Serious Eats: beckyleeprice's Profile

I don't even know where to start with shipwreck's comment, it's so illogical except to say that it's a good example of what I mean when I say that I find the prospect of the American Taliban under McCain/Palin more frightening than the Taliban in the middle east. You do realize, shipwreck, that out of all the candidates, Obama best exemplifies the American Dream, working his way through his own efforts from a poor childhood to where he is now. And before you say "affirmative action" he didn't even indicate on his Harvard application that he was a member of an ethnic minority. McCain is the product of nepotism and if he would have had to rely on his own talent probably wouldn't even have gotten as far as Joe the plumber.

beckyleeprice at 4:29PM on 10/20/08

From Talk

Are foodies Democrats or Republicans?

The trouble is that the two topics are so entwined in the Republican party that quite frankly I'm even more frightened by the American Taliban as represented by Sarah Palin than I am by the Taliban in the middle east. I am one who does not want anyone else's religion in my bedroom, doctor's office, or kids' school. I am even uncomfortable with all this "God bless America!" that we hear in the speeches of all the candidates, as if they're all trying to prove who is the better Christian. I say religion is, and should be, a private business.

beckyleeprice at 3:43PM on 10/20/08

From Talk

Are foodies Democrats or Republicans?

Since when has Obama said he doesn't want to maintain a well trained military force? Obama has shown himself to be a person who learns from his mistakes and grows as a person. McCain keeps making the same ones over and over again. I am someone who takes character very seriously and if you analyze the campaigns it's very clear which candidate has exhibited more character and which one has betrayed whatever principles he ever had in order to win the election.

beckyleeprice at 3:13PM on 10/20/08

From Talk

Are foodies Democrats or Republicans?

John McCain has permanent injuries because he wasn't properly trained as a fighter pilot, putting himself and his whole crew at risk. He wasn't trained because in addition to graduating at the bottom of his class from military school, from which he would have been expelled if not for the intervention of his parents, after joining the navy he chose to spend his time drinking and womanizing when he should have been in training. He then used connections to get assigned to the mission from which he didn't return. Men who knew him back then say they wouldn't want him anywhere near that red button because of his temperament. On top of his temperament there are his age, health, and medications to consider.

beckyleeprice at 2:22PM on 10/20/08

From Talk

Are foodies Democrats or Republicans?

I'm shocked at the number of foodies who say they are voting for McCain, especially after Cindy plagiarized all those recipes, not once, but did it again even after she got caught. The McCains strike me as a deeply dysfunctional family--angry father, anorexic, face-lifted mother, overweight daughters. It would be so refreshing to see the Obama family in the White House.

And I'm deeply impatient with folks who say they're not voting or throwing away their vote on a third party candidate because "they're all crooks". To me that's just a sign of intellectual laziness.

I haven't been so excited about a candidate since I was a college student in the 70s as I am about Obama, to the point that I'm volunteering for the campaign, donating money, and have been hosting out of state campaign workers in my home since April.

beckyleeprice at 9:25AM on 10/20/08

From Recipes

Cakespy: Homemade Candy Corn

I made these over the weekend and they came out great. Everyone loved them. I did use vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla so it had a richer taste, but other than that, they were very tasty. I need to do some work on making them hold together better, but I only had about 1/4 lose their tips. I did discover if I lightly misted the rolls with cold water before pressing with the rolling pins, it helped stick together better.

sylphon at 1:52PM on 11/02/09

From Recipes

Cakespy: Homemade Candy Corn

I made these and was lucky enough to have the consistency come out great! I used a thermometer and went a little over the recommended temp of the Wash. Post but way under the cooking time in the recipe posted here. I may try using some honey next time, as recommended. I thought they tasted 'ok' but not really like real candy corn (which I do have a problem with...I am unable to stop eating them once I start) but everyone else that tasted them really liked them because they didn't taste just like candy corn. In any case, they were so cute I didn't care that they didn't taste just like I expected.

mrsmoosie at 4:48PM on 10/31/09

From Recipes

Cakespy: Homemade Candy Corn

Whoa, be very careful with this recipe! I was following these instructions, was boiling the corn syrup, butter and sugar. I turned off the heat and added the vanilla, and BOOM, the candy EXPLODED! I was lucky enough to be out of the way.

Follow the instructions on the Washington Post article. They tell you to put the vanilla in to boil, rather than putting it in later.

Otherwise, it's very good so far! That was just a scary moment.

Jewelsie at 1:37PM on 10/31/09

From Recipes

Cakespy: Homemade Candy Corn

You can't just go by a time for boiling when making candy. Your altitude (and I suppose you attitude so some degree . . .) changes the boiling point. The higher the elevation, the longer it takes to get to the boiling point. We need to know the "ball" stage.

