I always enjoy hosting St. Patrick's Day dinner at my Bedford, New York farm.
This year, I invited 12 friends to join me for a delicious feast - complete with my corned beef, root vegetables, and of course, my own version of the traditional Irish soda bread. I started with a fresh pea soup with homemade French baguette croutons. Our colorful salad included radicchio, arugula, persimmon, and pomegranate. The brisket from Pat LaFrieda was brined and cooked perfectly and served with potatoes, cabbage, carrots, parsnips, turnips, and leeks. And for dessert, Atlantic Beach Pie and the most delectable lemon sugar cookies. It was an evening of good company and great food.
I hope you saw my photos on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48. Here are some more, enjoy. These photos were taken by Kevin Sharkey - follow him on Instagram @seenbysharkey.
Whenever I entertain indoors at my farm, it’s usually in my Brown Room, a large dining room and sitting area. Here is our beautifully set table – in all shades of green, of course.
I decide the place settings for every holiday meal – working closely with my housekeepers to make sure we have all the necessary plates, utensils, and glasses. The green china plates are Paris porcelain monogrammed with an “S”. This year, my operations manager Stephanie Lofaro, also made these charming shamrock place cards. Each one was printed on a heavy card stock and then trimmed with craft shears to give it a decorative edge. Do you know the difference between a shamrock and a clover? Shamrocks always have three leaves, while clovers can have a fourth. Shamrocks are usually green, but one can also find them in purple, green, or white. And shamrocks grow in clumps, while four-leaf clovers are rare and grow one at a time.
Just before my guests arrived, I started a cozy fire in the Brown Room.
Dinner was scheduled for 7pm and everyone arrived ready to feast. My friend, Stephen Sills, gifted me with these lovely cut orchids – they’re so stunning.
I made loaves of my Irish Soda Bread with rye flour, wheat germ, raisins, and caraway. Everyone always loves my Irish soda bread – there’s never a crumb left over. Legend has it that, in some areas of Ireland, a cross was cut on the top of the Irish soda bread with a knife to ward off the devil and protect the household. It also helps the bread cook evenly and thoroughly. Irish soda bread is a somewhat sweet white bread made with eggs and butter and studded with raisins and caraway seeds — the “soda” in the name comes from the baking soda, or “bread soda” in Ireland, used to leaven it instead of yeast and kneading.
One of my tips for entertaining is to select one’s serving pieces early, so they can be washed and assigned to specific dishes. This saves a lot of time later.
And, it’s always a good idea to have all the china close at hand, counted, and ready to use to avoid any fumbling for additional pieces.
Everything was made just in time. Here are all he vegetables waiting to be warmed slightly before plating.
Kevin took this photo as I was slicing our corned beef brisket – it was so tender and moist.
Here is my pea soup – the silky smooth texture of this soup is an elegant way to show off the subtle flavor of peas. Each bowl was topped with a handful of homemade French bread croutons.
The salad was so colorful. I filled the platter with radicchio, arugula, pomegranate arils, and small wedges of persimmon.
Salads were served with a light vinaigrette dressing.
All the vegetables are cooked separately until tender – fresh cabbage, turnips, parsnips, carrots potatoes, leeks.
There was plenty for everyone. Everything was so beautiful, and delicious.
The platters were on the counter, so all my guests could help themselves. Kevin took this photo of me with two of the full platters before we all “dug in.” In Ireland, beef was a meat reserved only for the wealthy. The Great Famine resulting from potato blight caused a mass migration of the Irish to the new world. In America, corned beef was readily available to Irish immigrants and became a favored comfort food.
Here is the table sans plates – many returned for second helpings.
And dessert – a gorgeous Atlantic Beach Pie on the left and big lemon sugar cookies on the right. Atlantic Beach Pie mixes a creamy lemon-condensed milk filling with a crust made from crushed Saltine crackers and then topped with luscious whipped cream.
Each guest was served a cookie and a piece of pie. It was so nice to gather with friends to share this wonderful meal. We all had a wonderful time.
Here are some of the glasses being taken away after dinner. Using a variety of different glasses adds vibrant color to the table – experiment. I try to make my table look a little different each time.
And here is the lovely Empress Tang waiting to visit with all my guests. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend.
Whenever I entertain, I always fill my home with beautiful houseplants.
