Be sure to visit the MarthaPantry section on the JC Penney website! Loads of super-cool pantry items–salts, oils, heirloom beans, baking mixes. The selection is much broader than I anticipated! FOMs: Let’s start tasting! If you try a MarthaPantry item, post your comments here and I’ll share with others. Yum!
Martha stopped by ABC’s “The Chew” yesterday to provide some Baking 101 tips. She also shares her thoughts on New Orleans and Beyonce’s Super Bowl halftime show (of course, sports fan Martha was there!). Recipes from the show have been posted online and I’ve provided links below. FOMs: February is the perfect time to do some baking, right? I am so going to try the One-Bowl Chocolate Cake!
From ABC.com:
Martha’s Belgian Chocolate Truffle Cake
Martha Stewart’s Candied Hazelnuts and Chocolate Curls
Heads up: Martha will be guesting for the first time on tomorrow’s episode of “The Chew” on ABC! She will be doing a baking demonstration during her visit to the show. On the huliq announcement page, there is a very thorough bio video on Martha. It’s always impressive to see Martha’s accomplishments presented like this–what a story!
From huliq.com:
This Tuesday on ABC’s The Chew the iconic Martha Stewart will join the crew for the first time to share some fantastic baking tips and the show is featuring several other celebrity guests throughout the week.
Yay! “Mad Hungry” from MSLO Executive Food Editor Lucinda Scala Quinn is one of my fave books–it’s gorgeous and the recipes are quite accessible. “Mad Hungry” was/is one of my favorite cooking shows as well. Lucinda oozes love for her family and her cooking is all about bringing family back to the table. Not a bad thing, right (depending on your family)? Now, LSQ has announced her follow-up book, “Mad Hungry Cravings”. FOMs: Knowing Lucinda Scala Quinn, we’ll all be craving these recipes in no time!
Note: Remember, when possible, to buy books from your local independent book seller. If you love books, support those smaller businesses who struggle to compete in a competitive print media market. It may cost more, but it keeps their doors open for you!
Preorder “Mad Hungry Cravings” online at Powell’s.
From The Good Cook website:
It’s fun to get take-out, nobody’s saying you can never do it again. But we could all probably eat less of these more likely than not salt-and-fat-enriched dishes. Next time the craving for Pork Fried Rice or Sicilian-Style Deep-Dish Pizza hits, don’t reach for the phone, reach for Mad Hungry Cravings instead! Lucinda Scala Quinn makes it tastier, healthier and more affordable to enjoy restaurant-style fare with 173 recipes for the kinds of American, Asian, Latin and Mediterranean dishes typically found on a take-out menu. Love classic diner food? You’re covered with breakfast, blue plate specials (such as Chicken-Fried Steak with Sweet Potatoes and Collard Greens with Ham & Bacon on the side) and dessert. Color photos.
Did your New Year’s resolutions involve a healthier diet? Well, here comes Martha to help with that! Over 200 easy meat-free recipes to get your new year started on the right foot. As a recent convert to the concept of “Meatless Mondays”, I can’t wait to check out the book’s sections that include: Stovetop Suppers; Soups, Stews, and Chili; and Substantial Salads. If you can, please consider purchasing the book from your local independent bookstore. (We must support them or they will disappear.) If you prefer to order online, consider ordering from Powell’s, an online independent book seller. FOMs: Let’s cook recipes from the book and share photos, shall we?
From the description on Powell’s Books:
As inspiring as it is practical, Meatless features 200 recipes—each accompanied by a gorgeous photograph—for full-fledged vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. You’ll find recipes for classics and new favorites, plus plenty of low-fat, vegan, and gluten-free options, too.
More than just a cookbook, Meatless is also a roadmap to embracing a vegetable-based lifestyle. Here are dozens of versatile recipes that can be easily adapted, such as pizza with a variety of toppings, salads made from different whole grains, and pestos with unexpected flavors and ingredients. You’ll also find advice on stocking your pantry with vegetarian essentials (dried beans, pasta, herbs and spices), a collection of basic recipes and techniques (vegetable stock, tomato sauce, polenta), and make-ahead flavor-boosters (caramelized onions, roasted peppers, and quick pickles).
I read recently that Martha had to cancel a public appearance because she had the flu. I found this odd, as Martha confesses that she never gets sick. “I don’t have time to be sick,” was her true-to-form response. Now, word comes that Martha did not have the flu at all–she was actually sick from salmonella, a form of food poisoning! Martha surmises that she came down with the illness after handling many raw turkeys in segments taped around the Thanksgiving holiday. FOMs: If anyone is tough enough to beat salmonella, it’s Martha, right? Glad you’re feeling better, Martha!
