A January Business Dinner at My Farm
I always enjoy entertaining at my Bedford, New York home, where even important business meetings don't feel like work.
Earlier this week, I hosted a small dinner gathering for four - you may have seen images on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48. I set the table early in the morning and started cooking. My menu included vegetarian Polish borscht, a light greens salad with leafy vegetables from my greenhouse, buckwheat crepes with caviar and creme fraiche, and for dessert a delectable apple tart. I also served Aligote white wine from our own Martha Stewart Wine Co. I'm already very busy working on my 100th book, so I am revisiting many of my favorite recipes for selection - you will all love it!
Here are some photos, enjoy. Most of the images were taken by our own Kevin Sharkey - be sure to follow him @seenbysharkey on Instagram.
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- My Bedford, New York farm still has a pretty layer of snow on the ground from recent storms. Temperatures have been below freezing, so much of it has hardened with many patches of treacherous ice, but the landscape remains beautiful, especially under sunny skies. These are some of my mature dawn redwoods, Metasequoia, located near my tennis court and allee of lilacs.
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- This is my run-in paddock, where my dear horses love to gallop and roll. The run-in shed is in the distance – a shelter where the horses can take cover when needed.
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- Here, the afternoon sun casts pretty shadows on the snow from the antique fencing that surrounds my horse paddocks. The fencing on the left surrounds my boxwood “nursery” where I am growing hundreds of small shrubs.
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- Which way did they go? It looks like the peacocks and peahens are venturing out again. These birds love to walk around the farm – in any kind of weather.
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- And when it is cold outside, they know to return to their safe and warm coop.
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- This is one of my new chicks. If you’re familiar with chicken breeds, you may know this is a Silkie – a breed of chicken named for its atypically fluffy plumage, which is said to feel like a combination of silk and satin. I will tell you more about these birds in a future blog.
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- Inside my home – gorgeous forced hyacinths blooming with color and fragrance.
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- And in my Brown Room, the table is set for four – a simple neutral color theme for a cold, winter’s day.
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- Here is a closer look at one of the place settings. My housekeepers, Enma and Elvira, work with me to choose all the table settings. We create a couple of options, set them on the table and see which one we like best.
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- Here is the apple tart I made for dessert. I already had the crust in the freezer, so it was easy to prepare the morning of the dinner. I placed very thin McIntosh apple slices on top and sprinkled them with sugar before baking.
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- As my guests arrived, I started cooking my crepes. French crepes are thin and very delicate pancakes that can be filled with fruit, chocolate sauce – or in our case, delicious caviar and creme fraiche.
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- I also made Polish borscht, or beet soup. Here is a pot of it on the stove. Although borscht is important in both Russian and Polish cuisines, Ukraine is frequently mentioned as its place of origin. Its name is thought to be derived from the Slavic word for the cow parsnip, or the common term hogweed.
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- The crepes are ready when the bottom is lightly golden. And like pancakes, the first crepe is never perfect. I made a stack – and they all went quickly.
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- And here is the container of delicious ROE caviar and bowl of Vermont Creamery creme fraiche. ROE uses only very fine salt to preserve the flavors of the white Sturgeon caviar – it’s one of my favorites. And so is this creme fraiche, which is simply soured cream containing 10 to 45 percent butterfat – thicker, richer, and less tangy than sour cream.
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- Our borscht was plated and topped with a dollop of creme fraiche and sprigs of dill from my indoor garden.
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- Here it is on the table. Borscht is best served piping hot. My guests devoured every drop.
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- The caviar, creme fraiche, and crepes were served family style.
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- The caviar and creme fraiche are spooned into the center of the crepe…
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- … And then the sides of the crepe are folded over in a pocket fashion, also called a blintz fold. The filled rectangular pocket is easy to eat.
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- We also enjoyed a fresh greens salad using vegetables from my greenhouse. It included baby spinach, arugula, lettuce, parsley, and coriander, or cilantro. Are you for cilantro or against? Some love cilantro, while others feel it tastes like soap.
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- Finally, look at this apple tart – baked to perfection. The sugared top caramelized beautifully.
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- And since there were only four of us, we each had a quarter serving! It was a very productive business meeting and most delicious meal. The only downfall… no leftovers.
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