Houseplants bring life to any room. I love all kinds of container plants, and over the years I have amassed quite a collection. Most of my houseplants are kept in the greenhouse, where they can be nurtured properly, especially during colder seasons and times when I’m away. When preparing for a party, or when something beautiful is in bloom, I like to bring them into my Winter House where they can be enjoyed. This weekend, I had a lovely selection of ferns, orchids, selaginella, peperomia, and various succulents to welcome my guests for my St. Patrick's Day Dinner.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Not only do houseplants enhance the overall appearance of a space, but they’ve also been known to increase creativity, reduce stress, and eliminate air pollutants. Whenever I am home, I always enjoy seeing gorgeous flowering plants. Look at this orchid. When keeping orchids, south and east-facing windows work best. West windows can be too hot in the afternoon and north-facing ones are usually too dark. This Dendrobium has gorgeous white blooms with dark pink to purple markings.
A vase of cut Cymbidium orchid flowers sits on a table. I love the golden-yellow blooms. Cymbidium, or boat orchid, is a genus of more than 50-evergreen species in the orchid family Orchidaceae. Cymbidium orchids are prized for their long-lasting sprays of flowers, used especially as cut flowers or spring corsages.
Although generally thought of as a tropical plant, orchids grow on every continent, from the Arctic Circle to the southernmost jungle, except Antarctica. The size of orchids depends on the species. They can be quite small or very large. However, every orchid flower is bilaterally symmetric, which means it can be divided into two equal parts.
This is a “slipper orchid” – one of my favorites. The key to growing these plants is to keep the root systems strong and healthy. These plants have no bulbs or stems to store moisture and nutrients, so it is important to maintain their roots.
Here is another slipper orchid with its beautiful dark burgundy markings. Paphiopedilum orchids are often called ‘lady slippers’ or ‘slipper orchids’ because of their unique pouch-like flowers.
Caring for orchids is a daunting process for many, but if one takes the time to understand their basic needs, and to use all the proper orchid care supplies, there’s no reason why these beautiful plants won’t continue to thrive and bloom.
Prized for its gorgeous flowers, the clivia miniata is an elegant plant with large clusters of funnel-shaped orange-red flowers that bloom from early winter to mid-spring. This plant sits on a table in my servery along with some colorful orchids – I see them every morning.
I also like to display potted plants on my indoor porch where there is plenty of light. If you like growing plants, but don’t really have the time to care for them properly, consider growing succulents. Succulents are so easy to maintain and are able to survive prolonged drought because they store moisture in their fleshy stems, roots, and leaves. Some succulents look like smooth stones, while others feature perfect rosettes like this.
This is a potted rhipsalis, native to the rainforests of South America, the Caribbean and Central America. Rhipsalis is a cacti genus with approximately 35 distinct species. I have many types of rhipsalis. Rhipsalis specimens have long, trailing stems making them perfect choices as indoor plants on pedestals or tall tables.
And here is another rhipsalis. These plants prefer bright, indirect light. Rhipsalis plants also appreciate a good misting now and again and watering about once a week, or whenever the soil becomes dry. Also known as chain cactus or mistletoe cactus, the thread-like succulent stems are narrow, green and can grow several feet long.
This is Euphorbia lactea is also known as a “Coral Cactus.” It is a species native to tropical Asia, mainly in India. The showy part of the plant, the section that resembles coral, is called the crest. The ridges are spiny, with short spines.
Portulacaria afra is a small-leaved succulent plant found in South Africa. These succulents commonly have a reddish stem and leaves that are green. They are simple to care for and make easy houseplants for a sunny location.
This Crocodile Fern, sometimes known as an alligator fern, a crocodyllus fern, or a crocodile plant, is native to Southeast Asia and Australia where it is found growing epiphytically on trees in warm, brightly lit and humid jungles. It derives its name from the flat tessellated fronds that resemble the patterning on crocodiles.
Guests always admire my Chinese money plants, Pilea peperomioides. It has attractive coin-shaped foliage. This flowering perennial is native to southern China, growing naturally along the base of the Himalayan mountains. It is also known as coin plant, pancake plant, and UFO plant.
One table is filled with these charming topiaries. Topiary is the horticultural practice of training perennial plants by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes.
This succulent, Haworthiopsis coarctata, has long stems packed with robust succulent leaves. It is normally dark green but sometimes shows a rich purple-red when in full sunlight.
