Whether you are a country music fan or not, Martina McBride is a household name. With a career spanning over 25 years, a 3-time winner of the Academy of Country Music “Top Female Vocalist Award,” and a 4-time winner of “Female Vocalist of the Year,” but the Country Music Association, and a 14-time Grammy Award Nominee, McBride has earned herself a coveted place as country music royalty.

The songstresses’ last album, Reckless, was released in April 2016 and two years prior, her first cookbook “Around the Table: Recipes and Inspiration for Gatherings Throughout the Year” was published.

Fast forward to present day 2018 and McBride is back with a new Christmas album, “It’s the Holiday Season,” her second cookbook “Martina’s Kitchen Mix: My Recipe Playlist for Real Life,” and a new series, “Martina’s Table,” set to debut on The Food Network, Sunday November 18th at 12 P.M. ET/PT.

Amidst a promotional book tour, and a music tour about to begin in support of the new album, we set out to steal a bit of McBride’s time to chat about all of these amazing projects.

With so much ground to cover, focus initially turned to the new cookbook. Coming off of a very successful first book effort, how would this newest release differ from the original?

“It’s just a collection of recipes that I’ve been cooking over the last couple of years. It doesn’t have all the party tips. The first was more like an entertaining book, a lot of timelines and tips, it wasn’t just a straight recipe book. It had some stories and anecdotes. But, with the new book, I really love these recipes. I think there are a lot healthier recipes with this book than the last book. There are a few more fish recipes, some more vegetarian options. I’ve started cooking a little bit healthier in the last 3 years, as we all probably have. It’s a good mixture, it has things on the healthier side, but then it also has these decadent recipes that are more like comfort food too.”

She’s certainly on point with the public evolving attitudes toward food, which can often be the influence of younger generations, family, and friends, which help along the way. McBride’s eldest daughter Delaney, works as a personal chef and has been an inspiration regarding some of the changes in her families cooking routines.

“I’ve learned some stuff from her. She’s cooked for people that are on Whole 30 and all different kinds of diets. I’ve learned some substitutions and different things, like you can use almond mil and almond flour and the healthier options.”

That being said, sometimes it’s nice to fall back on old favorites (or new favorites!), and of course there will always be those times when you’re stressed for time and need something quick. For Martina, that’s her White Bean Stew.

“You can really put it together in about 10, maybe 15 minutes at the most. It’s really healthy and super tasty. I made it last night for supper because we needed something on the table quick.”

Recipes like that are only one piece that make up the beauty of Martina’s new book. There are fun additions like “Ad Libs,” “Don’t Knock It Til You Try It,” an accompanying playlist, and stunning photography, which could truly stand on its own, even outside of the book. These components make for a truly satisfying, and completely approachable, culinary adventure.

“We all have these kind of interesting/strange recipes. Every family has recipes that have been handed down, but they were part of my childhood and I still make them for my family. I didn’t put the ‘Don’t Knock It Til You Try It’ recipes in the last book, so my editor came up with that idea and I think it’s really cute.”

“One thing I love about the book is all the variations. One of my goals is to encourage people to get creative. For me in the last year and a
half, I used to be a strict recipe follower, I’d just get the recipe and I’d make it exactly like it said. I’m not a chef; I’m a home cook. I’m just starting to be able to be to the point where I can probably whip something up from whatever is in my fridge. Part of my evolution as a home cook is taking some chances. Once you cook more, get more confident in the kitchen, and you try new spices and herbs, you go ‘Oh, that would taste great in my…’ It’s just really not being afraid to experiment.”

“I wanted this book to be presented in a way that wouldn’t be intimidating. My whole goal is to encourage people to actually cook at home, entertain at home, and not be overwhelmed by it. There easy to find ingredients. You don’t need any special equipment. You don’t need any specialty stores. It’s real simple recipes that taste really good. That’s what I was going after.”

From cocktails to desserts, there’s nothing missed here. The small bite chapter is perfect for the approaching holidays, as is Martina’s newly
released Christmas album.

“It’s the Holiday Season” is a thoroughly balanced blend of traditional Christmas songs combined with a jazzy backing band that somehow makes the old refreshingly new.

“I wanted the album to be a classic. Something that stands the test of time. That people will listen to year after year, after year. I really just kind of wanted to have a big band kind of swing approach to it, so I hired one of the top arrangers, Patrick Williams, who sadly passed away before the record was completed. But, he’s worked with everybody from Sinatra to Dean Martin. He wrote for a lot of television shows. He has a resume that’s crazy and I worked with him once before and loved the way he arranges. A lot of what your hearing comes from him actually.

His arrangements are really classic sounding and what you would expect, but also unexpected and fresh sounding. I think that’s what drew me to his arrangements. It’s just an interesting combination of unexpected musical elements and very familiar musical elements.”

Accompanying the new book and album is the upcoming “Martina’s Table” on The Food Network, but what can fans expect from the new endeavor?

“My show is very down to earth. We show how I entertain and cook in real life. Like I said, I’m a home cook. For instance, every episode has a story line. In the first season, my two daughters come home from California and we do my oldest daughter’s birthday dinner. We have a Thanksgiving episode and we have a day off on tour where I cook out with my crew. It’s really just a glimpse behind the scenes into my real life.”

Undoubtedly, Martina is a real life celebrity with celebrity friends, is it safe to assume some of her famous friends may be making appearances as well?

“We have one episode that has a Christmas brunch for friends, so we have Faith Hill, Cheryl Crow, Karen Fairchild, and Kimberly Schlapman from Little Big Town. It’s really fun.”

No doubt that’s the brunch to be at!

Martina is certainly a busy woman and will not be slowing down anytime soon, as she will be touring through Saturday, December 8th in support of “It’s the Holiday Season,” before finally getting home to enjoy her own family Christmas in Nashville with her husband and daughters.

You can find Martina’s exclusive insider videos at FoodNetwork.com/MartinasTable. For all the latest updates on the show follow #MartinasTable.