I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Mine was perfect - celebrated at my Bedford, New York farm with family and close friends.
Every year, my holiday begins with careful planning and preparation. This Thanksgiving, my dining tables were set for 16 adults and children. We cooked three large turkeys - one that was raised right here, one from Mike's Organic in nearby Stamford, Connecticut, and one D'Artagnan. The turkeys were cooked using my tried and true Perfect Roast Turkey 101 recipe and stuffed three different ways: fruits and nuts, herbed corn bread, and vegetarian. And of course, we had all the traditional sides including mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes Anna, Brussels sprouts, cranberry sauce made in my fanciful turkey molds, and more. For dessert, a variety of beautiful pies I baked the day before and a delicious jello dessert made by my daughter, Alexis, and my granddaughter, Jude.
In all, it was a most enjoyable holiday gathering - enjoy these photos, and please see more on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48.
Whenever I entertain, I try to set the table so it is a little different every time. I work with my housekeeper, Enma, on choosing just the perfect combination of plates and linens. Here, we used decorative blue Staffordshire turkey plates with light blue linen napkins on green leaf placemats.
Here is my long 18-foot table all set for the all-important Thanksgiving meal. One tip is to always be prepared for extra guests just in case someone decides to bring another along – it does happen.
In the same room, I also set a children’s table of four; however, the kids wanted to sit at the adults table, so they all moved their plates over and joined us.
I love taking out all the turkey decorations I have amassed over the years, including these dark amethyst turkey dishes. I have a large collection of turkeys. After all, I once lived on “Turkey Hill Road”.
My Operations Manager, Stephanie Lofaro, made lovely place cards. We cut around each name and whimsical turkey illustration and then placed them next to each plate in the Brown Room.
Every year, I like to cook three turkeys. This year’s birds were all about 20-pounds each and each very well-shaped. Here they are all covered with cheesecloth and ready for the oven.
This is one of my large turkey plates – a Staffordshire turkey platter, brilliantly-colored. Do you know… these decorative bird platters have been in production for more than 100 years? That’s right, when Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving official back in 1863, English potters seized the opportunity to target the growing American market by producing turkey-themed dinner plates and platters. I have collected many platters and plates over the years.
Here’s another amazing platter from Meissen – a town of approximately 30,000 just northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of the famous Meissen porcelain.
And I love this blue and white illustrated platter – it’s English, I believe. To save time, take the serving dishes out the day before and label them with the food it will hold. I served all the dishes on one of my long kitchen counters in the kitchen – everyone helps themselves and then sits down in my large dining room.
And here’s my dear Empress Tang coming out to see all the activity.
Here I am with one of the perfectly roasted turkeys.
Each turkey was stuffed differently and plated on beds of herbs grown right here in my gardens. I am so fortunate to have fresh herbs growing all year long.
This turkey was plated with citrus and pomegranate.
My Perfect Roast Turkey 101 recipe, which is found on Martha.com, really creates a well bronzed and glistening bird. See my video on TikTok @MarthaStewart.
We also prepared potatoes Anna using sweet potatoes. But don’t worry, we had a big bowl of mashed potatoes too. The mashed potatoes were made using my mother’s recipe, which incorporates cream cheese for a rich and delicious taste.
This is a bowl of fresh pomegranate seeds from the big pomegranate fruits I received from our friends at POM Wonderful.
Here is one of the cornbread turkeys fresh out of the oven. The turkey molds I use are five-cup turkey molds from Nordic Ware. They can be used for cornbread, cranberry sauce, or even cake. I’m glad we made several cornbread turkeys – they went very quickly.
We used similar molds to make these beautiful cranberry turkeys.
One of my guests brought some delicious cheese crackers and Macadamia nuts. On the right, a bowl of roasted pecans.
My daughter and granddaughter made this gorgeous jello dessert using purple-grape jello, white grape jello, and pomegranate jello – all held together with a creamy blancmange, a sweet dessert popular throughout Europe and made with milk or cream and sugar thickened with rice flour, gelatin, and corn starch.
Here is my plate filled with scrumptious Thanksgiving foods. Everyone walked away with a full plate – and then went back for seconds, and some even thirds.
And here is my piece of jello – so creamy, so light, and so flavorful.
I was so pleased with all the pies I baked. If you saw my Thanksgiving Day blog, you know I made 22-pies – most to give away to my hardworking staff – a tradition I do every year. I saved three to share with my friends and family. Not one crumb was left over. I hope you all had a warm and memorable holiday with your loved ones.
At my Bedford, New York farm, I have thousands and thousands of trees. Many were already well-established when I purchased the property, and the rest I've planted - in gardens, in allees, in groves, in the woodland, and as privacy hedges. One type of tree, however, stands out around this time every year - the mighty ginkgo.
