In celebration of the two year mark for this blog, I’ve gone back through every recipe of Martha’s I’ve cooked and put together a list of the best of the best (with links!). It was quite an eye opening experience. Apparently, I am a fan of dips! I also didn’t realize quite how many Martha recipes I’ve cooked. Over 600. That’s pretty amazing. So I guess you could say I’ve really become a de facto expert. Of those 600, there were some that were simply awful. The most memorable of those for me would be that awful chocolate pudding made with avocado and the no bake brownies. Truly disgusting. A lot of things fall into the ok, but not memorable category. Some were good, but not great. What I’ve tried to do here is list the things that I think were fantastic.
I expected that the list might be more diverse than it is. The most exotic and hardest to make thing on the list is the Croquembouche. The things that were most memorable for me were the Thanksgiving turkey, perfect roast chicken, spatchcocked chicken, stuffed cabbage, rolled omelet, Baked Alaska, and rice pudding. I’d forgotten about many of these recipes until I went back through the blog, but once I saw the posts, it all came back to me.
I was struck by the fact that most of these things are homey, traditional foods. There’s not a lot here that would make people gasp at a dinner party (until they tasted it and realized how good these recipes are). I don’t know if that means Martha is best when she sticks to the basics or if I’m boring and just like traditional foods (I don’t think that’s the case though- I love to try new things). Some of the recipes are not true Martha (well, as true Martha as something can be when she employees tens of thousands of people to do everything for her), some are from Lucinda Scala Quinn and one is from Emeril, but they all appeared in Martha’s magazines or on her show, so I’ve included them.
Enjoy Martha’s greatest hits!
Soups
Cream of Broccoli Soup This is a go-to recipe for me that I’ve made over and over. It’s simple, tasty and my kids love it.
Corn and Shrimp Chowder Simple and delicious.
Roasted Fall Vegetable Soup This one is recent, but I liked it so much I’ll do it again.
Dips
Artichoke Dip with Fontina I love dip. And cheese. And artichoke.
Bean Dip I really love dip.
Caramelized Onion Dip with Fingerling Potatoes Dip plus potatoes is as good as it gets!
Seafood
Shrimp and Zucchini Tostadas I love the ease of this recipe and it’s very adaptable to whatever you have in the fridge.
Golden Crab and Papaya Salad The flavors in this were amazing and it was beautiful to serve.
Seafood Bake This one surprised me with how good it was and how much it was to make.
Mr. Jim’s Shrimp To die for! The best shrimp ever.
Poultry
Perfect Roast Chicken This is a recipe everyone needs!
Thanksgiving Turkey I’ll be using Martha’s recipe again this year, although it seems she is no longer selling turkeys.
Spatchcocked Chicken Thank you Lucinda for the amazing sauce that goes with this.
Chicken, Spinach Casserole This one is recent, but memorable. Simple and much more fab than it sounds.
Tortilla Pie with Chicken Delicious! Great flavors.
Other Entrees
Mrs. Kostyra’s Meatloaf Who knew meatloaf could be so much fun?
Emeril’s Meatloaf Apparently Emeril knew meatloaf could be fun because his is fantastic too! This is actually a turkey meatloaf.
Lamb Chops with Citrus Sauce This one is an elegant dish.
Marinated Steak Thank you Lucinda. Easy and delicious way to make inexpensive cuts of meat taste great.
Sides
Spanish Rice I need to make this again.
Green Bean Casserole Surprisingly great! But very rich!
Baked Onion Rings I forgot about this and will be making it again soon!
Tomato Hand Pies Another one I forgot about, but something to remember when I have some wonderful tomatoes to use.
Warm Potato Salad with Goat Cheese Incredible! Not a combo I expected to like, but I really did.
Potato Gratin A basic, but simply amazing.
Rolled Omelet So easy and so delicious! I was hooked on this one for weeks after I first made, making it in the toaster oven!
Irish Soda Bread I like my version a lot, but Martha’s is quite good too!
Stuffed Cabbage Something I never thought I would like!
Desserts
Double Chocolate Brownies Ah, brownies….
Croquembouche Impressive! Boy was I proud of this one.
Icebox Cake Surprisingly delish! And tres retro.
Soft Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies Dude Martha’s fave!
Mrs. Kostyra’s Spice Cake Close to my wedding cake but not quite, but still excellent!
Baked Alaska A friend of Teen Martha’s still talks about how good this was.
Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes I need to make these again – amazing.
Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies I’m going to make these for Christmas again.
Genoise Something I never thought I’d try and it was great.
Rice Pudding This is now a staple in my house and I make it often.
Now it’s your turn. What are your favorite Martha recipes that you go back to time and time again? Have you made any of the ones I’ve listed? Do these appeal to you?
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A big congrats on your two year anniversary! Thanks for this comprehensive list. I’m going to go through it soon as I’m looking for some changes in our menu.
Thank you so much for the list. I just made, a couple of weeks ago for the start of Yom Kippur, the spatchcocked chicken. I had just seen it on Lucinda’s new show and thought it looked divine. And it was!! My husband is not a chicken fan (only if it is brined), but he ate this without complaining. I adored it and warned him I’m doing it again!! You’re right; the pan sauce was great too!! I’m moving on to the Boston Cream Pie cupcakes next. They sound too good!!!
