I think she's okay.
One of my dad's friends hates her guts and claims that she stole all of her recipes back in the New England catering days, but I think she's got a great screen presence and her recipes are good.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if she stole her recipes, that's hoy most people get their recipes, professional or otherwise.

I have a Martha Stewart skillet I got for Christmas about 8 years ago that's my most used piece of cast iron, and it works well except for having an uncomfortable handle. Well enough I haven't bothered to dig up some nice antique one like I would have bought for myself.

How many recipes (that don't suck) are truly original? I don't put theft past Martha, but I occasionally pick up cook books at yard sales, and apart from either name-brand ingredients you can't get anymore or ingredients that have been altered for health reasons, there's not a whole lot that's new in the kitchen.

Well, apart from the wretched stuff white people made from the 50's through the 70's: Sandwich cakes, crimes against Jello, and hideous things with Miracle Whip as a base ingredient.

The thing about Martha Stewart is I know really smart entrepreneurs that are amazingly clueless about things like conflict of interest, insider trading, and how to deal professionally with competition.

I think she got made an example of when there are far more egregious shenanigans going on that are let slide because of who people are or who they give a cut to.

Kleenex- In the case of catering, it's more than just a recipe, you're delivering a presentation, there's a process to creating a large amount of very good food for hundreds of people in a streamlined and efficient way. What you present reflects the brand of your company, so it's not just something you pull from a cookbook.

I will defend the sandwich cake. It's not as bad as you've been led to believe.

I will confess, I buy her yearly Halloween issues because there's so many fucking great recipes and craft ideas in there and... what? What are you looking at?

I think I'd rather have an aspic than a sandwich cake.

I'm ready to serve you master, aaaaand our studio audience!

I admit I hadn't watched it all yet and give back 3/4 of a star for dry ice, some spooky decorations and a non-Hecubus manservant.