One Pot: Out Today!

The newest book from the editors of Martha Stewart Living is out today, sold in book stores everywhere and online. One Pot aims to provide simple cooking solutions for the busy family by upping the convenience level without sacrificing an ounce of the delicious and nutritious benefits of a home-cooked meal. The chapters in the book are divided by type of cooking vessel with recipes to match: Dutch oven, skillet & saute pan, slow cooker, etc. Want to try a recipe from the book? Cick here for a recipe for Chicken with Creamy Corn and Bacon. Click here for a recipe for Linguine with Tomato and Basil. Read more about the book below!

MORE FROM THE PUBLISHER:

At the end of a busy day, you want to serve a delicious home-cooked dinner, a complete, all-in-one meal that can be prepared with little effort and few pans to wash. The editors of Martha Stewart Living present a brand-new collection of 120 recipes—organized by vessel—to help you do just that, all while adding savory new dishes to your weekly rotation.

One Pot is an exciting new way to approach everyday cooking: Imagine perfect pasta dishes for which everything goes in the pot at once (yes, that’s pasta, tomato, garlic, basil, and water all cooked together), dinner-party ready roasts with tender vegetables, and down-home casseroles, along with wholesome fish, chicken, and vegetarian dishes. You’ll get incredible flavor payoff from dishes such as comforting Chicken and Dumplings, easy Baked Risotto with Carrots and Squash, healthy Broiled Striped Bass with Tomatoes, hearty Pork Chops with Bacon and Cabbage, and the delectable Skillet Chocolate-Chip Cookie—each of which takes less than an hour from start to finish. Here, too, are a dozen outstanding recipes for surprising and simple desserts that can be ready when you are.

Bill's Martha Moment in Chicago

Martha Stewart has begun to make appearances to promote her upcoming book, One Pot, which is all about what the title suggests: cooking meals in just one vessel. It is a simple, quick, economical and delicious way to cook - especially for families. The book is officially released on September 23 in book stores everywhere.

 

Martha Moments reader and longtime Martha Stewart fan, Bill Makela, attended Martha's cooking demo and book signing at the Macy's in Chicago, located in the historic Marshall Field store on State Street, this past weekend. He bought a copy of the new book and had it signed by Martha. He wanted to share these photos of his experience and I'm happy to showcase them on the blog. Read more about Bill's day below. (I got to meet Bill last year when he attended the Delicious Food Show in Toronto, which you can read about here.)

Assisting Martha during the demonstration were MSL food editors Sarah Carey and Thomas Joseph. Martha answered questions from the audience as she cooked. She proudly told the crowd that Alexis, her daughter, cooks every meal of the day for her family from scratch.

Bill was lucky enough to snag a seat in the fourth row. Audience members who were seated received a copy of the October issue of Martha Stewart Living, a cooking timer shaped like a stewing pot and recipe cards. Bill also got to enjoy samples of Martha's cooking during the demonstration: Arroz Con Pollo, then Linguine with Tomato and Basil, and finally, Corn and Shrimp Chowder.

 Martha thoughtfully answers a question from the audience.

 Martha says she is very happy with this book and its collection of recipes.

 After the demonstration, Martha took some time to sign copies of her new book.

 Martha looked elegant in navy blue.

"Shriek or Chic" Preview!

Martha's new Halloween web series, Shriek or Chic: Martha's Haute Halloween Challenge, begins on October 7th. The six-episode program will follow three young designers as they compete to design Martha's Halloween costume this year. Martha hand-picked each contestant based on their design portfolios and will choose one winning design, which will be revealed at the end of the series. The designers had only Martha's hair and make-up (shown below and on the reverse cover of the October issue of Martha Stewart Living) to use as a guide for their costume. Click here to watch a preview of the new show!

The October Issue + A New Halloween Web Series!

Many of you, I'm sure, are happily browsing through the pages of the October issue of Martha Stewart Living, which is on newsstands today. The issue features two covers, front and reverse: on the front, an adorable owl nestles with a trio of pumpkins that have been stenciled using a lace-stocking overlay. (For the craft how-to, see the Good Things section on page 23.) Flip the magazine over and we see Martha with piercing blue eyes and a stark white wig, cloaked in black satin. I saw several newsstands today that had the magazine displayed with the Martha cover facing out - a clever move to entice those of us who may still be hopefully searching for that elusive Halloween special issue. It will be a futile search, however, since there will not be special Halloween issue published this year. But...the October issue hints at a very intriguing, six-episode Halloween web series that will document the making of Martha's costume! Details below!

