Martha Stewart Books - Page 4

Great Parties: The Best of Martha Stewart Living

Martha Stewart Living Magazine

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Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Special Occasions -> Party Planning

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

While this book is very much in the style of Martha Stewart, the parties that it depicts were planned and executed by other folks. There's a Louisiana lunch at a stately home outside Baton Rouge, complete with maquechoux oysters and pecan-crusted catfish; a garden harvest party, with mountains of vegetarian delights served in an East Hampton garden; a Vietnamese-Thai feast in a garden by the Sacramento River, with the signature flavors of Southeast Asian cooking--lime, ginger, lemongrass, chile paste--gracing spring rolls, chicken, and fish; a soul-food brunch given by an interior designer in Harlem that includes collard greens, gumbo, and sweet potato tarts. Details such as how to make lovely, lotus-like napkin folds are illustrated in "Good Things" sidebars. From the down-home barbecue in a horse arena in Marfa, Texas, to the Polynesian fantasy picnic on the beach in Maui, the key to a great party, says Martha, is caring--"about people, originality, the most attractive settings, and lovely, finely honed, time-honored traditions." And let's not forget food.

Special Occasions: The Best of Martha Stewart Living

Martha Stewart Living Magazine

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

With Martha's help, you've mastered Rosemary Shallot Popovers and Ina's Cornmeal Cheddar Scones. Your Thanksgiving dinners are legendary. You bake hundreds of cookies and decorate your home from top to bottom at Christmas. But do you know how to create a festive Labor Day, or a Fourth of July that goes off with a bang?

Designed as a companion to 1993's Holidays, Special Occasions: The Best of Martha Stewart Living moves away from Thanksgiving and Christmas to focus instead on Valentine's Day, Easter Sunday, and other "days we choose to make special." Martha and company provide elegant menus and decorating tips for 12 theme events, from a New Year's Day soup buffet to an All Hallows' Eve potluck supper, celebrating Mother's Day, graduation day, and even simply a midsummer's day in between. Sidebars featuring food histories, tips on collecting, and etiquette are interspersed with the recipes. The recipes themselves are predictably wonderful, from a simple yet beautiful Herbed Tomato Salad to an elaborate, sinful "Chocolate Romance" cake and a Pansy Cake that looks too pretty to eat. Martha would be the first to tell you that "good company comes first" when planning a successful party, but this book can certainly help with everything else. After all, who says the first day of summer isn't as special as Thanksgiving--especially when celebrated with a Tuscan feast. --C.B. Delaney

Martha Stewart's Pies & Tarts

Martha Stewart

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

YUCK! 2 out of 5 stars.
59 of 71 people found this review helpful.

Well, the illustrations in this book are beautiful and Martha's pie crust, as well as her lemon curd, are absolutely the best, but the pies and tarts in this book are simply the worst I've ever tasted! Really, I've tasted kindergarten paste that had more flavor than these recipes. As a seasoned baker, I do know how to substitute ingredients and add more spice, but why should anyone have to? And what about those who can't? After all, the book is not titled, Martha Stewart's Exotic Pies and Tarts for the Experienced Baker Only, however, it should be. What good is a book if most people really can't use it? Yes, I can make all those lovely grape clusters, leaves and tendrils that adorn Martha's Concord Grape Pie, but I think most people are really looking for something a little more basic. Okay, final analysis: if you're looking for the out-of-the-ordinary (and the tasteless) then buy this book. If you just want some great pie and tart recipes, try The Pie and Pastry Bible. You won't go wrong there.

Editorial Review:

With more than 100 original recipes, this may be the most inspiring dessert cookbook ever published. Martha's recipes for such delights as Tartan Rhubarb Pie or Walnut Tartlets with Chocolate Lace are accompanied by creative ideas for spectacular presentation and stunning full-color photographs. More than 160 full-color photographs.

Handmade Christmas: The Best of Martha Stewart Living

Martha Stewart Living Magazine

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

poo 1 out of 5 stars.
14 of 26 people found this review helpful.

I am usually a Martha fan but I see these books of hers as an attempt to just suck more money out of us. Almost everything in this book can be found in past issues of her magazine. If I would have known that I would have went to the library and decided what was best myself.I believe all of her books are this way---I mean samples from her show and magazine. Nothing new or surprising.