Kargyle at 11:21PM on 10/30/09

From Recipes

Cakespy: Homemade Candy Corn

I cooked mine to the temps listed in the Washington Post link, and they turned out super soft, like when I made tall narrow pumpkins out of it within 15 minutes they were short and flat. They didn't hold their shape at all. Next time I'll cook it longer.
pictures here: http://sarahjbakes.blogspot.com/2009/10/home-made-candy-corn.html

sarahj at 6:45PM on 10/26/09

From Recipes

Cakespy: Homemade Candy Corn

Okay so I just made this and followed the recipe exactly. I completely agree with the other comments that said that it was boiled too long on a high temperature. The end result was a bunch of crumbs as hard as rocks. My advice is to cook the wet ingredients on medium heat and then turn it down to low and continue stirring for 3 or 4 minutes. It was fun anyway! :)

MaryE at 5:54PM on 10/24/09

From Recipes

Cakespy: Homemade Candy Corn

I've made two batches now One came out hard as a rock; probably boiled it too hard for those five minutes - should have simmered! I found that adding about a tablespoon of honey with the corn syrup, then adding another tablespoon of honey with the vanilla gets you closer to that Brach's taste. I also dabbed paste colors on - orange and yellow - the colors were fine.

2newfies at 3:32PM on 10/23/09

From Recipes

Cakespy: Homemade Candy Corn

I was wondering if I could use honey instead of corn syrup. I like the taste of Brachs candy corn made with honey.

neiorah at 12:42AM on 10/23/09

From Recipes

Cakespy: Homemade Candy Corn

Beckyleeprice: Generally the paste food colorings are super concentrated, so you would want to add a lot less. I don't have much experience with them but it's worth a shot. I would just add a very little bit at a time.

cakespy at 6:36PM on 10/19/09

From Talk

What would you eat if you couldn't chew for a week?

I would eat pastina every second of the day. Maybe mix a little egg in the broth for some protein.

lollie at 11:42AM on 08/28/09

From Talk

What would you eat if you couldn't chew for a week?

Mostly Asian:
- Rice Congee. Flavoured with chicken soup is my personal favourite.
- Pho. Bring your own kitchen scissors to cut the noodles. You'll have to stick to plain though.
- Fried turnip cake. With XO sauce (er.. maybe not with your throat healing). Again, scissors.
- Dun dan
- Savoury cream of wheat. I basically mix in an egg white, a table spoon of beef bovril and chuck the yolk in after so it's nice and runny. I actually didn't know it was meant to be eaten sweet until much later in life....
- Panna cotta! Om nom nom nom.

jlunar at 11:02PM on 08/27/09

From Talk

What would you eat if you couldn't chew for a week?

Carioca--can you believe I've never had vichyssoise before? With you and everyone else recommending it, I've a feeling I'll be trying it for the first time very soon.

klizco--my version of that is lemon Italian ices and endless DVDs of The (American) Office :)

beckyleeprice--I'm so glad you found it too! I'm sorry you're also stuck not chewing, and I hope you recover fast!
There are a lot of great suggestions here already for interesting and nutritious meals, but here's my two cents as well. Protein and veg are also things I miss really badly (especially because pain medications can slow down your digestive system... if you catch my drift). My solution to that recently has been stuff like steamed/boiled veggies thrown into the food processor (you can get these precooked, if you're feeling really low), or smooth leafy vegetable dishes like creamed spinach. You also might want to google "green smoothies," which let you get fruits and veggies in at the same time--I like to do about half a cup of spinach with some frozen berries and half a banana, all whizzed in the blender. And as for meat, see if you can mince it small enough so that you can swallow it without chewing--I put minced chicken in broth and drink it with a straw, so the whole thing goes down easy.
Not to pimp myself out, but I'll probably be posting more ideas and such on my blog, if you'd like to check it out--but in any case, I completely sympathize, and I hope you feel better soon!

Chew on That--ha, totally! Though I've never been a very observant Jew, so sometimes pizza sneaks in anyway... :) Although your Passover talk has reminded me of the deliciousness of matzo brei... maybe that'll be mushy enough for today!

eggyzhe--I miss peanut butter and bread so much! Your meal sounds like heaven. I have a lot to look forward to...

howtoeateverything at 9:58AM on 08/24/09

From Talk

What would you eat if you couldn't chew for a week?

Butternut squash soup. I'm not sure how long it would take for me to be sick of it, but a week sounds like heaven. I'd also drink v8. Split pea soup.

I love pureed vegetables. Fruit juices....no. For protein I'd nom on hummus...which I can seriously eat with a spoon....

