Semi-Homemade Cooking

[fresco]

OK, anyone game for the Semi Homemade Challenge? I'm actually going to... gulp... cook her recipes for a few days. Please, please, don't let me go there alone.

Isn't the whole point in having Sandra Lee do this on tv that the rest of us are spared? I mean, why have ritual sacrifice if others have to suffer?

[laurenmilan]

Among my friends and family, cooks and otherwise, I'm getting a lot of "sightings" of her, and general expressions of disbelief. Along the lines of "did you happen to see some crazy show with some woman cooking with canned soup and cool-whip?"

This is becomes a culinary answer to "Most Extreme Elimination Challenge", people are flipping channels and watching in disbelief, then tuning in for shock value!

[Mottmott]

Okay explain this to me -- in yesterday's show -- which I did watch to see if I had somehow misjudged her.. she dippes lemon slices in raw egg white and then in sugar and says " now leave this out here for 30 minutes or so" -- I am sorry is that not WRONG? Salmonnela (sp?) or does that only affect people who dont cook from cans!

She did the same thing in the infamous holiday cake episode--which is one I think even SL would have a hard time beating. You may have even caught her sticking her finger into the Cool Whip after she put it on the pie. I suppose it's possible she buys her eggs from a small organic farm that tests for salmonella, but it seems unlikely.

Mottmott said:

Few among us who consider ourselves scratch cooks do not use some commercially prepared foods. I use canned tomatoes in winter, I don't make my own olive oil or salt my own anchovies. I do sometimes bake bread or make pasta but more often buy them. Some people grind their own flour and roast their own coffee beans. We fall at different spots on the continuum.

This is why I brought up the distinction between an ingredient and a 'convenience food'--something designed to be used like an ingredient, but with less work. And arguably basic staples like flour and coffee are processed to some degree. Chocolate is a manufactured product--it's almost impossible to make in a home kitchen. I use, for example, dry buttermillk, because I use it only occasionally and I hate wasting the leftover in the carton. Even though I know the consistency does not come out the same. We do have to make choices based on our abilities and circumstances. On the other hand, that dry buttermilk consists of buttermilk, and nothing else. So can we say there's a dividing line, or just a sliding scale?

I agree with you totally. For myself, I try to draw the line based on the ingredients list and try to draw the line at chemical additives. Few of us can make everthing we eat.

If it is a traditionally preserved foodstuff that has been dried/salted (cod, tomatoes anchovies, capers, dried beans) or "canned" or flash frozen without a bunch additives (tomatoes, most jams, flash frozen vegetables or fruits), I personally have no problem and think of them as basic ingredients, one step from fresh. And indeed some of these things cannot be made in the average modern home.

In a pinch I use canned stock. A stretch more from "natural" and I use many condiments: catsup, mayo (though if it's important in the dish I may make it), many Asian condiments such as fish and soy sauce, shrimp paste, etc. I also use olives, pickles, etc. I also use dried pasta, filo, bakery breads, chocolate, roasted coffee beans, and many other items that I think of as basic food elements.

Sometimes I'll bake cakes and pies, sometimes cookies, I occasionally bake bread. And while I get these at a good bakery, I've given up getting them in prepackaged form filled with chemicals.

My line is drawn at dinner in a box (unless it's the order in pizza which I can luckily get at neighborhood place that makes their own dough and delivers fast). I don't want something that has been cooked and then preserved with who knows what.

I'm not as much offended by Lee's use of things that have been prepared by others as by her steering people to use foods that are chemically contaminated (IMO), pretending it is for their benefit by saving them time and energy, when the big beneficiary is the food factories. Her books and shows are infomercials.

[bergerka]

I'm not as much offended by Lee's use of things that have been prepared by others as by her steering people to use foods that are chemically contaminated (IMO), pretending it is for their benefit by saving them time and energy, when the big beneficiary is the food factories. Her books and shows are infomercials.

I don't really have THAT much of an issue with the fake food she uses--I mean, come on, I have been known to make Oreo cookies into a damned fine cheesecake crust (and then eat the rest of the package).

I'm just offended that she actually insists the monstrosities she "cooks" actually taste good. Nothing with Cool Whip tastes good. NOTHING. I'm still having nightmares about those "taquitos."

K

[babka]

out of curiousity, I went spelunking across the web to in search of a Sandra Lee fan club--wanted to see what people who watched the show said about it.

failed to find one.

instead went to amazon.com to see what the customers said:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/140...1867149-3461435

interesting reading. and yeah, you can play a lovely, extended game of "spot the publicists" in reading through the customer reviews....but there's also some good material about her demographics.

though this was my favorite:

The Stove top stuffing mix I found was only 6 ounces, but the recipe called for a 6.6 ounce box. It still worked fine. Instead of just salt and pepper on the skirt steak, I used garlic salt and freshly ground Tellicherry peppercorns. Ok, so I cheated and made the potatoes from scratch because I had potatoes I needed to use up.