From Huffington Post (as is the above photo):
Martha Stewart was confined to her bed for several days last month because of salmonella infection, the New York Post‘s Page Six reported. “I never get sick, but I came down with salmonella. I think I caught it because I was handling so many turkeys around Thanksgiving,” Stewart told Page Six. “I was on the ‘Today’ show, I did a number of other [Thanksgiving] appearances. It really hit me hard and I was in bed for days. It was terrible.”
One of the ways MSLO has reduced expenditures as the company returns to profitability has been to reduce its presence on network television. (As you might guess, producing a daily talk show and taping before a live audience are both quite expensive.) Instead, MSLO promised more web-based programming, along the lines of the Sarah Carey-hosted Everyday Food videos that you can sign-up to receive each weekday in your mailbox. Now, the company has released the first web videos hosted by Martha herself, titled “Countdown to Christmas”. The exciting news about these new videos is that they were shot at Martha’s home in Bedford, NY. NINE recipe videos and SEVEN craft videos have been added to the revamped video hub at the Martha Stewart website. Go visit and enjoy! FOMs: It is like spending the holidays on Martha’s farm! How exciting!
From the Advertising Age website:
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia is making an effort to go beyond posting clips culled and repurposed from its hundreds of hours of TV content. The new holiday videos are the first pure, short-form online videos to star Ms. Stewart herself. They include prominent product placement from brands such as Starbucks, Estee Lauder and Truvia. Ms. Stewart incorporates Starbucks, for example, into a craft project where she makes a felt-package for gift cards. “I think they are very pretty,” she says, holding up a Starbucks gift card.
Some tough times at the publishing division of MSLO. The company announced on Thursday that it would be laying off many employees, and selling off the Whole Living magazine. It also announced that Everyday Food will no longer be a stand-alone magazine, but will instead be published as a supplement to the flagship Martha Stewart Living magazine. The number of issues of EDF will be reduced to five, from 10/annually. Obviously, decisions like these are not made without considering the impact on the affected employees, as well as the morale of employees still employed by the company. Please join me in wishing them all well, as they take their experience of working at MSLO and continue their professional ambitions. Myself, I love Everyday Food magazine, and while I am sad to see it reduced, I am very glad that it is not going away entirely. I find the information and recipes in the magazine to be extremely useful–indeed, it’s become my go-to source for what to make for dinner! All involved in the magazine, past and present, should be very, very proud.
From the New York Times:
he announcement capped a rough week for the company, which lost its power at its Manhattan offices and had to use phone and e-mail to inform the staff about layoffs and cutbacks at two of its four magazines. On Thursday afternoon, the company said it would lay off about 70 of its 600 employees. It also announced it would cut back publishing the magazine Everyday Food from 10 issues to five and no longer sell it as a standalone magazine. It is becoming a supplement that will be sold with Martha Stewart Living.
Did you catch the first episode of “Martha Stewart’s Cooking School”? In this first episode, Martha demonstrated egg basics: how to soft boil, hard boil, fry, and make omelettes. She even provided tips on how to peel a hard boiled egg. After seeing the episode, I’m tempted to attempt soft boiled eggs, which I’ve never tried before. So, FOMs: Tell me, what did you think? (Here in Northern California, episode 2 was preempted for a special event. Episode 2–which covers sauces!–will air next Saturday.)
From PBS.org:
Martha Stewart shows the best way to peel hard boiled eggs.
via Video: Martha Stewart’s Tip: Peeling Eggs | Watch Martha Stewart’s Cooking School Online | PBS Video.
“Martha Stewart’s Cooking School” now has its own page on the PBS website! There are many useful features there–you can watch full episodes (once they’ve aired), download recipes, see what techniques will be featured on future episodes (all 13 are listed already!), and more. FOMs: You can also check on PBS.org to see when “Martha Stewart’s Cooking School” airs on PBS!
From PBS.org:
Inspired by the eponymous best-selling book, Martha Stewart’s Cooking School will give home cooks a culinary master class with Martha herself. Beginning October 2012, she will demonstrate classic cooking techniques and basics. Using her signature step-by-step, how-to teaching process, Martha illustrates cooking fundamentals that everyone should know: from roasting and poaching to braising and blanching. In addition, Martha shares tips in every 30-minute episode, inspiring and educating home cooks everywhere.Be sure to check your local listings to see when the program will be airing in your area.
via Martha Stewart’s Cooking School | Cooking Shows | PBS Food.
Friends of Martha: Celebrating All Good Things Related to Martha Stewart 