Ginkgo biloba, commonly known as ginkgo or gingko, and also known as the maidenhair tree, is the only living species in the division Ginkgophyta. It is found in fossils dating back 270-million years. Native to China, the ginkgo tree is widely cultivated, and was cultivated early in human history. In the sunken garden behind my Summer House, I have a stunning ginkgo tree that's probably more than 250-years old. Although not as large as others I've seen during trips to Asia, my tree is quite massive - its trunk circumference measures at least 14-feet. Ginkgo trees have beautiful green leaves that turn a luminous gold-yellow in fall. And on one day, after the hard frost sweeps down the east coast, this ginkgo, along with others at my farm and countless more in the area, drops its leaves to the ground leaving a gorgeous carpet of color below.
Here are some photos - enjoy.
This is the great ginkgo tree in the back of Summer House sunken garden. This parterre garden is very formal and focused on the giant 250-year old ginkgo tree. This photo was taken in late June when the tree was lush with green foliage. Growing beneath the ginkgo is a beautiful chocolate mimosa tree, a fast-growing, deciduous tree with a wide, umbrella-shaped canopy.
The leaves of the ginkgo are unusually fan-shaped, up to three-inches long, with a petiole that is also up to three-inches long. This shape and the elongated petiole cause the foliage to flutter in the slightest breeze. They are bold green in summer.
The trunk of the ginkgo tree is a light brown to brownish-gray bark that is deeply furrowed and highly ridged. The ridges become more pronounced as the tree ages. The trunk circumference of the giant tree measures more than 14-feet.
The younger ginkgo trees are planted on both sides of the footpath. The ginkgo is considered both a shade tree and an ornamental tree. It features a spreading canopy capable of blocking sunlight and adds visual interest and beauty to the landscape. The ginkgo grows to about 50 to 80-feet tall with a spread of 25 to 35-feet at maturity.
In October, one can see a slight change to the color of the leaves – they’re starting to turn.
By the first week of November, many of the changing leaves are two-toned, with separate bands of gold and green.
Look at the top of the great ginkgo – the leaves are taking on a golden hue.
Here’s a view looking toward my Summer House – one side is still green, while they other side is showing off its fall colors.
My great ginkgo tree is a female specimen. Female ginkgo trees produce tan-orange oval fruits that fall to the ground in October and November. Look closely to see hundreds of tiny fruits on the branches.
By mid-November, the trees are still quite full and the leaves all bright golden yellow.
Each mature leaf often has a single vertical slit in the top center. This forms the fan with a cavity in the middle separating it into two lobes. Bi-loba means “with two lobes”.
Just before Thanksgiving, many of the leaves had fallen – in almost a synchronized leaf drop. Wish such mild temperatures this autumn, the “great fall” seems less dramatic. Some of the leaves blew off in the wind, with some still clinging to the branches.
Many of the leaves have fallen to the ground in the garden beds and on the footpath below. Ginkgoes are grown as hedges in China to supply the leaves for western herbal medicine. The leaves contain ginkgolides, which are used to improve blood circulation to the brain and to treat many cardiovascular diseases. It is usually Europe’s number one selling herbal medication.
The lawn outside the garden is also covered in ginkgo leaves. To explain the phenomenon, deciduous trees form a scar between their leaves and stems to protect themselves from diseases and cold. Most flowering trees form scars at different rates, in different parts of the tree, over several weeks. Their leaves then fall off individually. However, ginkgo trees form scars across all their stems at once. And when a hard frost arrives, it finishes severing every leaf, and they fall to the ground in unison.
Now the fruits are also falling. They can be found all along the footpath. The most noticeable thing about these is their smell – it is hard to miss, and the stench is quite disagreeable. The outer, nasty smelling pulp is known botanically as sarcotesta.
Inside is a single hard-shelled seed enclosing an edible kernel. The kernels are often roasted and used in Asian cuisines.
Here is a closer look at the fruit. It is small and fleshy – about the size of small jujube, or Chinese date.
This is a photo of one of the smaller ginkgo trees at a corner of my herbaceous peony bed – there is one on each corner of this garden. These trees also lost all their leaves.
Here is a photo of a younger ginkgo tree outside my donkey paddock. It was taken in late October when the tree was full.
And here it is in late November – completely bare. At its base – a tree pit of gold. The ginkgo biloba is one of the most distinct and beautiful of all deciduous trees. And every year, it puts on one of autumn’s most beautiful performances. Have the ginkgo trees dropped their leaves where you live? Share with me in the comments below.
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a very safe and enjoyable holiday!
This morning I am busy cooking in my kitchen like all of you - preparing all the delicious dishes for today's feast. Yesterday, I was busy baking pies! I love baking pies and every Thanksgiving, I bake one for every member of my staff here at the farm to thank them for all their hard work during the year.
Here are a few photos and a #TBT from last year's gathering, enjoy.
I made a total of 30-pies yesterday. It was a pleasant day, so they all cooled outdoors on my terrace parterre. Here I am waiting to give them out at the end of the day.
I made three different kinds of pie. This is a pecan brown butter rum pie. One can also use bourbon instead of rum.
Here’s Pete with his pie. Each person got to choose what kind of pie they wanted.
