spoon stuffing in cavities, drizzle with maple syrup, cover loosely with foil, and bake at 350F until squash is softened.

FISH:  Stuffed trout isn’t just for fancy restaurants. Pick up a nice, whole fish from your best grocer and bake fish with stuffing in cavity.

FRUITY STUFFED PORK: In our first cookbook we taught you to use leftover fruitcake as a stuffing for pork. Turn your leftover stuffing into an even better stuffing by adding chopped dried prunes, apricots & apples and using to stuff pork chops or roast.

STUFFED APPLE SIDE: Baked apples aren’t just for dessert. By stuffing apples with savory stuffing before baking (add a few raisins too!) they can be served alongside the main course.

ONION SOUP ADD-IN:  Prepare your favorite onion soup recipe (leaving out any spices other than salt & pepper,) add a generous spoon full of stuffing to simmering mixture, melt gruyere cheese over top.

CROUTONS: Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, bread cubes to bread cubes. Spread leftover stuffing evenly across a baking sheet and bake at 350F until almost, but not completely dry. Cut into cubes, and return to oven until totally dry. Great with a crisp romaine salad.

STUFFING JAM CAKES:  A great savory/sweet breakfast side. Flatten stuffing into cakes, fry in butter alongside eggs, top with apple butter or concord grape jelly. 

Brilliant Tin

 

How a bit of Christmas Past came back to the Present.

Gustav Meyer came to New York to work as a confectioner in 1864.  But he was also an inventor.  His most notable creations were customized molds to manufacture logoed sugar wafers for the hotel trade…and the bubble gum whistle!

Always a man of many ideas, he held patents for things as varied as cake decorating machines, edible ice cream scoops and radiator humidifiers.

In 1880, Gustav began the production of “Tin Brilliant Ornaments” for Christmas trees.  Using his knowledge of mold making for confections, he created an intricately-carved brass mold embedded with real faceted gem stones.  The tin cast ornaments had the concave impressions of the gemstones which served to catch and reflect ambient light.  The “gems” were decorated with brightly colored paint that made them look like actual jewels.

Over the next decades, the ornaments became a world-wide sensation. Their unique configuration could make a Christmas tree twinkle in a way that had never been seen before.

But in the early 20th century, electric Christmas tree lights were developed and the public had a new way of making their tree sparkle.  The era of the Tin Brilliant Ornament had passed.

Gustav suffered a stroke in 1917 and died the following year.  His family donated most of his metal equipment to wartime scrap drives.

The ornaments were “lost” for decades.

 

So how did they come to be the signature ornament for Beekman 1802 this year?

 

Sometime in the 1970s, Bill and Janet Rigsby who live just down the way from us in Cooperstown, NY,  were at an antique shop in Staten Island, NY.  In the bottom drawer of an old wooden desk, they found a box with over 40 ornament molds.

In 1987, Bill and Janet used the molds to make the ornaments once again.  At the time, Gustav’s daughters were still alive and living on Staten Island.  The Rigby’s located the youngest daughter, Emilie.  Even though she was now blind, when they placed the new ornament in her hand she exclaimed, “Brillanten! It’s Poppa’s brillanten.”

 

See how each of the Beekman 1802 Signature Christmas Ornament for 2014 is made:

 

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This holiday season, Bill and Janet created two ornaments exclusively for Beekman 1802 using the original molds created by Gustav Meyer.  You can see them by clicking here

 

 

 

 

Leftover Mashed Potato Hacks

Mashed potatoes…how can something so good the first day be so bad by the next? Well, technically the answer has to do with starch content, cellular structure, and the fact that God just intended us to eat mashed potatoes when they’re hot, dangit.

We’re not sure what overcomes us, but we always make too many mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving. Did we really think that each dinner guest could consume the mashed equivalent of four whole potatoes? Yes. Yes we did. And they can’t. So we’ve had to be pretty creative in coming up with uses for leftover smashers:

SAVORY POTATO CHEESE PANCAKES:  Potato pancakes are kinda the obvious choice for leftover mashed potatoes. Kick it up a notch with cheese. Simply combine 3 cups of potatoes with a few tablespoons of flour, half a cup of cheese, a dollop of sour cream, parsley or chives, and an egg. Mush together, dredge in a little more flour, and fry ‘em up in some vegetable oil.

MUSHINS:  Turn those cold mashers into breakfast muffins. Replace 1/3 of the flour in your favorite corn muffin recipe with mashed potatoes. Add some chopped peppers (green, red or hot.) Bake as usual. (You can check out the breakfast muffin recipe in our new Heirloom Vegetable Cookbook.)

GNOCCHI:  Ummm…this one’s almost too easy. If you have leftover mashed potatoes, you’re already half done making gnocchi. Use any recipe online, and of course top it with our Mortgage Lifter Sauce.

CHOCOLATE CAKE:  Yep. We said chocolate cake. Swap out 1/3 of the flour with mashed potatoes in your favorite chocolate cake recipe. (Don’t worry if the potatoes have salt. Just use really rich dark chocolate in your recipe, omit any added salt in the recipe, and use unsalted butter.)

CHOWDER:  Instead of adding flour to thicken your clam or corn chowder recipe, add mashed potatoes, and stir well.

CARAMELIZED ONION POTATO HAND PIES: We already have this hand-pie recipe on our website. How easy is that? You’re welcome.

MASHALOO:  Sounds like the name of a 1970’s Saturday morning cartoon. But actually it’s just adding garam masala spices, lemon zest, curry and cayenne pepper to your mashed potatoes. Sometimes leftovers are easier to finish if you just change the flavor completely.

SHEPHERDS PIE: We probably don’t need to remind you that this is a mashed potato option. But just in case you forgot, we didn’t.

JAPANESE SALAD:  To your mashed potatoes, add some wasabi mayonnaise, rice vinegar, chopped steamed carrots, chopped hardboiled egg, chopped cucumber, chopped cooked ham & sesame seeds. Serve chilled.

CRAB CAKES: Substitute mashed potatoes for half of the crackers/panko/breadcrumbs called for in your favorite crab cake recipe.

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES:  When heating the cream to make truffle filling, dissolve some mashed potatoes in with it before adding chocolate. Adds a great texture.

POTATO-STUFFED MEATLOF:  You serve potatoes with meatloaf, right? Why not serve them in meatloaf? Fill your meatloaf tin halfway with meat mixture, add mashed potoatoes (leaving an inch border,) cover with remaining meat mixture, and bake as usual.

(Check out our “hacks” for leftover cranberry sauce and leftover stuffing.)

 

Do you have some of your own great ideas for using up mashed potatoes? Share them in the comment section…

The December Chatter

We’ve lobbied really hard for Garrison Keillor to give up life in Lake Wobegone and move to Sharon Springs, but thus far he has not answered our letters or returned our calls.

Sharon Springs has beautiful people and above-average children, too, so on to Plan B.

What is a small town village without a small town paper to keep track of what everyone is doing?

Nancy Pfau, the town historian, is now editor of our own little paper.

Each month you can check back here for a new issue and follow the lives of the real village people. If you pay a real visit, you may even want to submit a story idea of your own!

You may not live in small town, but at least you can pretend.

See below for the December 2014 Issue

 

 

The Chatter for December 2014