FLIP THE COVER AND....

This is not, in fact, Martha's full costume. She is cloaked in black satin for a reason. The big costume reveal will happen in October at MarthaStewart.com as part of a new web series called "Shriek or Chic" that will document Martha's Haute Halloween Challenge in which three contestants will compete to design Martha's costume. Here are some of the details about the program:

For the first time ever, three fashion design hopefuls compete to create Martha's Halloween costume - and win the honour of dressing Martha for her favourite holiday of the year. Go behind the scenes at Martha Stewart headquarters where the contestants work around the clock, with surprise visits from renowned fashion designers! And don't miss the dramatic season finale where Martha selects the winner, and appears in her costume of choice. Click here to watch for updates about the series until its premier episode on October 7th.
 
ABOUT THE COMPETITORS:

Gabrielle Ruffino, 24, New York
A 2014 graduate  of Merchandising & Management-Fashion Design, FIT, Gabrielle comes from a family of seamstresses and looks forward to impressing Martha with her skills in dress construction.

Joelle Samaha, 24, New Jersey
A 2-14 graduate of Fashion Design at FIT, Joelle's attention to detail  and award-winning  evening wear line separates her from the competition.

Taylor Ormond, 19, New York
A sophomore studying Fashion Design at FIT, Taylor is a big fan of Martha. If she has her way, Martha will wear something completely different this year.

Candy Aisle Crafts

This book has been out for a few weeks now, but I only just found out about it. It's called Candy Aisle Crafts and was created by Jodi Levine, who has been a longtime crafts editor at Martha Stewart Living.  Jodi was actually the former editor-in-chief of Martha Stewart Kids magazine but has worked in various departments at the company for well over a decade. (Martha Stewart writes the foreword to the book.) I've always loved Jodi's imaginative approach to crafting. She sees potential and artistic possibility in the most unusual and unexpected things. In this book, Jodi re-imagines all kinds of colourful confections and uses them in creative crafts. Be sure to visit Jodi's blog, Super Make It, to learn more about the book. You can order it here.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

"Gumdrops, licorice, candy canes, cookies, cereal, and more become a crafter's toolkit for 59 adorable food craft ideas. Lifelong crafter Jodi Levine turned her creative eye to everyday edible items found in any grocery and convenience store--or even just around the home--and dreamed up easy projects. Learn how to transform familiar treats into gorgeous and whimsical party favors, decorations, wearable accessories, and more. Lushly illustrated with 100 color photographs, the book boasts lots of step-by-step photos to accompany the clear instructions. Candy Aisle Crafts will be an exceptionally useful and fun guide to crafting the extraordinary from the ordinary."

Season 4 of "Cooking School" Premiers in October!

Martha Stewart's Cooking School is the number-one, most-watched cooking show on PBS and, earlier this year, won the 2014 James Beard Foundation Award for best cooking show in a studio or fixed location. It should come as little surprise, then, that season four will soon be underway! The new series of episodes will air beginning in October. Be sure to check your local PBS listings for showtimes and click here to learn more about the program, watch previews and find the recipes.

I am frequently asked where this program is filmed. It is filmed at the Starrett-Lehigh building in Manhattan, which is where MSLO is headquartered. When The Martha Stewart Show ended, the studio was dismantled and reassembled in this new location. The decision was made to keep all MSLO production under one roof, including all television and video recording.

A Beautiful Dining Room

In every home I visit, I always discover a favourite room. In my parents' home, it is the living room with its dark hardwood floors and big picture window looking out onto the garden. At the home of my friends Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, it is the tiny bedroom on the second floor. It has only a twin bed, a small desk and a cabinet built by Brent's grandfather filled with vintage linens. It's a perfect little room.

 

Last year, when I visited Brent and Josh in Sharon Springs, New York, they introduced me to Michelle Curran, a local real-estate agent who helped them secure the purchase of their home. I visited Michelle with my travel companion, Jessica Hodgson, who is quite a talented photographer. (Click here to see more of her work.) Jessie photographed the house inside and out. Looking through the photos recently, I fell in love with one particular room in Michelle's house: the incredible dining room.

