Homemade for the Holidays

I love reading about homemade ways to make the holidays special. Today I thought I'd share a few ideas.....

Last night Mom and I hosted a Christmas dinner for our book club. One of my friends brought me this cute little ornament as a hostess gift. She painted a Snowman on a big jingle bell and topped it with a fluffy bow. Isn't it adorable? I love Christmas crafts, and I may just have to borrow this idea from her in the future!

A few weeks ago, I made Christmas platters to give to some friends. I found this idea, as well as the pattern, on the internet. I bought white, oven safe platters and a set of Sharpie markers. I drew the design on the platter, then baked it at 350 for 30 minutes to set the color. I'm not convinced that the design is entirely permanent, but I did handwash one of the platters as a test and it did fine, so I think with light use and hand washing these would hold up okay.

Of course, one of my favorite places to make holiday treats is in the kitchen! The Buzzard's grandmother was famous for her homemade noodles. Many moons ago, I was given the recipe. I decided it would be fun to make a batch to serve with turkey left overs, so this morning I gave it a try. I've never made noodles before, so it was an exercise in trial and error. I learned a few things along the way, and by the end of the process I think I had a system in place that worked rather well.

First of all, I used the bread hook on my standing mixer to mix the dough. It was a decent tool for the job, although I had to use a spatula quite a bit to help incorporate the flour. Knowing how my family feels about carbs, I decided to double the recipe. Wow - that's a LOT of noodles. It took a lot of patience - not to mention counter space - to get through the dough! The dough is rather elastic, so I found it easiest to divide it up and roll smaller sections at one time. The recipe said to "roll noodles in flour", so I put some flour in the bottom of a pie plate. I'd cut a few noodles, shake them around in the flour, then lay them flat. I seem to remember all Grandma's noodles were flat on the counter, and that none of them were touching. I couldn't get in touch with Aunt Carol this morning to verify that, but that is what I did. Again, it's a putzy job lining up all those noodles one by one! My Mom mentioned that some people drape noodles over a broom handle to dry. That sounds like a good idea, so next time I might leave the noodles longer and try that method. The main thing I learned is that you don't just "whip up" a batch of homemade noodles. It's a time commitment, but I had little helpers and we had a fun time. My noodles are now covered with tea towels, drying on my counter. I think I'll flip them over a few times throughout the day. I told Buzzard I had a little surprise for him tonight. I sure hope they taste good! We have a family night planned...a special dinner of left overs and homemade noodles in the dining room, then watching Monday's episode of my favorite show - Jon and Kate Plus Eight!

So...what are you making this holiday season??