[Mabelline]

It may just be my fevered brain, but don't most prepared prepackaged things kind of smell like perfume??? They do to me; they just don't smell like food, with a capital F.

[ferdlisky]

OK, anyone game for the Semi Homemade Challenge? I'm actually going to... gulp... cook her recipes for a few days. Please, please, don't let me go there alone.

Isn't the whole point in having Sandra Lee do this on tv that the rest of us are spared? I mean, why have ritual sacrifice if others have to suffer?

I just want to see what the stuff tastes like. Surely it couldn't be as vile as it all sounds.

[fresco]

OK, anyone game for the Semi Homemade Challenge? I'm actually going to... gulp... cook her recipes for a few days. Please, please, don't let me go there alone.

Isn't the whole point in having Sandra Lee do this on tv that the rest of us are spared? I mean, why have ritual sacrifice if others have to suffer?

I just want to see what the stuff tastes like. Surely it couldn't be as vile as it all sounds.

Please report back.

[Mabelline]

OK, anyone game for the Semi Homemade Challenge? I'm actually going to... gulp... cook her recipes for a few days. Please, please, don't let me go there alone.

Isn't the whole point in having Sandra Lee do this on tv that the rest of us are spared? I mean, why have ritual sacrifice if others have to suffer?

I just want to see what the stuff tastes like. Surely it couldn't be as vile as it all sounds.

No, no...we cannot with a clear conscience let you put yourself in jeopardy like that! We fully aknowledge the sacrifice you are willing to make...but stop and think! What about your mate, your progeny,YOUR future?

[Raynickben]

Ferdlisky:

There is no turning back now! We want a full report. DO NOT let us down.

[TrishCT]

though this was my favorite:

The Stove top stuffing mix I found was only 6 ounces, but the recipe called for a 6.6 ounce box. It still worked fine. Instead of just salt and pepper on the skirt steak, I used garlic salt and freshly ground Tellicherry peppercorns. Ok, so I cheated and made the potatoes from scratch because I had potatoes I needed to use up.

Pretty sad when "cheating" means using fresh, natural, non-processed, non-preserved food.

[Cusina]

I found the reviews on the amazon site to be pretty revealing... here was an editorial review.

"There are plenty of excellent quick-and-easy cookbooks out there, but this book feels like a cross between a giant advertisement and one of those free recipe books you get with mail-in proofs of purchase. Every ingredient that can possibly be branded is labeled as such. Lee's Salad Chinois is made with Swanson premium chunk chicken breast, Kikkoman soy sauce, McCormick ground ginger, Hellman's or Best Foods mayonnaise, La Choy chow mein noodles, Fresh Express prepared green salad, Chun King chow mein vegetables, and Dole mandarin orange segments. Gnocchi Dippers are whipped up with Alessi gnocchi, Bertolli olive oil, and, believe it or not, Kraft Velveeta cheese. The Malibu Rum Cake includes Malibu Rum, Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe yellow cake mix, and Jell-O vanilla instant pudding. And not only does Lee dictate brand names, she chimes in with advice on music and wine selections, as well. One can only hope that Wolfgang Puck wrote the introduction to this book without ever seeing it. --Leora Y. Bloom"

And then one obviously written by her publishers...

"It's all here: appetizers, soups, salads, main dishes, desserts, snacks, even treats for your pet -- beautifully presented, artfully selected, and most can be prepared in less than 30 minutes.

Sandra also includes recommendations for her favorite product brands, grocery store shopping lists, helpful leftover hints, storage suggestions, and music and wine suggestions to accompany the meals.

Semi-Homemade Cooking is perfect for anyone who wants homemade meals without spending hours in the kitchen. "

Spin, it's all spin.

You are right about the reader reviews giving some insight as to her audience. They are time starved people who are underconfident in their cooking skills for one reason or another. After reading the reviews, I see why she has a following. I just wish I didn't have that sinking feeling that they are being manipulated by her and her sponsors.

[Mabelline]

Some friends of mine have that 'store' in Red Lodge, Montana, where she bought the wind devas, and they are about to die of embaressment. Seems that quite a few folks have come in there lookin' for them "Sandy things".

[TrishCT]

O.K. I'll get the ball rolling on the challenge. I checked out some of NobodyDoesLike Sandra Lee's recipes from the Food Network site and I am going to make one tomorrow-- the Candied Walnut Butter Salad.

