To celebrate the republication of Martha's first book, Entertaining, I asked the members of the Martha Moments Facebook group in early October to submit photographs of something they had made from its pages. They more than delivered! What a talented group of individuals. It is worth noting, too, that they are not paid influencers. These are everyday Americans with an honest love of Martha's work who enjoy cooking and baking recipes from her books on a regular basis. Among the creations: croquembouche, a pear tart, cranberry and pecan tartlets, carrot loaf, poached pears, classic apple pie, mile-high lemon meringue pie, buttermilk biscuits, applesauce spice cake, stuffed chicken breasts, chicken pojarski, various hors d'oeuvres, Martha's eggnog, vodka frozen in ice, and more! I'm so impressed. Below are photographs of their creations.
Anthony Picozzi made Martha's poached pears. A beautiful presentation, as always.
Bernie Wong and Dennis Landon made Martha's almond pear tart, cranberry tartlets and chocolate-pecan tartlets. Their guest, Nathan Schmidt, made Martha's carrot loaf during a fun afternoon of visiting and baking together.
Bernie's almond pear tart looks perfect.
Dennis's tartlets displayed exactly as they were in the book on a heart-shaped copper tray.
Nathan's carrot loaf looks so appetizing!
Justin Giannunzio also made Martha's carrot loaf and displayed it in much the same way as Nathan! (Neither of them knew the other was making the loaf as their submission - a fun coincidence). Justin displayed his first-edition copy of the book in the background, signed by Martha.
Jack McKee made Martha's classic apple pie and her mulled apple cider. Look at that perfect pie crust!
Kevin Link made the applesauce spice cake, which looks perfect on a Martha by Mail cake stand.
Kristina Kloss made one of Martha's classics: croquembouche! It looks fabulous on another Martha cake stand.
Laura Guisbert-Clark made the mile-high lemon meringue pie. Looks divine!
Alison Geradot made the kiwi tartlets in the book. Yum!
It was the buttermilk biscuits for Annamarie Pearson. They look so fluffy and perfect!
Not everyone chose to bake. Brian Utz always uses Entertaining as an inspiration when preparing curdite platters, paying attention to how the vegetables are prepared and arranged. One of his go-to Martha tips is using a hollowed-out cabbage to serve the dip!
Brian's dining table all set up for guests!
Another one of Brian's beautiful tables, laden with fruits and vegetables, inspired by Martha's lessons in presentation.
During holiday time, Trellis Smith and his partner Lucas always serve vodka frozen in a block of ice, decorated with lemons and cranberries - an Entertaining original.
They also serve Martha's famous eggnog!
William Silveira and his partner Robert Ahlers made Martha's stuffed chicken breasts from the book.
They look scrumptious!
Megan Dunton endeavored to make several savory recipes from the book, including Martha's chicken pojarski, which she says was a big hit with her family. (Notice the Martha by Mail Danish Fern dish).
Megan also made almond-stuffed dates with bacon, which she says are hearty enough to serve as a small accompaniment or side dish to a main course, such as roast chicken.
Roquefort grapes are an unusual but delicious choice as an appetizer.
The easiest recipe in the book, according to Megan, is the cottage cheese and dill dip. She says she will never have cottage cheese any other way!
For Kemp Harper and Kevin Boling, it is the style of Entertaining that influences their aesthetic at home, although they always enjoy making Martha's pumpkin soup and cranberry-currant sauce from the book each Thanksgiving. (You can read more about Kemp and Kevin in an earlier post).
As for me, well I've only ever made one recipe from the pages of Entertaining, and that's coeur a la creme, a pillowy, creamy confection using a heart-shaped mold - one that was given to me by my friends Bernie and Dennis. It floats on a little pond of raspberry sauce.
Thank you to everyone who participated in this fun little assignment. It's encouraged me to look a little closer at the recipes in the book and pull out my apron!
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