Martha Stewart's New Entertaining is for those who want to entertain at home for friends and guests, but have limited time for devising menus, shopping for ingredients and for actual cooking. The current shift from formal entertaining to a more relaxed, simpler style of menu structuring enables us all to enjoy the art of entertaining. We are able to concentrate on two basic things instead of a massive overall plan that requires infinitely more time and planning than most of us can spare. Martha Stewart's aim in writing this book is to provide us with many new menus and recipes, incorporating the relatively recent availability of extraordinary foodstuffs (fresh seafood from around the world, exotic fruits and vegetables) that make giving a party more unusual and original. 17 festivities and special occasions that Martha Stewart covers include hors d'oeuvres in the garden for 40 people, Mother's Day lunch for eight, wedding engagement dinner for 24, menus for a winter weekend and a candlelit Christmas Eve buffet.