 

Michelle lives in an 1850s Italianate-style home high on a hill just outside of town. The dining room immediately captured my imagination with its 14-foot ceilings, fireplace and tall windows overlooking the hills of the Mohawk Valley. It is utterly grand. I wondered about all the people who had dined here over the decades. When Michelle acquired the house, she insisted that there be no electric lighting in this room. It is lit only by candlelight at night, giving it a warm, ethereal glow. Michelle also chose a very unique and striking colour scheme for the room: dark purple for the walls and a deep chartreuse for the ceiling. It works perfectly and reflects Michelle's adventurous spirit. You will see more of this house in future posts.

Book of the Month: 'The Stuff of Life' by Hilary Robertson

A new interest of mine is how to live with the things we love in a way that is aesthetically pleasing. Decorating a space that pushes the boundaries just enough to be interesting, without being too eccentric, is challenging, especially when incorporating all those quirky, beautiful, lovingly-collected 'things' that touch our hearts and souls. A new book called The Stuff of Life by stylist Hilary Robertson aims to help magpies and minimalists alike merge their modern tastes with the knick-knacks and collectibles they have inherited or gathered over the years. The photographs in this book are gorgeous and the ideas are inspiring. Here are a few words on how the book is structured to help us embrace the 'stuff of life' beautifully and artfully:

 

In the first chapter, How to Arrange your Stuff, Hilary identifies and illustrates four different approaches to arrangements and shows how each one can be achieved. In Chapter 2, Where to Arrange It. she suggests places to experiment with arrangements, From Blank walls to windowsills and tabletops. Finally, in Real Homes, Hilary shares inspiration from real-life interiors that fall into four different styles - Neatnik, Bohemian, Sculpture Vulture, and Noble Salvage. Some people are magpies - they love stuff; finding, collecting, and displaying it, while their opposite, the minimalists, are on a mission to contain it or tame it. The ideas in this book are sure to appeal to both magpies and minimalists and everyone in between.

 

"Many of the houses that interior designers show me look more like hotels than homes. And that's because there is often nothing personal about them: a designer created them and the owners haven't managed to add those personal layers that real homes need:decorative things, vases, sculptures, children's drawings, hats, bicycles..."the stuff of life" as I like to call it." - Hilary Robertson

 

Avenue House: "A Home, An Office, A University"

When I first read that Martha Stewart had written a "manifesto of dreams'' for Cantitoe Corners, her farm in Bedford, New York, I became fascinated by the idea of the purposeful home. Martha planned every detail of her residence, thoroughly imagining how she wanted to live before implementing all of the architectural and landscape designs she had in mind. This has been Martha's approach to all of her homes: to use them as inspiration factories, as idea laboratories, as teaching facilities. 

 

This concept reminded me of another homeowner in another country from another time who used his home in much the same way Martha uses her homes. Sir Albert Richardson (1880-1964) lived in a Georgian brick townhouse in the town of Ampthill in Bedfordshire, England. He called the home, Avenue House. During the 40 years he occupied the home with his wife, he filled it with products of the Georgian Age, a period in British architectural history he loved and admired. Richardson, an architect, writer and historian, was so fascinated by the Georgian Age that he lived in Avenue House without electricity for many years and even had a closet filled with authentic Georgian clothing, which he sometimes wore in public. (His wife finally convinced him to embrace electric lighting and the convenience of modern appliances!) He once described Avenue House as a home, an office and a university. It was a place he could curate and collect, a place where he could derive inspiration as well as share it with others.

 

For 50 years after Richardson's death, Avenue House was lovingly maintained by his grandson, Simon Houfe, who was anxious to secure its future in the public realm. He offered both house and collection to the British National Trust on advantageous terms. Negotiations dragged on for seven years, only to end with his offer being rejected. Richardson's collections have since been auctioned off by Christie's, a rather sad end to more than a century of curating and maintaining an authentic Georgian manor home. Below are photographs by Simon Upton of Avenue House taken shortly before auction. The interiors remained unchanged since Richardson's death in 1964. I find Richardson's devotion to authenticity, as well as the interior design of the rooms themselves, to be very beautiful.

Are You a One-Pot Wonder?

Would you like a chance to meet Martha Stewart in New York City and attend the official book launch party for her next cookbook, One Pot? Well, if you've got a one-pot creation that's been a hit in your household, submit a photo or video of it here and you may be chosen to attend the party! You will also win a signed copy of One-Pot and an enamel cast-iron pot from the Martha Stewart Collection at Macy's. The contest is open to U.S. citizens, age 18 or older. Good luck! The book will be officially released on September 23rd. Click here if you would like to pre-order it.