The holiday season is one of my favorite times to entertain.
Earlier this week, I hosted a dinner gathering for 13 - you may have seen images on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48. My Winter House was decorated with lots of beautiful trees, glistening in green, silver, and gold. Before dinner, we enjoyed a 30-minute program by professional magician, mentalist, and illusionist, Philip Deutsch, also known as Phil “The Magic Man.” Chef Pierre Schaedelin of PS Tailored Events and I planned a wonderful menu that included twice baked potatoes with golden Osetra caviar, dover sole meunière with carrots, sunchokes, and green beans, and Grand Marnier soufflé with raspberry coulis for dessert. It was a great evening with colleagues and a most delicious holiday feast.
Enjoy these photos.
Every year, I try to vary the holiday decorations in my home. Here is the tree in my Brown Room – it is one of the most beautiful trees we’ve ever done.
At the base of the tree, my Tinsel Penguins with glittered feet – all gathered beneath the branches.
I always fill the rooms with many trees during the holidays. On this game table, I placed a silver tinsel tree laden with icicle ornaments on every branch – simple, yet elegant.
My mantel is also adorned with bright silver balls and my Flameless Polar Bear candles.
This is my Nativity Set. We placed all the figures on the table under a bed of soft, snowy cotton and lights.
The table is set and looks so wonderful – just in time for my guests to arrive. Each dinner menu is placed on the plate with the sycamore tree on the menu card cover – the symbol of my Cantitoe Corners Farm.
As part of the table centerpieces – this bowl filled with colorful ornaments and lights. It stands out so stunningly.
And more flameless polar bear candles in the center of the table.
In my servery, just off my kitchen – more sparkling silver trees placed on white cake stands.
And silver wreaths in each window.
While dinner was being prepared, we all gathered in my sitting room for a magic show by Philip Deutsch, also known as Phil “The Magic Man.”
My beautiful Empress Tang graced us all with a brief visit – I think she also enjoyed the magic show.
In my kitchen, all the limoges dinner plates were set out on the counter ready for the first course.
My dear Empress Qin waited patiently underfoot for the smallest morsels to fall her way.
A gold plate with Mother-of-Pearl spoons for the caviar. Pearl is always recommended for caviar because it does not hold flavor, nor does it transfer it, so your caviar will hold exactly as much flavor as intended.
And here is a large container of golden Osetra caviar. Osetra caviar ranges from golden to brown and comes from the Osetra sturgeon, which weighs 50 to 400 pounds and can live up to 50 years.
And here are the twice baked potatoes fresh from the oven.
At dinner, the potatoes were served with crème fraîche and each of us spooned dollops of caviar on top.
Here is our entrée – beautifully plated dover sole Meunière with vegetables. Meunière is both a French sauce and a method of preparation, primarily for fish that is dredged in flour before being sautéd or pan-fried. The word itself means “miller’s wife” in French.
And of course… the dessert – the most perfect soufflés with a sweet, tangy, and delectable raspberry coulis sauce. It was a very delicious meal and a very enjoyable evening for all. Here’s wishing you a memorable and safe holiday with loved ones.
I just love how my home looks this time of year - adorned with festive lights and beautiful ornaments.
Every year, I fill my home with lots of cheerful holiday decorations. In my Winter House, I put up Christmas trees, wreaths, and lots of charming woodland animals. I like to include a mix of old favorites as well as new, including items I've developed for my own collections. All these beautiful objects delight everyone who visits my home throughout the season.
Enjoy these photos.
My Chow Chows Empress Qin and Emperor Han are ready for the holidays.
This large wreath is above my Winter House kitchen door. I love to decorate my home with lots of wreaths inside and out.
Indoors, on each of the windows in my servery we hung silver wreaths. The servery is between my sitting room and my kitchen. A servery is a room from which meals are served. Whenever I entertain, I like to use the area for serving desserts and drinks.
On the middle island, a gorgeous holiday cactus in bloom – it adds such wonderful color.
I always use lots and lots of trees – big and small, green, silver, or gold in every room. These are simple, white bottlebrush trees sitting on my servery counter.
In my adjacent sitting room, a beautiful gold tree filled with ornaments and lights. Many of these ornaments are also from my collections on QVC and at Martha.com.
These Metallic Fur Owls have metallic feathers and faux fur. We placed two under the tree with some wrapped gifts.
Wreaths don’t always have to be hung from doors or windows. We hung my jeweled wreaths from the sconces in my sitting room.
And this colorful ball wreath hangs from the beak of the giant falcon in my entrance hall.
Last year, I created artful metallic houses modeled after the outbuildings here at my farm. This one is my stable with its big doors in front. Lights shine through all the windows of these gold-toned structures. They’re great on a table or along a wide windowsill where guests can see them.
In my Green Parlor, another pre-lit tree filled green toned ornaments.
Green, silver, and copper bottle brush trees adorn the table.