Make your Christmas one "from the heart". 5 out of 5 stars.
13 of 14 people found this review helpful.

Martha Stewart presents some of the most beautiful and creative ideas to make Chirstmas special. Her gift and wrapping ideas allow for the kind of creativity that will make each gift truly special and "from the heart".The decorating ideas she presents are truly beautiful and have given rise to many new holiday traditions in our home and in the homes of the many friends that have borrowed this book from me. The fact that she provides the names and addresses of the mail order houses she gets her supplies from for all of the wonderful things she shows in the book is a god-send.

Editorial Review:

Handmade Christmas is filled with ingenious ideas for creating a personal and festive holiday. From creating holiday window boxes or a gingerbread mansion to making your own gift wrap, Martha Stewart offers a stylish, inventive guide. 200 4-color photographs.

Parties And Projects For The Holidays (Christmas With Martha Stewart Living)

Martha Stewart

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Mediocre for Martha 2 out of 5 stars.
39 of 41 people found this review helpful.

In this month's (Nov. 2000) issue of ************************, Martha's traditional opening letter proudly describes the way she gave a presentation to potential stockholders about "spreading our costs of creating fresh and timely and evergreen content." What that means for us, Martha's consumptive public, is increasingly recycled content, which is unfortunately the case in this book.

While previous Holiday books have also consisted of compilations of recipes and projects from the magazine, they were richly useful and well-organized. This book doesn't even bother to reformat the original content. The book is divided into three parts - "The Parties," "The Projects," and "The Recipes." So, "The Parties," are basically reprinted articles from the magazine in their original "story" form, whose recipes are inconveniently clustered at the back. Of course, the quality of the recipes is high - included in this book are my favorite cookie recipe ever (Torie's Oatmeal cookies), and you'll be interested in the menus if you're thinking of making crown roast or roast goose this year. "Party plan" timelines are also included. However, I see no real reason to buy this book if you've subscribed to the magazine for a few years, or what advantage this book has over the newly released compilation of MSL recipes.

"The Projects" section's obvious intended highlight is the creation of the candy decorations featured on the cover. People with children might be interested in this, as there is a menu devoted to accompany a "Candy Craft Party with Kids," with the quintessentially traditional peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches, mac and cheese, little pigs-in-blankets, and cocoa with candy canes. Other projects, like ideas for giveaways, are skimpily represented.

On the whole, I am a great fan of Martha's, but I find previous Holiday books, such as "Christmas with Martha Stewart Living," or "Handmade Christmas" more charming.

Editorial Review:

The fourth book in the popular "Christmas with Martha Stewart Living" series, Parties and Projects for the Holidays helps holiday hosts impart the warmth and good cheer of the season to all their holiday entertaining and decorating.

Gardening from Seed: The Keys to Success with Flowers and Vegetables (Martha Stewart Magazine)

Martha Stewart Living Magazine

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

From Seed to Sow, but What Next? 3 out of 5 stars.
14 of 14 people found this review helpful.

The latest installment of the Martha Stewart book collection is, of course, filled with extravagant, glossy pictures, tips from insiders, and suggested retailers from whom to buy certain products which, presumably, Martha uses herself. However, this tiny book leaves something to be desired. First, several terms are introduced in the meat of the book that are never defined in the glossary or elsewhere (e.g. "deadheading"). Second, the instructions stop at the outdoor-planting phase, thus failing to inform readers on how best to prune plants and how to harvest seeds directly from plants for future use. Third, there are a number of typographical errors not usually associated with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. While the plant index toward the back of the guide is useful, as is the section on tips for eradicating garden pests, your best bet is to purchase a more thorough (and, yes, more expensive) book from Burpee or Better Homes and Gardens if you want an in-depth and all-inclusive guide to the world of gardening from seed.

Editorial Review:

Growing your own plants from seed is the most rewarding, most economical way to create the garden you long for. In this comprehensive yet easy to follow handbook, the editors of Martha Stewart Living share their secrets for success:

Starting Seeds Indoors
Everything you need to begin... Simple, effective lighting... When to sow, and
how many seeds to plant... Moving seedlings outdoors...

