It should come as no surprise that the queen of cooking and entertaining, Martha Stewart, is ahead of schedule and ready for Thanksgiving.
The lifestyle maven, who earlier this week shared a glimpse into her turkey day plans -- including two days of gardening, roasting and baking a lot -- has finished her impressive lineup of 30 homemade pies.
"Finally finished two day pie marathon!!! Baked thirty pies lemon curd, pecan, chocolate pecan, pumpkin and cranberry," she wrote on Instagram Wednesday alongside photos of the assorted confections. "I haven't tasted any of them yet, but tomorrow I will report on taste and texture and appearance. Hope you like the photos. The pies are all spoken for - gifts for my employees and their families for Thanksgiving."
In her previous Instagram carousel post, Stewart featured a "pie pie chart" and cleared up some concerns that she had canceled Thanksgiving. In doing so, she first revealed that she had set out to bake 30 pies, plus stuffing and roasting a 20-pound turkey.
"It's not true that I gave up Thanksgiving! What I cancelled was the planned gathering at my house due to guest cancellations and new travel plans," Stewart explained. "Instead, I am busy prepping to bake thirty pies- and I promised to bring a stuffed and roasted 20-pound organic, heritage bird to my friend Stephen Sill's home to supplement the rest of his buffet."
In addition to traditional Thanksgiving confections like pecan and pumpkin pies, Stewart is making homemade lemon tarts and cranberry tarts as well for her staff to enjoy.
Due to a storage mishap with her "colossal chocolate turkey," which she handcrafted back in October using a giant antique turkey mold, the chocolate that crumbled into itself will be transformed into Thanksgiving desserts.
"I am melting the chocolate and using it for the chocolate pecan pies," she said.
She went on to detail other planned activities outside of the kitchen this week.
Over the course of two days, Stewart's team will "plant 75 new peonies, dig up hundreds of other peonies for relocation, move dozens of hostas, and finish planting the Spring flowering bulbs."
She continued, "Leaves are systematically being blown and composted, compost is being spread atop all the flower beds, and burlap coats are being made to cover the hundreds of boxwood shrubs for the cold winter ahead."
Stewart encouraged her followers to send in photos of their "Thanksgiving meals or beautifully set tables" so her team can share them on her blog.
Her "heartfelt message" for the masses included hope for "an improvement in our world's affairs" and some resolution regarding conflicts with Russia and Ukraine, as well as Israel and Gaza, that are "harming so many."
"Our world needs some good news -- its people need respite from political, environmental and social conflicts. Let's hope and pray for peace! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families," Stewart wrote.
This story was first published on Nov. 22, 2023.
