Martha Stewart Is Publishing Her 100th Cookbook And We Got The Tea - Exclusive Interview

Martha Stewart is an icon of the food world and beyond, and there's no one among us who hasn't wondered at least once, "how does she do it all?" And with such style, no less. From multiple TV shows to a Las Vegas restaurant, magazines and countless product lines, Stewart is seemingly everywhere all at once. Not to mention, she's about to publish her 100th cookbook — a compilation of her favorite recipes from over the years. So, we were thrilled when we got the chance to snag even a few minutes one-on-one with Stewart for an exclusive interview.

Stewart spoke with us from her home in Bedford, New York, with a bottle of Pure Leaf tea in hand. Amid all her other endeavors, she has recently teamed up with her favorite go-to iced tea brand for a new digital campaign, revealing to the world how she always keeps her "little helper" within reach, whether she's reaching for a bottle of Pure Leaf in the kitchen, in the garden, in the library, and beyond. For those who feel inspired to take on the world like queen herself, Pure Leaf is also offering a chance to win a bottle of the limited-edition "Martha's Little Helper" Pure Leaf Unsweetened Tea; from September 18 to October 16, fans can enter at PureLeaf.com/PureLeafPromotion.  

During our chat, Stewart spilled the tea on her lifelong love of tea and why the Pure Leaf partnership was a natural fit. She also opened up about her 100th cookbook, sharing some of the standout recipes that she had to include, from a childhood favorite to her go-to salmon dinner. Stewart's biggest fans know that many of her cookbook recipes are inspired by her own garden, which she gave us a little peek into, sharing her delicious plans for her late summer harvest as well.

This looks like it was such a fun campaign to do with Pure Leaf.

Stewart: It was. They're a very creative team of designers, and the product itself is fun to work with. So, painless and delicious.

Have you always been a big tea drinker?

I drank tea from the time I was a young child. My mother would tell stories at home of her working in a little fancy grocery store in Buffalo, New York, and her job was to measure out the tea from the beautiful silver tea boxes that they had. We had all different kinds of tea in our house from the finest Oolongs and souchongs to just breakfast teas and afternoon teas and Earl Grey tea. So, when Pure Leaf came, it was a totally natural thing.

I really do find iced tea extremely refreshing, and to have it pre-made in my fridge, easy access, I can just carry this little thing in my car, it is a delight.

Do you have any favorite ways that you like to mix tea into drinks or make cocktails with it?

I drink it with a lot of lemon. There's citric acid in my sugarless iced tea that I drink, my Pure Leaf. But I add lemon to it, over ice if I'm sitting at a table. It's my cocktail, too. I often use it [for] cocktail time. Last night I had it with dinner because I don't drink a lot of alcoholic beverages. It is very refreshing and it looks good in a goblet or it looks good in the bottle that it comes in.

You mentioned this whole campaign is based around your "little helper" and your secret for staying energized for everything that you have going on. To get you through busy days, do you have any favorite snacks to reach for, or to pair with your tea?

I'm not a snacker. I'm very boring.

That's not true!

I don't sit around with a lot of snacks. I do hydrate all the time, and this is one of the best ways to hydrate. I think that is extremely important. This and good filtered water is what I like to drink.

Your 100th cookbook is coming out in the fall. That's truly amazing. For you personally, what would you consider to be some of your greatest hits? Do you have any standout favorites from over the years?

Stewart: Well, in the book are 100 of my favorite recipes, and it took me a long time to narrow it down because I have probably hundreds of favorites. But I love a really beautifully composed salad. I have some very nice salad recipes in the books. A salad Niçoise that is excellent. A chopped salad with about 16 different vegetables in it that's very delicious.

And then I love the main courses that we have. We have a delicious salmon that takes about five minutes to make, which is just a filet of salmon with mustard and honey glaze. So simple and so delicious. I also have [recipes for] how to cook a small porterhouse steak. Many people just don't know how to cook a steak, so I wanted to put that in. Even though I eat steak maybe once a month, but if it's well done I can actually devour a whole little porterhouse.

What is the right way to make a porterhouse?

I very gently salt it and pepper it, and then I sear it and then I put it in the broiler. And I have an open air broiler I call the salamander, and that's what I like to cook it in. But simple, simple, simple and not overdone. People who go for well done steak should not do that.

Are there any favorites from your earlier cookbooks that maybe you feel like you deserve a comeback and so you're including them?

Well, those favorites have been favorites for so long. My first cookbook is [over] 40 years old.

And there's Alexis's famous chocolate chip cookies, which are those thin, thin, beautiful large cookies. I've added a sprinkling of sea salt on top when they come out of the oven – delish. I also have my mother's very famous mashed potatoes, which incorporate not only potatoes, but also cream cheese and heavy cream and butter, and those are extra good.

Oh, my potato pierogi are also good, of Polish heritage. That'll take you a little bit more work than the mashed potatoes, but well worth the effort.

You mentioned salads, and that was also making me think of, I love the part in the Pure Leaf campaign where you're pulling the tea out of the garden. And I love seeing your posts about your garden on social media. What are some of the best things that you're harvesting right now?

Stewart: Oh my gosh. We just harvested. I'm making a big chicken soup. Don't tell anybody, but I slaughtered 25 roosters on Saturday. I didn't personally, but there's a very nice processor, Hemlock Hills Farms nearby, and they do that. I have 25 large roosters in my freezer, and so I am making a most delicious chicken soup this morning with one of them. And I have leeks from the garden, carrots from the garden, onions from the garden, garlic from the garden, parsley from the garden, that's all I'm using in the actual chicken soup. It's on the stove right now, it's starting to smell really good.

It's really delicious. I will have wonderful chicken off the bone for a chicken salad. Maybe tomorrow I'll have a chicken salad sandwich. And the soup is going to be so delectable.

Yeah, perfect transitional recipe for right now. And I saw you posted a couple weeks ago about your pumpkins and your winter squashes. Have you started thinking about your Thanksgiving and holiday menus yet?

Stewart: Oh, well, I hope we're going away for Thanksgiving. My grandchildren travel with me a lot, and their mother. But we go on very exotic vacations, but they have not yet been to Rome, and they are really anxious to see Rome.

I want to take them to the Vatican while this Pope is in residence, and we're going to have, I hope, a wonderful trip to Rome.

Do you already have restaurants in mind that you know have to take them to?

Oh, I do. But the itinerary has not been set yet. Neither have the reservations, which I better get busy.

I also saw your Martha Stewart Halloween issue recently, which was absolutely incredible. Can give me any hint about what your costume is going to be this year?

Well, I might just dress up as the queen as I am on the cover. That is a beautiful costume. And it was made out of very inexpensive materials. Everything is really kind of bargain-basement except for the necklace and the earrings. Those came from Sabyasachi and were hideously expensive. But the whole outfit, including the beautiful orb that I'm holding, that's a plastic orb when uncovered is filled with candy treats.

 Oh, I love it.

And all the beading and everything is right out of the craft store. It's a very clever and beautiful costume. The ermine cape is just faux fur of the cheapest order, and a little black tails on there, the ermine tail tips are little crystal beads from the craft story. So, it is a very clever costume.

To sign up for a chance to win a limited-edition "Martha's Little Helper" Pure Leaf Unsweetened Tea, visit PureLeaf.com/PureLeafPromotion from September 18 to October 16.