food to make your house smell good

[food girl]

I have agreed to be on my neighborhood's "historic home tour". This means that 1200 people will tromp through my house over the first weekend in December!!

I need make my house smell good. What kind of pie or cake should I put in the oven? I prefer food smells over candles and potpourri. Don't you all agree?

Thanks!
Lisa

[lindrusso]

I think that a pumpkin bread recipe or anything using some of those potpourri spices like cinnamon would work really well. I remember my house smelling fabulous recently and I think it may have been from baking the CL pumpkin bread with the streusel on top (and it tasted good as well!).

Wow - you're brave. My mom did this once as we lived in a historical home built in 1763, but I don't think she had the added stress of doing it around the holidays! What kind of home do you live in? If you don't mind me asking - I love old homes.

[SusanL]

Hate to admit this, but when we tried to sell our house ourselves, I put jarred applesauce in the crockpot. Added some cinnamon and the whole house smelled wonderful!! Easy to do and lasts for a long time. Realtor used to recommend a frozen apple pie, another great tip! Good Luck on your historic home tour- let us know how it goes!!

[mightyh]

During the holiday season, I always just put a pot on the stove and fill it with chopped citrus (you don't even have to peel it), apples, "baking spices"--cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, etc and a couple cups of water and simmer it all day. It smells SO good and is a great way to use up fruit that's not up to your standards anymore. You do have to remember to keep adding water periodically--every few hours or so. It's not the most attractive thing to look at--gets kind of brown and gunky, but it sure smells great.

[SHERRY]

I love the smell of HOT APPLE CIDER! William Sonoma has a great spice mix.

[Ralph]

Agree w/anything apple-like or cinnamony!
Another idea that had come from literature about preparing your house for sale is fresh baked bread, nothing fancy w/spices, nuts, or fruit, just plain white bread. If you subscribe to CL, I'm sure most all of the bread recipes in the Nov issue would be great.

[sneezles]

food girl
I just made the Pumpkin Struessel Bread yesterday, it's from the Nov. issue. My house carried the aroma for hours and the bread is wonderful!

[food girl]

I just knew that you guys would have the best ideas!!! Thanks for your help! I think I will be able to cover up the sauted garlic-wet dog-musty house smell!

Linda,
My house is a 1908 Craftsman bungalow. It is really nothing fancy, but it has great wood work and it is very good shape. Our neigborhood has a variety of turn of the century styles as well as some excellent Victorians. Knoxville has been terrible about historic preservation and there are only a few pockets of historic homes that remain.

Lisa

[Natasha]

Lindrusso,
I adore old homes too. What was your mom s 1763 home like (sorry if you find this question nosy - no obligation to answer, of course!)?
And everyone else - sorry for asking a non-food related question!

[MaryH]

I had a boyfriend once who had a real estate license. He used to swear by brownies in the oven during open houses. Its not necessarily "holidayesque" but it does smell good!

[Beth]

I've heard some people say it's chocolate chip cookies or bread that are irresistable. When we had an open house, I ran my coffee pot with cinnamon and mulled cider spice in the basket. The coffee maker shut off automatically after a couple of hours, and it stayed warm and fragrant a long time. Since it's a coffee pot, no one notices the dark brown color.

I think anything with cinnamon or chocolate baking will smell yummy, but will the activity allow you to be sure whatever you bake will be out of the oven and out of the way when the troops are going through the house? Anything burned smells awful and you may not want something on the counter cooling.

[Colleen]

I like making hot apple cider and throwing in a few cinnamon sticks. What a great smell, and you can treat yourself when it is all over...

[KimKelly]

When we were selling our house I always set my bread machine to be cooking when the people arrived. The agent always said that the clients commented on how wonderful it smelled. I just used a plain white bread recipe. Worked for us!

Kim

[lindrusso]

Natasha,

My parent's house was I think called a Dutch Colonial. We lived in a town called Blauvelt, in NY and this house was built by a Blauvelt. It was a very small house with very low ceilings - if you were over 6 feet, you had to duck through the doorways. But the great things were the wide, wood floorboards, the hand-hewn beams (which some dummie - IMHO - had painted over) and sandstone walls that were a foot thick. It was a very charming little home.

I guess I'm just longing for the wonderful woodwork that Lisa mentioned, real doors (not hollow) and all those things that nowadays just cost a fortune. Now that the kids are growing up, it would be nice to find an older home - but not one that required too much work as we are, unfortunately, quite ignorant (read inept) in the area of home repair/improvement! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[Veronica]

Not that you were thinking of doing it, but one thing you won't want to cook is a ham! A couple of years ago while house hunting, a friend of mine found the house of her dreams and almost didn't buy it because the smell of baked ham permeated the air. Prior to her experience, it had never occurred to me that meat aromas may be offensive to some people. Baked goods are definitely the way to go!

[Natasha]

Thanks so much for the description of your mom's home, Lindrusso. I can just picture it. And boy, did your comment about talent with home improvement ever strike a chord! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif Sometimes I feel like I'm surrounded by capable do-it-yourselfers (which I most definitely am not).

And Lisa, good luck with the tour! You are a brave soul indeed!

[This message has been edited by Natasha (edited 11-09-2000).]