I chose it because I only have to buy some prebottled Asian dressing. I have the rest of the ingredients in stock: sugar, orange-tangerine juice, walnuts, cinnamon, lettuce, canned mandarin orange segments and red onion.

Before you accuse me of flying under the radar, let me say that this salad was not my first choice. I was going to make something else. My only requirements were that my family would eat it (I don't like wasting food), and that I wouldn't be too tempted to doctor it up, that I would make it exactly as Sandra wrote it.

Unfortunately these 2 simple rules eliminated the following:

Frosty Lemon Chiffon Pie...Me love lemons, me buy lemons year round, would move to Florida just to lovingly tend to my own lemon tree... Let's see the ingredients...jarred lemon curd/instant lemon pudding/cool whip .. NO fresh lemons... Sorry I would be too tempted to scrape some fresh rind into this....

Pan Fried Dumplings... Mmmmm we love dumplings in this household!! Let's see... the main ingredient is a 14 ounce can of chow mein vegetables, rinsed and drained...BLECCH!

Beefy Stew... So cold out... A nice hot stew sounds wonderful! Drum Roll please... The main ingredients are 1 1/2 lbs of CUBE steak and a 24 ounce jar of country vegetable soup.... Them is NOT eats!!

Wonton Napoleons... Love wontons, love cooking with them, so lesseeee... Fry the wontons...Yep, yep can do that! And layer them with.... COOL WHIP! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

So its the salad for me... for those braver amongst us...godspeed!

Edited January 15, 2004 by TrishCT (log)

[Moopheus]

I'm not as much offended by Lee's use of things that have been prepared by others as by her steering people to use foods that are chemically contaminated (IMO), pretending it is for their benefit by saving them time and energy, when the big beneficiary is the food factories. Her books and shows are infomercials.

Certainly one of the characteristics of what we commonly think of as 'processed food' is that it likely contains ingredients that a home chef would _not_ put in if making it fresh. Flavorings, stabilizers, preservatives, bulking agents and so on.

And of course some subsitute products, such as cool whip, cannot legally be called the thing they are faking. Cool Whip can't be sold as whipped cream; it has no cream. If you're looking for something to serve as whipped cream and it can't even say 'whipped cream' on the package, that would seem to be a red flag.

And there is an economic consideration--when buying processed foods, you're paying for the ingredients, and the processing. This is why cooking Sandra Lee's way is often more expensive than making yourself.

Wonton Napoleans? Ungghhh...

[Moopheus]

I don't really have THAT much of an issue with the fake food she uses--I mean, come on, I have been known to make Oreo cookies into a damned fine cheesecake crust (and then eat the rest of the package).

I've used Nabisco cookies to make cheesecake crust, and will probably do it again someday. And you know what happens to the leftovers. But the thing about Sandra Lee is that she suggests that this is a complete method of cooking--you can just do everything this way. As if you'd have to be nuts to do it some other way. Have a whole dinner party! Guests coming over? This will _really_ impress them. I bet it will!

Oreo Soup:

1 pound Double-Stuf Oreos

8 oz. Sour Cream

1 can sour cherries

Cinnamon

Pull cookies apart and scrape out filling into bowl. Whip filling in food processor. Add sour cream, using food processor to mix together. Thin mixture with juice from cherries, until the consistency of heavy cream. Drain remaing cherries and add to soup. Garnish with cinnamon.

That's a recipe from a wonderful and sadly out of print book called JUNK FOOD. Sandra Lee would have fit right in.

[wnissen]

I thought it would be an interesting exercise to pick a few random recipes off the Food TV site and look at the ingredients, just to see what she's using and assess how well she lives up to the ideal.

White Chocolate Fondue:

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 stick unsalted butter

2 (12-ounce) packages premier white morsels

For dipping: sliced apples, bananas, strawberries, crisp cookies, pretzels, and cubed pound cake

Hmm, white morsels instead of a bar of white chocolate, plus cookies and pound cake if you count the dipping items. No convenience items, but also seems like a regular recipe.

Baked Beans

1/2 pound slab bacon, thickly sliced and chopped into 1/2-inch dice

2 (32-ounce) cans baked beans

1/2 cup ketchup

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce

2 tablespoons honey

I actually made this a few months ago (from a recipe that called them "cowboy beans"). Good bacon flavor, although I like Bush's beans even without the additions. I guess it does count as a time-saver, since real baked beans take forever, but this is hardly a bizarre recipe.

