Martha Stewart, you make me laugh
Looks good, doesn’t it? That’s the coconut cream pie I made with my own two hands, my contribution to my parent’s Easter dinner last weekend.
I used a recipe torn out of an old Martha Stewart Living magazine. I generally don’t use many Martha recipes, because I find they tend to make things more difficult than they have to be. Case in point: this cream pie recipe.
To be fair, what I did was easy peasy. Melt some chocolate, mix it with coconut and sugar, and press it all into a crust. Then make a pudding out of coconut milk, sugar, cornstarch, and coconut essence, and stir in some coconut. Pour it into the shell, top with whipped cream, garnish with toasted coconut, and you’re done.
Thing is, Martha has this way of making you feel inadequate even if you’re following a simple recipe. Here, she calls for desiccated coconut (which I had to look up, because it sounded like something that a serial killer does to coconut) or freshly grated coconut.
Seriously Martha? You are seriously suggesting that I go get a coconut, whack it open, and grate it for this pie?
I love you, but you really make me laugh.
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Comments
4 Comments
kaur
Apr 27, 2011 at 4:57am
I don’t think it’s right to make fun of Martha when she’s using the proper baking terms. I do a lot of baking and often use coconut. Desiccated coconut is a finer form of shredded coconut and both forms are very commonly available at supermarkets.
The main thing that I’ve learned from reading this article is that the author is inexperienced with baking material. This should make me laugh, ...however I'm too busy salivating from looking at the picture of the coconut cream pie...
Carolyn Ali
Apr 27, 2011 at 9:48am
I do a fair bit of baking, but I rarely use coconut and can never remember exactly how finely shredded “desiccated” refers to. I’m not taking Martha to task for using the correct term; rather, for suggesting that I might substitute fresh coconut, which would no doubt be better but involves a lot more work. (As far as I know, you can’t buy freshly grated coconut at a supermarket near me.)
I enjoy reading Martha’s cookbooks for techniques and ideas, but sometimes I just think her recipes take the DIY dictum too far. I mean, if you’re going to grate the coconut, why not suggest fresh coconut milk, too, instead of canned? Why not make your own coconut essence too? You’ve got to draw the line somewhere, and for me, it’s much earlier than Martha. But hey, that’s why she’s got her own empire. (-:
Jessica425
Apr 27, 2011 at 11:29am
Anyone who takes this B seriously is missing the point. She is no cook and cannot hold up to any serious chef. She is a glorified homemaker for the Greenwich CT types. And she even dared to critcize Rachel Ray. Granted, Raytard is no chef but a much better cook than this orange jumpsuit wearing embezzler.
Rob Bailey
Apr 27, 2011 at 3:45pm
Complaining about having to grate coconut is so North American! After living in South India for a while, I got used to grinding my own every day, after learning how it was done from several other local women who didn't know that you could buy dessicated coconut! It's actually quite easy to make your own coconut milk too. All you need is a coconut shredder and a blender. And Martha is quite right. Nothing tastes as good as the fresh stuff!