EXTRA EXTRA!
MARTHA STEWART SEEN WITH FAMOUS CHEF IN ARIZONA!
Yep, that’s right! Martha Stewart was in Arizona recently as the guest of Jahm and Cheryl Najafi at their home in Paradise Valley. Cheryl, who is the proprietor of the Valley-based multi-media entrainment and lifestyle company, CherylStyle.com and author of the upcoming book, “You’re So Invited!”, says she had all of six hour’s notice to plan the intimate five-person dinner.
However, Cheryl says she kept stress at a minimum by taking the spotlight off herself and putting it squarely on her esteemed guest. “I knew that Martha is celebrating her company’s 20th anniversary this year, so I surprised her by decorating the table with sayings such as ‘icon’ and ‘perfection’ which I collected from the comments section of her website.” So when Martha sat down and asked about the unique centerpiece, Cheryl was able to tell her that this is what her readers are saying in honor of her anniversary.
“That way, when things didn’t go absolutely perfectly—and they never do—it was fine because this party was all about my guest, Martha,” Cheryl says.
And following her personal motto of “Embrace your best, and resource the rest,” Cheryl focused her efforts on hosting and planning the evening, while outsourcing the cooking to renowned local chef, Christopher Gross.
Chef Christopher Gross of Christopher’s Crush cooked a four-course meal that was happily devoured by the guests. The chef used his expertise of cooking and made the dinner into a work of art. Starting of with a tomato tea, mixed with herbs and spices was a great way to lead into the dinner. The second course was a salad of assorted greens topped off with olive oil, leaving just enough room for the main course. The main course was a tender steak that melted in the spices. The steak was served with a side of small scoops of potato puree that was baked to perfection. It was a perfect combination of food with the chefs’ special twist. Lastly was the dessert, raspberry macarons served frozen topped off with a warm savory berry sauce, that when added to the frozen macarons creates a smoking effect.
Literarily a work of art!