Hamburger Dogs

1 1/4 pounds ground beef

1 packet meatloaf seasoning (recommended: Schilling’s Meatloaf Seasoning Packet)

2 tablespoons ketchup

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1 egg

Hot dog buns

Okay, this is a definitely a mark in the WTF!!! column. This recipe is hamburgers in the shape of hot dogs! I have to give it props for "semi-homemadeness" because it uses a manufacturer's seasoning packet. This is a genuine time and space saver, assuming you remember to buy the packets. However, the shape of the dogs is such that the narrow ends would get burnt to a crisp, and the middle would not get fully cooked. And then, you'd have a big log of burnt meatloaf crushing your hotdog bun. Truly a horrorshow.

Christmas Crescent Ring:

    Crescent Ring:

2 (8-ounce) containers refrigerated crescent roll dough

1 (7-ounce) container pure almond paste

1/4 cup seedless red raspberry jam or cherry jam

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons water

1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract

Sugar-dipped cherries and small pears, optional

Relish and chopped onion, for garnish

Wow, a recipe that actually lives up to the name. Uses those crescent rolls, which do taste good despite being horrible for you, and are much quicker than making something flaky yourself. I'm sure this looks and tastes pretty good.

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies:

1 (16-ounce) container dark chocolate frosting

1/2 stick butter, room temperature

2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

1 cup very finely ground almonds

48 chocolate kisses, unwrapped

One would think that this recipe would also qualify, but the first instruction is to beat the butter with the frosting in a mixer. Oh, congratulations, you managed to get the mixer dirty without taking the extra minute required to make homemade frosting! Plus you get to dirty the food processor as well. Does get points for not requiring baking. Probably looks and tastes good, but using the "product" is pointless.

So, basically, she fails to produce something semi-homemade and tasty most of the time. Sometimes it's semi-homemade, and sometimes it's tasty, but rarely both. Good luck to those actually making these recipes rather than deconstructing them.

Walt

[hjshorter]

Not to mention having to unwrap 48 chocolate kisses, How on earth is that a timesaver?

BTW, I have been known to make hot dog shaped hamburgers, but only because I picked up the wrong buns at the store. My four-year-old found it very amusing.

[Raynickben]

I'm laughing my ass off here!

Unwrapping 48 kisses. Hilarious.

Hot Dog shaped hamburgers. Hilarious.

And that recipe above where you have to scrape the insides of a pound of oreos? Freakin' Hilarious!

But to those of you who are trying the recipes: If you can post a photo of the finished product that would be so helpful because aside from the shock of the ingredient lists the photos of Sandra Lee's cuisine is truly horrific. I would love to see what YOUR results look like!

[krisdata]

I was just talking to my mother on the phone, and she says:

"Have you watched that Semi-Homemade show on FoodTV? She was making Tiramisu the other day..."

ARRGH!

I usually don't say anything in situations like this, but this thread inspired me to share stories of Kwanzaa cake, etc. with her. I'm not sure I converted her, but maybe she'll think twice...

[reesek]

i saw the show where she did those absurd thumbprint cookies. i bet there are 1000 calories in each one. bet sandy doesn't eat them either.

that woman is irredeemable. she's giving people this false hope that they can be martha stewart (but thinner!) without the effort.

it's unconscionable - and not only does it demean people who actually care about food, but it's nutritionally barren and insulting to people who really do want to make things that are fun or pretty but don't have a lot of time. what she makes isn't even really food. a can of frosting, butter, nuts and crumbs?? i have a grease film in my mouth just thinking about that one.

i grew up on fresh whipped cream by the way and always wished for those perfect dollops of cool whip...

[Moopheus]

And that recipe above where you have to scrape the insides of a pound of oreos? Freakin' Hilarious!

That recipe is not one of Sandra Lee's, it's from a book called Junk Food that was published in 1980, consisting of a wide variety of brilliant satire on the theme of junk food. Unfortunately, good satire has a disturbing knack for becoming reality. SL can't really be parodied; she is the parody.

It does seem that when you see her recipes written out on the FTV web site, they sometimes seem more like 'normal' recipes, but I think that is partly an illusion because they aren't a product-specific as her cookbooks and TV show presentations are.

[Mabelline]

Clueless. Clueless. clueless.clu.....

Let's start listing the products she thinks we need: I get to go first

Pixy stix...Andre Champagne. Carmex Lip Balm. Campbell's soup.

Edit to say: how COULD I forget Evian Water??????????

Edited January 16, 2004 by Mabelline (log)

[Moopheus]

Pixy stix...Andre Champagne. Carmex Lip Balm. Campbell's soup.

This is for a souffle?

[Mabelline]

Nope...nope.. I was just listing some of her trademarked names she uses. I hope everyone adds to it with more trademarks-that seems to me half the measure of her womanly talents...