Martina McBride is about to be a published cookbook author, but she also has a new album out (with two very cool duets) and is embarking on a brand new tour. The country mainstay sat down with Taste of Country Nights host Sam Alex to talk about all of the aspects of her busy career.

McBride's upcoming cookbook, 'Around the Table,' is set to be released on Oct. 7. The entertaining guide will help fans learn how to throw a successful party in their own homes. "I love to throw parties," McBride says. She even offers advice to help entertainers from being too overwhelmed by the prospect of a perfect party.

“People don’t entertain at home a lot sometimes because it can be intimidating, right?" she asks, adding, "It’s like you want everything to go perfect and you’re afraid you’ll mess it up and you know you just have to remember that it’s the memories that you make that are the important thing.”

With the Fourth of July right around the corner, the superstar also dished a little on must-haves for a successful party. Sunscreen and bug spray are essential -- especially if you live in the south -- but you'll have to wait for the book to be released to read all of her delicious recipes.

“My July 4 party in the book has my dad’s potato salad recipe, my mom’s peach cobbler with beans and all-american burgers and things like that," she shares.

But McBride is not just a party planner -- she's still hard at work on her incredibly successful music career. Her latest album, 'Everlasting,' dropped in April. On it, McBride was joined by singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw for 'Bring it on Home to Me' and Kelly Clarkson for 'In the Basement.'

"She’s such a fantastic singer, you know, we all know that but I'm just sayin’," McBride gushes of her female duet partner. "She came in the studio and knocked it out of the park and she really raises the bar, you know? When she starts singing it’s like, ‘Oh, I better like deliver here.’”

"She just went for it. She came in and just blew me away. It was awesome," she adds.

Clarkson wasn't the only one McBride was gushing over on the album. She was also very pleased with DeGraw's abilities, but said he and Clarkson work very differently. DeGraw is a more strategic singer.

"He puts a lot of thought into it. He came up with some really great ideas for the duet that we did together and you know, he’s very, I don’t want to say meticulous -- you know a little more controlled or steady," she explains. "Kelly is just like, ‘Yeah, I’ll go in there and sing,' you know and she sings it three or four times and it’s all amazing. Gavin’s takes were amazing too, but we did think it through a little more.”

With new music comes a new tour, and McBride taking this music on the road will be a totally new experience for fans. “We’re going to do most of ‘Everlasting,’ if not all of it, and then we’ve reworked some of our hits into kind of this new instrumentation," she spills. "I want it to be, and it will be, like a really visual experience as well as musical so we’ve got the guys all in matching [dark blue] suits.”

"It’s kind of a throwback show, I think I’ve never done anything like it before," she adds. "So I think my fans are hopeful going to be surprised and love it.”

What better place to start a new tour than in your hometown? McBride is kicking off the tour in Kansas -- and her parents will both be in attendance to support their talented daughter. The singer's interview with Taste of Country Nights airs nationwide on Wednesday at 7PM ET.

Sam Alex is the host of Taste of Country Nights radio, a syndicated night show which airs on more than 60 Townsquare Media Group stations nationwide. 

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