First meal after back on chewing....an apple I'm guessing. Or...no. Some nice, thick chewy sprouted grain bread....Yeah. An apple sliced up with crunchy 100% peanut butter on dense, chewy sprouted grain bread. I may just wear out my jaw...I know the last time I had one, It took me well over 15 minutes to finish it with the intense chewing.

eggyzhe at 5:15AM on 08/24/09

From Talk

What would you eat if you couldn't chew for a week?

I love the before and after meals - it reminds me of Passover! But in terms of the lack of chewing, you want something with sustenance that doesn't get old. When I had my wisdom teeth removed, I certainly got sick of the milkshakes. In all honesty, the dish that made me the happiest was broccoli cheese soup with hunks of crusty bread cut up and soaked in the soup! :)

Chew on That at 12:31AM on 08/24/09

From Recipes

Eat for Eight Bucks: Perfect Roast Chicken with Pomegranate Jus

JessMess
If you only roast 1 chicken/month (like me) instead of 4, you can buy the pastured variety. Yeah they are expensive, but they are soooo much better. I'd rather eat chicken infrequently than eat cheap meat raised in deplorable conditions and full of antibiotics. Meat should be the occasional treat anyway, not an everyday necessity.

My next chicken will be made via this recipe.

Barbieri13 at 10:10AM on 03/04/09

From Recipes

Eat for Eight Bucks: Perfect Roast Chicken with Pomegranate Jus

Look for local. We have a local market that provides locally raised non-hormone/pesticide/other stuff chicken. Boneless/skinless breasts run $5.49/pound and the grocery runs $4.99 (plus, look at how much water the grocery suppliers add to the meat - usually 10-15%). When you figure in the additions to the meat and the carbon footprint of the locally raised against the factory raised and shipped the local is far cheaper - and tastes a lot better, take a look at The Omnivore's Dilemma.

Gates1132 at 3:24PM on 03/02/09

From Recipes

Eat for Eight Bucks: Perfect Roast Chicken with Pomegranate Jus

To RisaG Glad your bird turned out well. Brining the bird involves submerging it in a brine solution however. You can add anything else to the briny water that helps flavor the bird such as peppercorns, bay leaves, onions, oranges, lemons brown suger etc.
It should remain in the brine overnight in the fridge for best results.
Ciao

loujersey at 7:20PM on 02/18/09

From Recipes

Eat for Eight Bucks: Perfect Roast Chicken with Pomegranate Jus

I made this recipe Monday night. I used a large oven-stuffer-roaster so I had enough for company. The chicken was perfect, the Pomegranate Jus was awesome and eveyone loved it. I used fresh baby spinach for the greens and I have to tell you thank you for a wonderfully inspiring recipe. It was very rewarding and enjoyable.

jojo13 at 10:31AM on 02/18/09

From Recipes

Eat for Eight Bucks: Perfect Roast Chicken with Pomegranate Jus

This is a similar thing to what I did with my Thanksgiving Turkey. I read at the LA Times that Judy Rogers of Zuni Cafe said to brine your bird in salt so that is what I did. I put a thickish layer of salt all over the bird and in the bird and left it overnight in the refrigerator. I roasted it as usual - started it at 450 and then lowered it after 1/2 hour, covered the bird with foil and cooked it for about 2-1/2 hour all together. The absolutely best bird I ever made. My MIL was totally impressed.

RisaG at 9:40PM on 02/17/09

From Recipes

Eat for Eight Bucks: Perfect Roast Chicken with Pomegranate Jus

Tried it, and it was my first roast chicken ever. Great stuff. I couldn't resist tinkering with a little bit by filling the cavity with a lot of fresh rosemary... and yes, i do like black pepper.

http://flickr.com/photos/blip/3285147975/

Blip at 6:33AM on 02/17/09

From Recipes

Eat for Eight Bucks: Perfect Roast Chicken with Pomegranate Jus

To the "bad chicken from Trader Joe's" poster...open your eyes and buy a whole Empire kosher chicken that they stock regularly and sell inexpensively:and you will whistle a different tune I assure you.

onedrummer at 7:23PM on 02/16/09

From Recipes

Eat for Eight Bucks: Perfect Roast Chicken with Pomegranate Jus

Just my 2 cents on the organic yada yada chicken thing...I have only ever had an organic, free range chicken once. It was expensive and beautiful...and very tough. I NEVER had a tough chicken in my life. The friend who cooked it knows her stuff, so I dont think it was her method.

I guess I will stay with the grocery store ones. I never had a bad one. It does suck that the life they lead is subpar, however.

soapy at 5:54PM on 02/16/09

From Recipes