This Peperomia has almond-shaped leaves that are variegated with alternating stripes of dark and light green. Most varieties of Peperomia plants prefer medium to bright indirect light, but can tolerate low indirect light.
This is selaginella. Selanginella is the sole genus of the vascular plants in the family Selaginellaceae. It can be potted up on its own or used as an underplanting.
This large blue fern is in my Brown Room – an interesting looking fern with large fronds and a pleasant green-blue color. Its ability to tolerate lower-light conditions and relatively easy care make it a great choice for any fern lover.
And did you see the latests photos on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48? I hosted a lovely St. Patrick’s Day dinner over the weekend for 12 friends. I will share more of those images on my next blog. Be sure to check back again tomorrow.
Our new brick and stone footpath project continues in the goose and peafowl enclosures.
If you follow my blog regularly, you may have seen my recent post showing my outdoor grounds crew using dozens of pressed red clay bricks that once surrounded my pool at my former East Hampton home to line a footpath inside and outside my Silkie chicken pen. I also instructed the crew to do the same from the entrance of the goose yard all the way to the peafowl coop. This path allows visitors to walk through easily even on the muddiest of days.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Earlier this month, I decided I wanted to create proper footpaths inside my bird pens. Doing this would look neat and tidy, but also provide good, sturdy, and hopefully dry footing for anyone who enters the enclosures. Here, the sod was removed from a path in front of the goose pen to the front of the peafowl pen – it measures 36-inches across.
I have thousands of these red clay bricks. “Pressed red” is the general term given to solid red bricks traditionally manufactured from clay, pressed into individual molds by hand, and then heated at very high temperatures. Each of these antique and vintage bricks measures about eight and-a-half inches by four inches.
Before each brick is put down, Pete creates a narrow trench just wide enough for the brick and about five inches deep.
And then one by one, he angles the bricks and positions them in a sawtooth style, laying one on another at a 45-degree angle. It isn’t hard to do, but it must be done carefully, so everything is straight and perfect.
Pete uses the end of the hammer to gently tap the brick into place. In time, the soil will fill in any gaps and keep the bricks secure.
From this angle, one can see how helpful the twine is to keeping the bricks straight. Using bricks to line the footpaths handsomely defines the boundaries between the grass and the path.
This sawtooth brick pattern is ideal for edging garden borders or pathways. It is easy and quick to do. I have a large supply of these bricks, but if doing at home, one should have about 10-percent extra materials in case of breakage – clay bricks can break.
Pete works on both sides simultaneously.
Here he is almost done putting down all the bricks.
Once the bricks are in place, the weed cloth is cut to size within the path and carefully put down between the bricks.
Pete hammers in sod staples at various points to keep the cloth secure.
The geese see all the activity and want to know what is going on. These two are walking over to check it out. The birds are always so curious.
And here are the Chinese geese. Because these birds are exposed to a lot of activity around the farm, they are not fearful of the noises or the movements.
Stone dust is a non-porous material, which is good to use under the gravel. It will stop heavy rain water from seeping below and reduces the risk of shifting or damaging the stones. A layer of gravel is placed on top of the weed cloth.
And then the gravel on top of the stone dust. All around the farm, I like to use quarter-inch native washed stone. Each stone is about the size of a pea. This same gravel stone is also used to line the paths in my flower cutting garden. It s nice to keep everything uniform when possible.
Here, one can see the stone dust beneath the gravel stones – the layers should not be too thick. Pete and Fernando only dropped about two inches of each along the path.
The gravel is spread evenly with a hard rake.
Afterwards, Fernando goes over it with a gravel tamper. A tamper is a tool with a long handle and a heavy, square base used for leveling and firmly packing gravel, dirt, clay, sand, and other similar materials.
The path looks good – now onto the peafowl extension.
Once the path in the peafowl pen was all done, the peacocks and peahens all walked over to inspect the new addition to their enclosure. In the wild, peafowl forage for plants, insects, and other small creatures which they can find on the ground. They are omnivores, which means that they eat both plants and animals. This peacock is probably looking for worms.
In all, I think they like it – they all walked over right away to check it out. They seem to like the feel of the gravel under their feet.
Most of them came over, except for the peacocks who had other things on their minds. This peacock is showing off its long and colorful tail feathers. It is the beginning of mating season for these birds, and he is doing his mating dance for the peahens. I am glad this stone path project is done – there are so many more to do at the farm.
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