I hope you all have a wonderful day, and enjoy the following #TBT from 2020.
Thanksgiving is among my favorite occasions, especially when I can spend it with my family and dear friends.
This year, I spent the holiday at my Bedford, New York farm - a quiet gathering of 10. We cooked a delicious turkey from Mike's Organic in nearby Stamford, Connecticut. I served vegetarian stuffings in pumpkins from my garden. And of course, we had traditional sides including cornbread made in my fanciful turkey molds, potato puree, cranberry sauce, sweet potato gratin, butternut squash soup, oven-roasted Brussels sprouts, roasted celeriac, parsnips, and more. For dessert, I was proud to share a variety of beautiful homemade pies.
In all, it was a most enjoyable holiday feast. Here are photos from my Thanksgiving. And see more great photos on my Instagram page @marthastewart48.
Whenever I entertain, I always like to decorate my Winter House. For Thanksgiving, we had lots of beautiful turkey figures such as these. I made these turkeys years back for a shoot. We casted numerous turkeys from a material called PermaStone, a lightweight, durable cement and then gently tinted them in various earth tones. They look so beautiful sitting on my servery counter.
The night before Thanksgiving is always busy with preparations. This year, I made 24-pies – some to enjoy with family and friends, but most to give away to my hardworking staff – a tradition I do every year. Here are two perfect pie crusts. I have been making this pate brisee for many years and have perfected this recipe. It calls for two-and-a-half cups all-purpose flour, one teaspoon kosher salt, one teaspoon granulated sugar, two sticks unsalted butter, and a quarter to a half cup of ice water.
I worked in an assembly line fashion to get all the pies ready in time.
Here, Tarte au Fromage cooking in the oven – five of them – this is a popular favorite.
Once cooked, they are left to cool – on the stovetop, on the counter, near my sink – there were pies cooling all over my kitchen.
All the pies for gifting were wrapped carefully in cellophane, tied with twine, and labeled for each recipient. Here they are in my flower room waiting to be picked up. And look underneath the pies – I lined the entire table with durable cutting boards from cuttingboard.com, the Cutting Board and Butcher Block Shop. The company makes custom boards in various colors to fit any space. I chose black to cover all the work surfaces in my Flower Room kitchen.
Inside, my long table was set for the all-important Thanksgiving meal. Because this dinner included family and our closest friends, we felt safe eating together – and to be extra safe, we were also tested before gathering.
This Thanksgiving, I selected blue Staffordshire turkey plates. Do you know the history behind such decorative dinnerware? By the 1870s, America’s rising middle class was eager to celebrate Thanksgiving with dinnerware specifically made for the holiday. England’s potters went to work and started producing lots of plates and platters for the American market. These plates are still very popular today.
On top of the plates, light blue linen napkins. As part of the table setting, I placed small pots of the Chinese Money Plant, Pilea peperomioides.
Even the silver flatware was all decorated with turkeys.
This is called Thanksgiving cactus – not to be confused with Christmas cactus which blooms a few weeks later. Both Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti are in the genus Schlumbergera and are native to the tropical forests of Brazil. They are attractive plants commonly sold and given as gifts around this time.
Fresh out of the oven are these cream-infused jalapeno turkey cornbreads. The turkey molds I use are five-cup turkey molds from Nordic Ware. They can be used for cornbread, cranberry sauce, or even cake.
My daughter, Alexis, and her children, are vegetarian, so we had lots of flavorful vegetable sides. The pumpkins were grown right here at the farm. We used them for stuffing and soup.
Here is a roasted pumpkin with fruit and nut stuffing – nuts, apricots, apples, celery and other vegetables. I also served a cornbread stuffing with roasted chestnuts.
This is sweet potato gratin. Sweet potatoes are rich in complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber and beta-carotene.
I made roasted Brussels sprouts. These tiny cabbage cousins are always a big hit.
And here is the finished turkey – roasted to perfection and golden brown, served on a white platter. This is from Mike’s Organic, a small delivery service and warehouse shop that focuses on providing healthy and delicious foods to its clients. This turkey was one of the best we’ve ever had.
I stopped for a quick snapshot before we all started eating. I served all the dishes on one of my long kitchen counters – everyone helps themselves and then sits down in my large dining room, the Brown Room. Other dishes included endive salad and classic cranberry sauce – another popular dish especially with the turkey leftovers.
The children made place cards for every guest. This is Kevin’s seat at the table. My grandchildren, who are fluent in Spanish, call him “tio” which means uncle. We started with a bowl of warm butternut squash soup.
And then each had a plate filled with scrumptious Thanksgiving foods. Everyone walked away with a full plate – and then went back for seconds, and some even thirds.
But all ended with a clean plate.
I was so pleased with all the pies I baked. Here I am cutting a piece of the Tarte au fromage for my granddaughter, Jude.
Despite all the challenges we have experienced this year, I do hope you all enjoyed the day with those near and dear to you. I am looking forward to more small holiday gatherings in the weeks to come.
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