Field Trip: The Martha Stewart Show

Who here thinks Martha Stewart is just the greatest thing since sliced bread?  Well, I for one, have looked up to this amazing lady for many years now.  Martha has reinvented home economics for the masses and has helped pave the way for individuals like me to do what I love most.  And yesterday, along with a couple other NewNewers, Jessica of Miniature Rhino and Kelly of Aperture Agog, I was able to see this magical lady in action at a live taping of her show -- and what fun we had!

Photo courtesy of Jessica Marquez

We attended a show with the theme of veganism *and* we were given a goodie bag full of books I am so excited to start reading like Kathy Freston's Veganist and Gene Baur's Farm Sanctuary.

I can 't help but post one of the recipes that she featured as it looked simply delicious, Seitan Bourguignon:

INGREDIENTS

Makes enough for 4 to 5 servings.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 (1/2-pound) packages traditional-flavored seitan, broken into bite-size pieces
• 4 shallots, minced
• 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced crosswise into 1-inch pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 (750 mL) bottle pinot noir
• 1 cup homemade or store-bought low-sodium vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish
• 1 large bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 15 pearl onions, fresh or frozen, peeled
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons margarine
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

• DIRECTIONS

  1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add seitan and cook, stirring, until seitan is browned and caramelized on all sides. Reduce heat and add shallots, carrots, and garlic; cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
  2. Transfer seitan mixture to a large saucepan; add wine and enough stock to just cover seitan mixture. Add parsley, bay leaves, thyme, and pearl onions; cover and bring to a simmer until vegetables are tender. Transfer seitan, carrots, and onions to a large serving bowl; set aside and keep warm.
  3. In a small bowl, mix together flour and margarine. Add flour mixture to saucepan, stirring until well combined. Let sauce simmer, uncovered, until it reaches a gravy-like consistency. Remove bay leaf and season with salt and pepper.
  4. Pour sauce over seitan in serving bowl; garnish with mushroom "bacon" topping and parsley. Serve.

It's quite an operation she has going on there and it was so neat to finally see Martha's tv kitchen and craft room in person.

Photos courtesy of Jessica Marquez

You may not be able to spot us amongst the sea of solid colors but we're in the middle of the second row:

How can you go see the Martha Stewart Show in Manhattan?  Simply follow this link.  You need to get there pretty early in the morning, but it's well worth the trip.  And if you're not in the New York tri-state area, please follow this link for your local tv listings to find when and what channel you can tune into to watch the Martha Stewart Show.