Pet-Friendly Holiday Home

We love our holiday decor, but for those of us with pets, be careful with some seemingly benign items that can be very dangerous to FiFi & Fido. Some things to keep an eye on (or simply keep out of the house): (Click here for full more details.)

Plants: Potted bulbs in lily family, Mistletoe, Misteltoe berries, Holly, basalm, pine, Poinsettia

Household items: Tinsel, styrofoam, batteries, chocolate, antifreeze, rock salt made of calcium chloride

Holiday-Pic Brigade

Kelly, Dawn, & their lively pup, Biz, live in a small DC apartment. Instead of putting up a full size Christmas tree, they salvaged what was trimmed off of someone else’s and created this fabulous Christmas wall art. Kelly chased down the last four boxes of white lights at Glover Park Hardware on Christmas Eve. Nice work, ladies!

We’d love to see more photos from your holidays (regardless of where you bought your decor). Email pics to rachel@acehardwaredc.com.

Cheers!

Cookies!

Ginger Spice Cookies are YUMMY.

We’re already halfway through Chanukah and Christmas is a mere week and 3 days away. So if you haven’t gotten your cookie on … IT’S TIME! We dug up some recipes to get you started:

From Jen, our manager at Glover Park Hardware and baker extraordinaire shares a couple of her yuletide faves.

Ginger Spice Cookies (from Bon Appétit | March 2000)

Arrange the soft, spicy cookies on a platter with apples and Vermont cheddar cheese; also serve hot cider or hot buttered rum. Yield: Makes about 30 2 cups all purpose flour 2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground cloves 3/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger 1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar 1/2 cup vegetable shortening, room temperature 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 1 large egg 1/4 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses Sugar Combine first 6 ingredients in medium bowl; whisk to blend. Mix in crystallized ginger. Using electric mixer, beat brown sugar, shortening and butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add egg and molasses and beat until blended. Add flour mixture and mix just until blended. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter 2 baking sheets. Spoon sugar in thick layer onto small plate. Using wet hands, form dough into 1 1/4-inch balls; roll in sugar to coat completely. Place balls on prepared sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake cookies until cracked on top but still soft to touch, about 12 minutes. Cool on sheets 1 minute. Carefully transfer to racks and cool. (Can be made 5 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.) Peanut Tuiles (from Gourmet | December 2005) Imagine peanut brittle that is as delicate as lace, with the familiar buttery crunch. Yield: Makes about 4 dozen cookies Active Time: 1 1/4 hr Total Time: 1 1/2 hr 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces 1/2 cup sugar 3 tablespoons light corn syrup 1 tablespoon heavy cream 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup salted roasted or cocktail peanuts, chopped Special equipment: an 18- by 13-inch nonstick bakeware liner such as Silpat; a small offset spatula Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheet with nonstick liner. Combine butter, sugar, corn syrup, and cream in a 2-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring constantly. Add flour and salt and cook, stirring constantly, until batter is slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Stir in peanuts. Working in small batches, drop level teaspoons of batter about 3 inches apart on lined baking sheet. Bake until golden and bubbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Cool on baking sheet on a rack 1 1/2 minutes. Quickly but carefully flip cookies over with spatula. Working quickly, roll 1 cookie around handle of a wooden spoon and immediately slide cookie onto rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining cookies. (If cookies become too hard to roll, return them to oven briefly.) Wipe down bakeware liner with a paper towel and bake and roll remaining cookies.