Martha Stewart Living November 2021

| MARTHA’S TIP | WINTER BEAUTIES Now is the time to start forcing fragrant narcissi, aka paperwhites, so they’ll bloom for the holidays. Martha gently presses the bulbs, pointed-ends up, into a container filled with at least three inches of moistened potting soil. Then she adds a layer of pebbles on top to anchor them; covers it with moss; places them in a cool, sunny spot; and keeps the soil damp as they grow. They should flower in about six weeks.…

I TRULY LOVE and enjoy all the cooking and decorating for the holidays—and I know you, as a Living reader, do too. But I always have to remind myself not to get overly ambitious about what I can actually achieve on Thanksgiving, especially this year, when I want to spend more time with family and less in the kitchen or fussing about. My goal is to experience the day in full, not in a race against time in a cooking contest of my own making. The whole point of this, after all, is being with your people, and the photo above is my sweet reminder. You can see my ecstatic son (top left), thrilled to be with his cousins on our last Thanksgiving together, two years ago. Fast-forward: That…

| ON THE ROAD | SACRED SITES Feed your mind with facts about the people who made the first Thanksgiving happen. The National Museum of the American Indian, in Washington, D.C., home to the Native American Veterans Memorial (shown), brims with artifacts, photos, and documents relating to Indigenous tribes from the Western Hemisphere. Here, three more places to learn about this land’s original residents. WARNER, N.H. Walk the Medicine Woods Nature Trail and view treasures like beaded gloves and a birchbark canoe at the Mount Kearsarge Indian Museum, on 12.5 acres of Abenaki homeland. CHEROKEE, N.C. The Museum of the Cherokee Indian shares 15,000 years of tribal history through animation, dioramas, and artifacts, including thousands of documents in Cherokee. PHOENIX Along with traditional and contemporary art, the Heard Museum focuses…

| MEET & GREET | Tanya Graff Style director Home: New York City Years with Martha: 22 First position: Style assistant at Martha by Mail Where she’ll feast: “My mother-in-law’s in East Hampton, New York—I look forward to her acorn-squash soup all year.” Tabletop tip: “Don’t be afraid to mix and match what you have. I love playing with old pieces and modern items.” TANYA’S STYLE SOURCES 1 | Plain Goods “Great for serving sets, handmade taper candles, and splurge-worthy vases.” plain-goods.com 2 | the Ark Elements “Former floral and event designer Kate Holt’s site is a dream. I want all of her flower plates!” thearkelements.com 3 | RW Guild “I love its contemporary handmade ceramics and mouth-blown glassware.” rwguild.com 4 | H&M Home “You’ll find high-quality, 100 percent–linen…

THANKSGIVING IS one of my family’s most cherished holidays. It’s one of the big ones, along with Halloween, Christmas, Easter, and the Fourth of July. Every year, we think carefully about the menu, combining old favorites with fresh discoveries, new ingredients with tried-and-true ones, and, of course, innovative techniques and equipment with tools we have had forever. This year, we decided to break out my brand-new outdoor grill: a custom-colored ceramic Grill Dome, which can be used for grilling, smoking, and even baking and roasting. I had never made a smoked turkey for the centerpiece of our Thanksgiving feast before, but the combination of a really great, organically raised bird and my new grill lured me to experiment. The delicious result is what you see here: a plump turkey that…

Botanical Clay Pots How-To STEP ONE Gather terra-cotta pots with simple, clean lines—smaller ones to hold votives, and larger vessels for flower arrangements. STEP TWO Press air-dry clay into the silicone molds, scraping off any excess with a plastic knife so the clay is flush with each mold. STEP THREE After a couple of minutes, while the clay is still wet, gently flex the mold and pull out the accent—use a toothpick to help wiggle out any stubborn edges. With the vase on its side, attach the embellishment with craft glue, curving it to the surface. Let harden completely overnight. If using the pot to hold flowers, line it with a vase or plastic bag to prevent leaks. | INSTANT UPGRADE | Bursts of Sun This month, the word roast…