That chicken is pretty amazing. I double the sauce when I make it because everyone just goes nuts for it. The cupcakes are really yummy!
This is SUCH a good idea. I can totally vouch for the roasted veggie soup. It’s very, very good. When I have time, I’ll have to try some of the others … especially the dips. Love dips.
Fantastic to have these all in one place. Thanks Brette. I’ve been cooking along with you and trying a lot of these recipes but there are many more here that I have yet to try! Fun!
Dips. Ah. I don’t know if they’re so good because they don’t feel like “real’ food and are more of a junk food thing
This is so wonderful. Who needs a cookbook when I have this? I’m anxious to try many of these, especially the Roasted Vegetable Soup and the Rolled Omelet. Thanks!
I hope you enjoy!
Wow, what a great list. I have one of Martha’s cookbooks from sometime in the 80s or 90s, I think, but most of the recipes seemed complicated to me.
Eh, I’ll toss the cookbook and just work through your list, Brette.
Thanks for this list. I remember your great turkey adventure. Will look forward to going back through the others, some of which I missed. Chocolate pudding with avocado?? Ew!
This list is just great. So many times you make something, say it is really good, and I always mean to go back at a later time and make it myself, but I forget. Thanks for doing this.
What a great list. I’m amazed you’ve made more than 600 of Martha’s recipes — bravo!
I forget too! I think I will need to print some of these recipes out and put them in my cooking notebook so I remember them. I always thinks I’ll remember to look them up on the blog, but never do.
Yeah, it was pretty gross!
I sat down with Entertaining, her first book and was disappointed that there wasn’t a thing in it I wanted to make, or could face making. I think she’s really changed.
Ok, I just checked, and the one I have is ‘The Martha Stewart Cookbook: Collected Recipes for Every Day,’ published in 1995.
Looking through here, there are certainly easy recipes that even *I* could do. Maybe I just opened to the wrong pages and was easily swayed by seeing things like Fettuccine with Puttanesca Sauce, Minted Pea Soup and Spiced Peaches in White Wine Syrup.
On the other hand, I think I could handle things like Baked Pears and, hey! Popcorn Balls with melted marshmallows! Ok, I take back what I said about this cookbook.
What fun! Nothing like going back and looking at your own old posts to see some patterns like this.
I don’t have any Martha cookbooks right now, but I have very fond memories of making some of her cakes (from her Baby magazine) for my children’s early birthdays. I was always frustrated, though, as they were kind of dry, and then a friend gave me her own family recipe for chocolate cake which is as moist and decadent a cake as you can ever imagine (the link is on my blog).
The best chocolate cake recipe I have is my grandma’s, which is made with Miracle Whip! I hate dry cake!
“Every Day” are the key words here. In Martha speak, they mean recipes regular folks can make.
I have that Entertaining book too, her first one. Sort of useless. By the way, tonight I made one of her recipes from her LIVING magazine way back. I made her pasta fagiole soup recipe (I think I spelled it right.) It’s to die for. Navy beans, garlic, baby shells,sliced swiss chard & chicken broth. Perfect for the cold night it is here in No. VA. Try it!!
What a wonderful list. I am pleased the roasted vegetable soup made the list as it was my pick!!!
I was thinking, and I don’t I don’t think I ever really cook a Martha meal twice – not because I don’t like it, but once I have done it, I usually want to try something new. Although the pasta with bacon and brussell sprouts might have been done a few times, and maybe a cake.
Congratulations on two years – how time flies!!! Here’s to the next 22 years!
Thanks! The only things on this list that I think I’ve made more than once are the broccoli soup, perfect roast chicken, spatchcocked chicken, soft chocolate chip cookies, and rice pudding. I tend to have my old favorites and stick to them and the rest of the time I like to try new things. But I’m definitely going to add these recipes to my cooking notebooks (I have 5 big 3-ring binders I keep recipes in) so that I will remember to come back to them when I’m looking for something tried and true.
Oh, that sounds good! The only cookbooks of hers I own are the cooking school, Dinner at Home (which I do not like at all – have never made a single recipe from it) and the cookies and cupcakes books.
Ohhh, love the compilation. Can’t wait to systematically go through these and try them.
Great list. I lover fingerling potatoes.
They were SO good with that dip!
M & Me: Hi! I have the What’s for Dinner skinny cookbook too. I’ve made several things out of it and I actually like it. It’s arranged seasonally, and it gives me good ideas for what to make for dinner. (I’m a last-minute thinker!) There’s a spring recipe for chicken and veggies that comes out wonderfully. Also, a linguine and clam sauce recipe w/ great slices of garlic bread. Made that a few times. I think we’re talking about the same cookbook, aren’t we?
Yes. I don’t know, there just isn’t a thing in it I want to cook!
Congrats on your second birthday — and thanks for the greatest hits list — lots of good choices there.
TWO YEARS! Can you believe it? I can’t! Congrats, Brette. 🙂
No I can’t. Unbelievable.