Martha Stewart cracks the secrets to an egg-cellent Easter

Beaming with pride, the 5-year-old child in the old-fashioned Easter bonnet poses with a basket containing a giant hand-frosted cookie.

Whether or not she baked the cookie herself, who would have thought the adorable little girl would grow up to be America's best-known lifestyle guru?

Look closely and you'll see that the immaculately dressed kid in the postwar photograph is Martha Stewart, now the hostess with the mostess with a multimillion dollar global business empire.

"We would always pose for photographs in the suits or dresses, toppers and hats we wore to church," recalls the 73-year-old mogul of her family's Easter tradition.

Martha Stewart with Easter guests Emma (left) and Hana Goldstein at her farm in Bedford, NY.Photo: Photo by Frédéric Lagrange. Reprinted from "Martha's Entertaining" by Martha Stewart. Published by Clarkson Potter

Stewart shared the picture — snapped in 1947 by her father with his trusty Rolleiflex camera — exclusively with The Post after recalling memories of the springtime holiday (and detailing a number of easy Easter egg crafts for readers to try).

The black-and-white portrait was taken at the family home in Nutley, NJ, where she was raised in a strict Catholic household, the second of six children: three boys, named Frank, George and Eric, and three girls, Martha, Kathy and Laura.

"Easter was always a very special occasion," says Stewart, whose Polish-descendant parents, Ed and "Big Martha" Kostyra, were religious and would invite the local priest, Father Czechowski, to bless their Easter Sunday feast.

"We were a big family so we'd have a big Easter lunch," she says. "Every year it would be different from before, but Polish traditions were always incorporated, whether it was the egg-coloring, basket-making or the Easter cakes."

Her favorite pastimes were visiting the cherry blossoms at Branch Brook Park in the neighboring city of Newark — the family would often drive there in pharmaceutical salesman Mr. Kostyra's 1950 Chevy Bel Air — and attending the annual Nutley Easter Egg Hunt on Holy Saturday.

"The town would hold an Easter egg roll as well as a hunt," she remembers, explaining that traditional hard-boiled eggs were hidden, rather than chocolate or, dare we say, plastic. "There would be these amazing candies as prizes made by Morris Candy," she says.

Six decades later, the famous entrepreneur makes a point of re-creating the Nutley Easter Egg Hunt for family and friends at her 152-acre farm in Bedford, NY. This year's event will attract around 25 children, including her grandchildren, Jude, 4, and Truman, 3.

Every year Martha Stewart re-creates her Nutley Easter Egg Hunt for the children of friends and colleagues at her home in Bedford, NY.Photo: Photo by Frédéric Lagrange. Reprinted from "Martha's Entertaining" by Martha Stewart. Published by Clarkson Potter.

"They're just little kids, but they love the Easter Bunny," says Stewart. Their mom, Martha's radio- and TV-host daughter, Alexis, 49, will be bringing them to the party.

The fun begins at noon on Easter Sunday, when Stewart and her team of helpers will hide hundreds of colored hard-boiled eggs in the fields on her estate. The eggs are laid by her 200-strong collection of free-range chickens, which live in four henhouses in their own yard.

I always have a rabbit or two hopping around, being photographed with the kids. It's the most important thing at Easter. - Martha Stewart on making her Easter egg hunt festive

"Every child gets a beautiful basket filled with grass, and whomever collects the most eggs gets a prize," says Stewart, revealing that this year's trophies will be vintage-style edible bunnies made by exclusive NYC chocolatier Li-Lac.

There's an extra-special prize for the child who finds the so-called golden egg, coated in gold leaf.

As for the Easter Bunny, a giant white rabbit will be the guest of honor. "I always have a rabbit or two hopping around, being photographed with the kids," says Stewart. "It's the most important thing at Easter."

The 30 adults, meanwhile, will be treated to a Russian-style Easter lunch, including a coulibiac of salmon made with artichokes and asparagus, as well as pirogi. Desserts include paska, an Eastern European bread, and a yeast cake called kulich.

"A Russian friend has given me her grandmother's recipes," says Stewart, who spent last weekend meticulously testing them out.

No surprise then that the self-confessed workaholic devoted every waking moment on Friday to cooking, and will spend all day Saturday and Sunday morning perfecting the dishes. "I'm really into it!" she laughs.

Make your Easter a good thing

Martha Stewart shares simple Easter crafts with The Post, featured in the April 2015 issue of her magazine, Martha Stewart Living, and on her Web site, marthastewart.com.

Dyeing the eggs

Protect your work area with paper towels or newspaper. Combine one teaspoon vinegar, 20 drops food coloring (use more to intensify color) and one cup hot water in a heatproof bowl, cup or jar deep enough to let you submerge an egg completely.

To create different tints, vary the dipping time. Using tongs makes handling the eggs easy. Set aside to dry.

Initial eggs

Photo: Emily Kate Roemer/Martha Stewart Living

Adhere small letter stickers (available at office-supply stores) on hard-boiled eggs before you dip them in dye. Remove sticker when egg is dry. Add the rest of the person's name and other details with markers. "These are great for Easter place settings," says Stewart, who has used ostrich eggs for the purpose.

Coloring-book Easter eggs

Photo: Aaron Dyer

Stewart's team asked Millie Marotta, illustrator of the book "Animal Kingdom: Color Me, Draw Me" (Lark Crafts; $15 at amazon.com), to produce some Easter-themed line drawings for these eye-popping eggs. "Use our decoupage glue because it [holds] really well," says Stewart.

Supplies:
• Detail scissors
• Matte decoupage finish (such as Martha Stewart Crafts "Decoupage Durable Gloss Finish," $10 at michaels.com) and paintbrush
• Dyed eggs
• Fine-tip markers

Steps:
1. Download and print out Marotta's coloring-book illustrations (at marthastewart.com/coloring-book-eggs). Cut closely around shapes with detail scissors.
2. For each egg, brush back of drawing with a thin coat of decoupage finish. Place illustration where desired on dyed egg; smooth down with your fingers.
3. Let dry one hour, then color in design with markers.

Glittered eggs

Photo: Emily Kate Roemer/Martha Stewart Living

Use a glitter craft pen on a dyed egg for this simple design. "This is incredibly easy to do," says Stewart.

How to get a shiny finish on dyed Easter eggs

Photo: Bryan Gardner

First, blow out the eggs (using an aerator), expelling the yolk and egg white so that the hollow shell remains. Then make a pin board for drying them: Stick flathead pins into a square of foam board, forming a grid of pins that you can rest the eggs on.

Dye the eggs as desired and let them dry on the pin board, then spray them with an enamel finish (such as Martha Stewart Crafts spray enamel, $7 at michaels.com) in a well-ventilated area. Let dry on pin board for 10 minutes, then repeat spraying.

The eggs' natural patterns and hues produce different effects when they're dyed, so look for a range of colors and sizes at farm stands. "These are so beautiful and last for a very long time," says Stewart.

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