Let Ana Gasteyer's Martha Stewart Show You How to "Class Up" St. Patrick's Day
The co-host of the upcoming Yes, Chef! was seeing green in this Saturday Night Live cold open from March 2001.
Forget green beer and Shamrock Shakes — in this classic Saturday Night Live sketch, Martha Stewart wants to bring back "the charming old world traditions of the Emerald Isle." How? With a special St. Patrick's Day episode of her cooking and homemaking show, Martha Stewart Living.
Actress and singer Ana Gasteyer, an SNL cast member from 1996-2002, leveraged her spot-on Martha Stewart impression to hilarious effect in this lighthearted cold open from Julia Stiles' March 17, 2001 episode.
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Martha Stewart shared a saucy St. Patrick's Day craft in SNL's cold open
Gasteyer's Stewart promised to show viewers "some innovative ways" to "class up this unbelievably trashy holiday," with tasteful touches like decorative lapel pins, natural green dye, and homemade leprechaun pots. Her alternative to a "poorly constructed" novelty button — a handmade bauble with a naughty play "Dublin" — is a standout.
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"Kelly green food coloring is in everything from potato salad to beer," Stewart (whose tan outfit is noticeably lacking anything green) said while walking around her kitchen set. "We'll use basil clippings from my herb garden to make an all-natural flavorful dye."
"It not only tints beer this rich emerald color; it also lends a refreshing aroma to the inevitable post-parade curbside barf," Stewart notes. After taking a refreshing sip from her green beer, Stewart added, "And who can resist making out with a green-tongued stranger?"
"And of course, St. Patrick's celebrations are the ideal time to put all of your green vintage housewares to use," she continued. "I painted this copper kettle, and added a decorative handle to make it look like a traditional leprechaun's pot of gold," she boasted, suggesting revelers could use it to relieve themselves when a bathroom is too far away.
Stewart invited viewers to join her for a special episode of Living, where she tries to "inject a little decorum" into the holiday, "because St. Patrick's isn't just for the Irish." The expert on all things entertaining ended the segment with her signature catchphrase, "And that's a good thing," before breaking out into a traditional Irish stepdance as fiddle music filled the air.
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The real Martha Stewart still celebrates St. Patrick's Day, honoring traditional Irish food and drink.
In a March 2024 Instagram post, Stewart showed off her "impromptu small dinner with friends" featuring a spread of delicious food like corned beef, carrot turnip soup, and some "out of this world" key lime pie — which isn't Irish, but matched the green theme. Sadly, in her Instagram caption she confessed that she "neglected to photograph the corned beef buffet!!!"
There's always next St. Patrick's Day!
Has Martha Stewart been on SNL?
No.
While the Yes, Chef! co-host has been impersonated by Saturday Night Live cast members Ana Gasteyer, Janeane Garafolo, Nancy Carell, Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, David Spade, Kristen Wiig, and Kate McKinnon, the real Martha Stewart has never appeared on the show.
In a January 2025 interview on The Tonight Show, Stewart revealed she was once asked to host. "I wanted to, and they asked me — as I was coming out of Alderson, that camp that I was in for a while," joked Stewart, referring her five-month stay in a minimum-security federal correctional facility in Alderson, West Virginia. Upon release in 2005 Stewart was confined to her home for five months, limiting her schedule.
"My parole officer wouldn't give me the time to do it," Stewart continued. "I was allowed to be out of my house eight hours a day. He said, 'Well, you're not allowed to leave...' I'm so pissed — but maybe someday."
Fingers crossed! Maybe her friend Snoop Dogg could return as Musical Guest?