And this flocked tree in a planter is one of two flanking the fireplace. One can never have too many trees during the holidays.
In my Brown Room, silver ornaments and glass icicles fill every branch of this tree.
On a nearby table, wise men and a camel – just some of the figures in my Nativity Set – now in an elegant ceramic gold. It is comprised of 14-figurines in all, including three camels, two shepherds, two oxen, three wisemen, an in-keeper, Joseph, Mary, and Baby Jesus in a manger.
We hung shiny Jeweled Icicle Ornaments on this tabletop tinsel tree sitting on my long dining room table.
And here above my Equipment Barn doors is my Martha Stewart LED 30-inch Shooting Star available at Martha.com. I love these shooting stars and hang one on every building at my farm during the holidays. I hope you’re enjoying this week before Christmas. And Happy Hanukkah to all those who celebrate! And be sure to go to my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 to see my holiday greeting.
You know winter is near when various ornamental vessels around my Bedford, New York farm are covered in burlap.
As many of you know, I've been covering shrubs and hedges with burlap for many years to protect them from splaying and breaking from the weight of snow and ice. I have shared posts showing our annual process. I feel it is equally important to protect my outdoor garden ornaments from the harsh winter elements. A winter freeze, alternating with thaws, could crack or crumble any kind of stone or cement, especially if it is antique. During this time, all my outdoor planters, birdbaths, stanchions, etc., are covered in the same burlap used for my live specimens.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
This time of year, it is not unusual to see rolls of burlap and other “burlapping” supplies around the farm. My outdoor grounds crew is rushing to get this big annual project done. Aside from the boxwood, I have many outdoor containers and garden ornaments that are covered and protected with burlap and kept in their respected locations for the duration of the cold season. When we can, we reuse burlap from seasons past; however, it is also available in giant rolls of 40-inches or 60-inches wide. Also called hessian, burlap is made in Pakistan, Bangladesh and India from jute, a tall, grass-like plant grown for its strong fibrous stalks.
To sew the burlap, we use jute twine. It is all natural and the same color as the burlap.
Because stone, cement, and clay-based materials can crack from exposure to the winter elements, it’s important to protect them. Here is one of two terracotta pots in front of my Summer House. Phurba first covers the opening with a custom cut piece of plywood.
Then he wraps the entire vessel with industrial strength plastic and secures it with twine.
Next, Phurba cuts the burlap fabric to fit – one long piece that can completely wrap around the urn and begins to sew the ends closed.
Starting from the bottom, Phurba makes small stitches and knots to keep the burlap in place. He also makes sure the burlap protects as much of the bottom as possible.
Once the burlap is secured and the ends are tucked and sewn, Phurba begins stitching the fabric together and pulling the burlap snug at the top and around the pot.
Here is a view from the side. There is a lot of tucking involved, and a lot of stitching and knotting, but my crew has been covering these containers with burlap every year for quite some time – they are all excellent burlap sewers.
And underneath all the vessels are small wooden shims, which keep the urns raised and away from any water or melting snow on the stone surface or ground.
Depending on the size of the vessel and how much sewing is needed, each piece takes about 20 to 30 minutes to complete. Burlap is so useful for many gardening projects – it is inexpensive, biodegradable, and the color and texture of burlap is so pretty to use.
On the terrace behind my Summer House is where I keep several smaller and very heavy planters as well as a group of seven faux bois containers that also need covering this time of year. Here, they are placed together and covered as one. This burlap remains on the stone objects until early spring, so it must be done very carefully to withstand strong winds and heavy snowfall.
Here is another giant planter in front of my Winter House. The burlap is sewn tightly, but with some space for air circulation.
They look very neat and tidy from the top. This planter is one of two on the steps of the upper terrace parterre.
These two smaller covered urns are on the lower terrace parterre outside my Winter House kitchen.
This burlap cover is protecting the boxwood and the birdbath. We used framing used for the hoop houses to cover the entire area. One can see how much space there is inside for ample air circulation.
The crew knows where every stone container and ornament is located – and never miss a single one.
Here are the covered birdbaths and planters that sit outside the stable office where my business manager, property director and operations manager work.
And these urns are the stately Kenneth Lynch garden urns flanking the entrance to the flower cutting garden. They are more than 500-pounds each. The pair is usually one of the first to get wrapped in burlap before each cold season.
This year, outside my green parlor, we used old hoop house frames to cover these growing boxwood. Every year, our methods change slightly to accommodate the growing plants. Keeping good, usable materials for repurposing is always something I try to do. I am glad these metal frames can still be used – they’re perfect for this space.
All done, the same area now looks like an art installation.
The herbaceous peony bed is also complete – covered all the way around to protect the shrubs for the next several months.
All the burlap does block views of the landscape, but it is comforting to know that come spring, the many shrubs and hedges will look lush, green, and just as beautifully shaped as they did before they were covered. There is still so much “burlapping” to do around the farm, but the team has done most of it already, and winter officially begins tomorrow.
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