The Doyenne of Food and Home Decor releases her 100th Book
By Anastasia Stanmeyer
Holiday 24
Martha Stewart’s first book, Entertaining, was released in 1982, and since then she has published books that cover everything lifestyle, including food, gardening, wedding planning, and decorating. Martha released on November 12 her 100th book, Martha: The Cookbook, 100 Favorite Recipes with Lessons and Stories from My Kitchen. One such recipe is her mother's potato pierogi recipe, which you might remember her making with her mother on an old episode of Martha Stewart Living. She includes favorites such as her apple brioche bread pudding and paella. Recipes range from breakfast and brunch to soups and salads, hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, dinner, and, of course, dessert. Devoted followers and new fans will take pleasure in this book. What we enjoyed about perusing an early copy is that the recipes are introduced with a narrative, a story that adds context to how it was created, as well as photos of herself, her daughter, Alexis, her dear mother (“Big Martha”), and others. She even writes about her time in the Berkshires, at her weekend home in Middlefield with her then-husband Andy and Alexis.
Martha writes that over the course of a year, she compiled the 100 recipes from the thousands created over the years. “Also sprinkled throughout the book, within each chapter, I have included photos from my archives that are dear to me and shared stories related to them. It has been fun recalling my first trip to Paris, when Julia Child and Jacques Pépin were on my show, and making pasta with Alexis.”
Recipes vary from ones that even I can easily make, to ones that are captivating to read and even tempting for a novice to try. They include Steamed Eggs, Homemade Yogurt with Fruit, Popovers with Strawberry Jam, Leek-and- Fennel Soup, Asparagus-and-Pea Risotto, Linguine with Clams, Sugar-and-Tea- Smoked Chicken (included here), Hake Burgers, Big Martha’s Mashed Potatoes, Rum Butter Bundt Cake, Pumpkin Pie with Phyllo Crust (also included here), Apple Crumb Pie—and we’re only up to a dozen recipes. There are recipes from her Polish heritage like Beet Soup and Mushroom Soup, and basic recipes like Chicken Stock and Whipped Cream (which you see here with the pie recipe).
Martha includes helpful hints, such as prepping for deviled eggs. (“The trick is to steam and peel the eggs correctly: Use older eggs, as they are easier to peel, and start peeling at the broad end of the egg, where the air pocket generally is.”)
One hundred books sounds like a good round number to stop, right? Not for Martha, who said on the Today show that she is writing an autobiography that will be published by Random House in two years. And if you haven’t seen it yet, check out the Netflix documentary, called—you guessed it—Martha, that was released October 30 on the doyenne of food and home decor.
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