Holiday Memories: My Holiday Party 2019

December 18, 2023

Holiday Memories: My Holiday Party 2019

Wherever you are this holiday, I hope you are able to enjoy the time with those near and dear. For the next couple of weeks, I'll be sharing a few of my favorite holiday and blog memories from years past. This blog was originally posted on Dec. 21, 2019.

I love this time of year when everyone gathers together to celebrate the holidays.

Recently, I hosted my annual holiday party at my Bedford, New York farm. More than 200-guests wandered in and out of three buildings, each with a different and festive theme. My Winter House was where my friend, Chef Pierre Schaedelin, and his talented team from PS Tailored Events, prepared and served a variety of delicious and savory dishes. Fancy sweets and eggnog were served in my Summer House, and the little Tenant House offered an array of beautiful and whimsical holiday cookies. Friends, family, and neighbors also enjoyed music from a jazz guitarist and photos with Santa! It was a cold late autumn day, but everyone had a most wonderful time!

Enjoy these photos.

: Here I am with Douglas Friedman and Kevin Sharkey on this day of merriment and good cheer. See more fun selfies of the three of us by @DouglasFriedman on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48. And you can always find fun photos on Kevin’s Instagram page @seenbysharkey.

: My home was filled with all kinds of trees. Here is a collection of bottle brush trees on the green marble table in my foyer – a woodland scene under my great falcon weathervane.

: I love how the sun came through the window in this photo taken by @seenbysharkey.

: My Green Room was decorated with gold and shades of green. On the right is one of two Chinese foo dogs given to me by Kevin. They’re perfect for this parlor.

: I published this recipe for my special eggnog in my first book, “Entertaining” in 1982. It’s made with plenty of bourbon, cognac, dark rum, heavy cream – and this year, 96 eggs for 200 people.

: All the eggs used for my eggnog came right from my hens here at the farm. A single eggnog recipe, by the way, calls for a dozen eggs, which can serve about 26-guests. My eggnog is always so popular – it is so rich it needs no accompaniment.

: I used Marti Autentico Rum “Dorado” – a delicious quality rum with a lovely rich taste. https://www.martirum.com/

: And Michter’s US 1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon, one of my favorites. https://michters.com/

: The oysters are from Norm Bloom – we ordered hundreds of delicious oysters, served on the half shell with cocktail sauce and mignonette. http://www.coppsislandoysters.com

: My Winter House is where Chef Pierre Schaedelin @pstailoredevents and I prepared and served all our glorious savory foods. We pushed my kitchen counters together on one side, so we could serve the food buffet-style – it’s a wonderful solution for large gatherings.

: Our shrimp and salmon came from True North, @truenorthseafood. We served the shrimp on cake stands in circular layers. http://www.truenorthseafood.com

: These are mini blinis – traditional Russian pancakes, which are best served with a dab of creme fraiche and a spoonful of caviar. I published the recipe in “Martha Stewart’s Hors D’oeuvres: The Creation and Presentation of Fabulous Finger Food” in 1984.

: We also had two hams from my friend, Pat LaFrieda. This is a 20-pound smoked ham. http://www.lafrieda.com

: The ham was served with homemade biscuits, scones, horseradish sauce I made from horseradish grown here at the farm, and homemade mustard sauces.

: The smoked chicken was displayed so nicely on this large platter. I smoked four four-pound chickens using my delicious smoked chicken recipe from my first hors d’oeuvres book. Everyone thought it was duck and every tidbit disappeared. This photo was taken just before the guests started eating.

: For sweets, I made these gorgeous palmiers, also known as pig’s ears, palm hearts, or elephant ears. These are French pastries made in a palm leaf shape or a butterfly shape. My guests loved these so much, they were gone before I got to even taste one myself.

: We also made a beautiful croquembouche – a French dessert consisting of choux pastry puffs filled with creme patissiere piled into a cone and bound with threads and threads of caramel. We topped ours with orchid flowers because we didn’t make enough puffs.

: Also in my Brown Room – my precious Drabware manger set, which I made years ago. While Drabware tones vary from light coffee to dark olive, it took me a while to get this perfect hue – I love it. I fired and glazed all the pieces myself and then embellished it with palm trees imported from Germany.

: Outside, Empress Qin, Emperor Han, Bete Noire, and Creme Brulee stand guard – picture perfect.

: Here is a fun snapshot of television correspondent and Editor-at-Large at Ballantine Bantam Dell, Alina Cho @thealinacho, Douglas @DouglasFriedman, Sarah Carey @sarahcarey1, and Kevin @seenbysharkey outside on my terrace parterre.

: And here he is, the jolly ol’ man himself – Santa Claus. Santa, played by Fernando Ferrari, wished everyone a Merry Christmas as they walked from house to house.

: My Summer House was where guests could sit and share holiday stories and plans while eating sweets and sipping eggnog. It was decorated in lots of pink and silver.

: The trees were decked in silver with silver ornaments – I love how everything glistens.

: Alexis’s famous Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies went so fast. Her recipe is in my book, “Entertaining.” Unlike traditional recipes, this batter produces flat and crisp cookies. They are my all-time favorite chocolate chip cookies.

: Another lit nativity scene sits on a side table in my Summer House. I got this one from Brazil.

: Anduin Havens, her daughter, Harper, and her husband Cedric, stopped for this photo with Santa.

: And here are my neighbors, Laura Blau, and her husband, Michael Citro.

: All the outdoor decorations glimmered in the early evening light. My holiday party was from 3pm to 6pm, so everyone could enjoy the farm’s festive lights.

: Guests were told not to miss the “Cookie House” – Alexis’s little Tenant House was filled with more sweet treats. We made about 2500-cookies in all. Molly Wenk @moll_doll23 and Jessie Damuck @jessdamuck baked cookies for four days. Many of the recipes are from my books and my web site at MarthaStewart.com. In this house, they were surrounded by whimsical woodland animals and miniature figurines – the children loved this house the best.