While the settings for Martha’s Entertaining are haute American—her houses in East Hampton and Bedford, New York, and Seal Harbor, Maine—the recipes have a far-ranging reach, including everything from Beraweka bread, a specialty of the Alsace, and root vegetable boulangere, a dish popular in France, to Japanese Shishito peppers. Stewart says that as she entertains so often and has a lot of repeat guests, she makes a point to “change things around, make up lots of interesting menus, drinks, and desserts.” For example, if she does barbecue, it might be Cuban rather than American style. Says Stewart, “Tradition with a twist! I always like to interject new ideas into the mix.”

Martha Stewart: Hamptons Entertainer Extraordinaire
Stewart’s creative freshness and spirited entertaining flair have marked her Hamptons parties from the moment she jumped into the local social scene. Shortly after purchasing a six-bedroom 19th-century Victorian-style home on Lily Pond Lane—and before the moving vans even arrived—she hosted a housewarming bash at the property, drawing guests like Lee Radziwill, Allen Grubman, and Billy Joel for a classic Hamptons firehouse-style barbecue. “I had 300 on my front lawn,” says Stewart. “I put up a giant tent, and firemen from a nearby town came over and cooked the chicken and corn and made blue parrot margaritas.”

The fireman’s barbecue was the first of dozens of parties hosted at Lily Pond Lane over a period of two decades. Despite the addition of the upstate New York and Maine properties, Stewart still visits and entertains in the Hamptons year-round. “I love it out here,” she says. “I love my wonderful, big, old rambling place.” (She oversaw an extensive renovation of the three-story shingle-style house and its garden soon after buying the property in 1990.) “I open my gardens to tours for fundraisers, and I host dinners and luncheons and even horseback rides.”

Stewart features one of the many summer cocktail parties she organized for Guild Hall in her new book. She likes to time such events to when her lavish peony-studded gardens and other flowers are at their peak, but unfortunately, the weather remains beyond the control of even a worldfamous lifestyle guru. “This party was almost rained out, but the house’s giant porches, a spacious ground floor, and lots of umbrellas near the pool” saved the evening, she recalls. In addition to crafting a delectably innovative round of hors d’oeuvres and edibles for her events—in this instance, she served curried crabmeat on crisp fried mini pappadams—Stewart always crafts a signature cocktail. For this party, she offered a fresh take on a Sazerac (a New Orleans classic), mixing bourbon, Herbsaint, lemon, orange juices, and bitters. (It likely had a wonderful effect on prospective donors.)

Stewart’s love of entertaining and giving back over the years has made her an integral part of the East End community. In 2010 she was honored at the annual James Beard Foundation’s Chefs & Champagne event, and in June 2009, she was recognized at the Ross School’s annual scholarship benefit, Live at Club Starlight. “It was an honor,” she says. “I was recognized for my belief in the power of learning, for my achievements as a teacher, and for serving as an inspiration to children everywhere.” Stewart’s popularity on the Hamptons charity circuit and her chronically filled-to-the-brim work schedule may be most responsible for why she now prefers to host Friday evening suppers when at her Lily Pond Lane house. “You get the entertaining out of the way and can then relax for the weekend,” she explains.

 
  Martha’s 50th birthday, at home in the Hamptons: Looking chic for the big day...
 
  ...with her mother, Martha Kostyra, and daughter Alexis...
 
  ... and opening presents afterward

Some of Stewart’s fondest East Hampton memories center on the holidays, particularly those spent with her late mother, also named Martha. The two would head out to East Hampton a few days before Thanksgiving or Christmas and make the local rounds to shop for food, stopping in the local A&P for staples and Citarella’s “because they have every kind of olive oil, mustard, and salt,” as well as the local farmers’ markets, open late in the year, and Marders for greenery to deck the halls of Lily Pond Lane.