Direct Sowing Outdoors
Dealing with frosts and hardiness zones... Timing... Getting more than one harvest... Tricks from the pros... Sower's checklists...

Garden Plans
A backyard cutting garden filled with colorful blooms... A basic kitchen garden
that's productive from spring through fall...

A Glossary of Plants
More than 100 varieties of flowers, vegetables, herbs, and vines... Martha's own selections of unusual new plants and treasured heirlooms...

Desserts (Best of Martha Stewart Living)

Martha Stewart Living Magazine

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Martha does it again! 4 out of 5 stars.
15 of 15 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book for my husband's aunt and am now buying a copy for myself - I already tried one recipe and aside from the fact that the brownies burned around the edges, they were delicious. The beautiful photos are inspiring. My complaint? Martha seems to consistently omit ingredients from her recipes - later writing a note in the next mag issue, apologizing for the omission. I question as to why the oven temp was so high for this recipe so buyer beware - double check all the ingredients and watch that oven!

I did not like this book 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 41 people found this review helpful.

The following books are better in my opinion:

The Lady & Sons Just Desserts: More Than 120 Sweet Temptations from Savannah's Favorite Restaurant, Somersize Desserts, Unbelievable Desserts With Splenda: Sweet Treats Low in Sugar, Fat and Calories.

I especially liked some of the low fat desserts because I do not want to get fat like Martha.

Editorial Review:

From wonderful classic cakes to inspiring confections of seasonal fruit, these homemade desserts make the most delicious impressions at every occasion--a birthday or wedding, an elegant holiday dinner or casual summer luncheon, a country picnic or everyday meal. Easy-to-follow recipes guide you each step of the way, and color photographs of all the desserts offer beautiful, creative serving ideas.

The Rose Bible

Rayford Clayton Reddell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

I am glued to this book! Help! 5 out of 5 stars.
19 of 19 people found this review helpful.

"The Rose Bible" is the best and most helpful book on roses I've ever browsed or read. The pictures are magnificient, the language is informative, honest, and humorous, and the history of roses is explained very well. There is a slight bias towards cutting as opposed to garden roses in the top fifty list, but the contents and organization are nearly flawless. No potpourri tips here! If you want to know where roses came from, what is available now (with strong and weak points for each), how to buy, feed, prune, protect roses, and if you don't mind drooling over hundreds of rose pictures in the most undignified fashion, this is the book you want.

Editorial Review:

In paperback for the first time, this gorgeous and affordable edition of The Rose Bible (out of print in hardcover, 0-517-58821-8) is a must-have for every rose grower, novice or expert. This beloved classic by America's leading rosarian reveals everything a gardener needs to know about this most treasured of garden plants. Ray Reddell has distilled his vast knowledge of the eternally popular rose into one copiously illustrated, indispensable reference, offering expert advice on everything from planting and pruning to training and grafting roses. Encompassing antique and modern roses, original species and recent hybrids, bushes and shrubs, ramblers and climbers, this is the definitive volume on growing splendid roses.

Martha Stewart Living, August 2008 Issue

Editors of Martha Stewart

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Definitely Not Martha Stewart: Domestic Tales of Starting Over

Janice Wells

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

very funny 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I had read Gin & Tonnic Gardener first and laughed all the way thru it. This one wasn't quite as funny but was still a good read. My husband read it and kept pointing his finger at me saying "that's what you do". I enjoy the short chapters, they are easier to fit in a busy day.

Editorial Review:

Funny and moving, Definitely Not Martha Stewart is one woman’s story about starting over after 20 years of marriage. With wry humor and down-to-earth candor, author Janice Wells struggles through the real world of little money and no time or desire to take care of necessary tasks like fluting mushroom caps and monogramming a door mat. From the realities of moving (“I finally found my martini glass, wrapped in swaddling underwear and lying in a roaster”) to household tips (“to loosen a rusty bolt, soak a rag in Coke, wrap it around the bolt, add the rest to a couple of ounces of rum, drink slowly, then try the bolt”) to frank confessions (“thinking about how long it’s been since you cleaned the tub can take the joy right out of a bubble bath”), Definitely Not Martha Stewart strikes a chord with non–Martha Stewart types everywhere.