A Special Holiday Luncheon at My Farm

December 22, 2018

The holiday season is among my favorite times to entertain.

Yesterday, I hosted a very special gathering for the entire staff at my Bedford, New York farm. All my employees work so hard during the year - caring for the property and my many pets and gardens, and helping me prepare for parties and other events. In particular, I wanted to honor my longtime housekeeper, Laura Acuna, who has worked with me at my homes for 32-years! I planned a festive holiday meal, which was served buffet style in the Winter House kitchen. It included a delicious endive salad, tomahawk steaks, lamb chops, roasted sweet potato, homemade blinis with cottage cheese and my own pink applesauce, macaroni and cheese, stollen and Panettone, and Alexis’s Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies. It was a busy morning of cooking and preparing, but we had a most enjoyable luncheon!

Here are some photos - enjoy.

: Here I am with my Bedford staff on the steps to my Winter House. Laura, who is in the first row, is retiring after more than three decades working with me.

: My executive assistant, Shqipe Lulanaj, prepared the endive salad – two great big bowls of fresh curled leaves. Endive has a crisp texture and a sweet, nutty flavor with a pleasantly mild bitterness.

: I prepared these gorgeous tomahawk steaks given to me by my friend, director of photography, Gary Nardilla.

: I decided to serve lunch on brown Transferware platters. This beautiful platter was gifted to me by my friend, Kathy Sloane.

: While preparing lunch, John Barricelli, owner of Sono Baking Co., stopped by to bring me Panettone and Stollen.

: Here are some of the cookies I baked – just fresh from the oven. They’re Alexis’s popular and crispy Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies.

: The recipe is in my original “Entertaining” book, which was published in December 1982.

: We also used these fun plaid napkins – a nice complement to the Transferware.

: The macaroni and cheese is cooking perfectly – just a few more minutes. Get the recipe from my web site. https://www.marthastewart.com/957243/macaroni-and-cheese

: The tomahawks are so big and juicy – here they are cooking on the grill. The tomahawk steak is a long-bone rib steak. The extremely long bone makes it stand out from any other – so impressive.

: I took this quick photo of the macaroni and cheese as soon as I took it out of the oven – the top is perfectly browned.

: I made two large platters of macaroni and cheese – both went very quickly.

: I made a flavorful vinaigrette for the endive salad and it was ready for serving.

: This is horseradish that I made from the roots grown right in my garden. It has such a wonderful and lively flavor – perfect on the meats.

: More of Alexis’s delectable big brown cookies – I made quite a lot for the hungry crew.

: Lunch was scheduled for 1pm sharp – everyone was very punctual. Pete Sherpa and Fernando Ferrari from the outdoor grounds crew came ready to eat, and drink. I also served some wine with our meal.

: Here are Helen Peparo and Dolma Sherpa – two of three who take care of my Friesians, Fell pony, and three Sicilian donkeys.

: Here’s Chhewang Sherpa from my outdoor ground crew, and my housekeeper, Enma Sandoval.

: My sister-in-law, Rita Christiansen, also stopped by to wish Laura well. Rita worked with me for many years as a business manager for me and for my company. Here she is with my longtime driver, Carlos Villamil. Rita is the wife of my late brother, George. We all miss him so dearly.

: My champion Chow Chow show dog, Empress Qin, waits patiently for anything that falls to the ground – though she prefers more savory bites than sweet.

: Here’s a nice photo of Laura and my driver, Rock Periera. Rock also retired from the New York City Police Department Detective Bureau earlier this year.

: Enma, Laura, and Carlos

: Here’s Pete and Phurba Sherpa starting off our buffet line, It was so nice to see everyone fill their plates – one, two and sometimes even three times.

: I sliced the meat and placed it on the platters as people served themselves – both the steaks and chops went quickly.

: All the food looks so excellent. I boiled the sweet potatoes first before I roasted them – they were completely devoured!

: This is a great snapshot of my drivers – Rock, Carlos and Andres Velastegui.

: Here’s another full plate – I was so happy everyone loved the food.

: And here’s Laura, our guest of honor – Rita gave her a beautiful plant as a gift.

: Carlos and Laura have become good friends over the years. Carlos has also worked with me for quite some time – more than 15-years.

: My housekeeper, Sanu Sherpa, stopped to pose with Laura for this photo – everyone on my staff is very close.

: You may recognize my head gardener, Ryan McCallister – here he is with Sanu.

: I also planned a fun “grab bag” gift-giving activity – everyone lined up to pick something from the bins.

: We lined everyone up according to employment seniority – it was fun to learn how long everyone has been working with me. My outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring Sherpa, has been here at the farm for nearly 16-years. He’s very happy to be one of the first in line along with Chhewang who’s been here for 12-years and Phurba for 10.

: Here’s Chhewang looking through the bins trying to decide what to “grab”. There are so many fun items from which to choose.

: Here are Carlos and Fernando – colleagues and good friends. Fernando has been working with me for 21-years – first at our River Bend space in Stamford, Connecticut, then at the Westport, Connecticut studio, then the New York City studio and then here at the farm.