Best Pecan Pie

I've tried a lot of pecan pie recipes. They're often too sweet, too gooey, too lumpy, or too grainy.

I like this one.

Kentucky Pecan Pie

1 cup dark corn
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter melted
2 tablespoons bourbon
3 eggs
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
9” single crust pie pastry

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine corn syrup, brown sugar, salt, butter, and bourbon and mix thoroughly. Beat eggs slightly, add to sugar mixture. Beat well until smooth. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Sprinkle pecans on top and press nuts lightly into mixture. Bake 55-60 minutes.

size ate

"All this not consuming is all-consuming."

That may be the best line in the terrific one-woman show "size ate." Margaux Laskey, in a very personal performance, tells her story of "one woman's journey to find the perfect fit." Using comedy, songs, monologues, and even poetry, she addresses issues of body image, labels, and self-acceptance.

I found much of the show resonated for me. I spent a lot of time nodding with familiarity. For example, when she described the type of roles she got in the high school plays as a non-thin girl (maids, mothers, etc.). I was always the cockney maid, the innkeeper's wife, the mother. I was the Wizard in the Wizard of Oz, for Godssake. She at least got to play a stripper in Gypsy; I was one of the Newsboys. Another bit that had me laughing: when she described the types of men who found her attractive at various sizes. What big girl doesn't know that the black and Latino guys are more into her than the white guys? But when she throws in the Long Island guy -- with a spot-on immitation -- I was cracking up.

Of course, the show is not all laughs. In particular, when she delves into the harrowing reminisences of her second bout with anorexia, at 23, the performance is more tragic than comic. It is, however, very compelling. It was watching this part of the show that I realized that even people who aren't nodding with recognition will appreciate the depth of her revelations and the way she communicates them.

There are only two more performances, tomorrow (Thurs) and Saturday. Go if you can.

Oh, and Margaux is a blogger too!

Jell-o Mold Art

Artist Liz Hickock has created beautiful, glowing sculptures of the city of San Francisco out of Jell-o, and then photographed them. It's really quite lovely and delicious.

Intentionally Gross Food

The Jones Soda Company has introduced not one but two new holiday packs this year. Yes, we are talking about turkey-flavored soda. But that's only the beginning.

Jones offers two holiday packs, each consisting of a 6-pack of sodas flavored with a holiday-meal theme.

The National holiday pack, available at Target stores everywhere, includes the flavors of Brussels Sprout with Prosciutto, Cranberry Sauce, Turkey & Gravy, Wild Herb Stuffing, and Pumpkin Pie. The pack also comes with a serving spoon, a moistened towlette, and a wine list. (Wine to accompany your soda?)

The Northwest-themed Regional pack, available only in limited areas of the country, includes the flavors Broccoli Casserole, Smoked Salmon Paté , Turkey & Gravy, Corn on the Cob, and Pecan Pie. This one comes with the spoon and towlette, but no wine list, oddly enough.

I could be persuaded to try the Cranberry Sauce and Pecan Pie flavors, and maybe even the Pumpkin Pie. Although weird, the Wild Herb Stuffing is probably not completely gross; akin to an herbal tea maybe. But even with all the imaginative vegetable combos (is Brussels Sprouts with Prosciutto really a common dish on the holiday table?), there is a clear stand-out among the gross-outs: Smoked Salmon Paté.

Is this part of a trend toward food meant to gross out? Jelly Belly created Bernie Bott's Every Flavor Beans to cash in on the Harry Potter craze. What seemed like a novelty product two years ago has become a top-seller, marketed to jellybean fans and Potter fans alike. (Bernie Bott's beans can be purchased at Barnes & Noble stores, among other places.) If you are one of the few who haven't read the Potter books, let me introduce you to the product. The idea is that Bernie Bott's Every Flavor Beans come in every flavor -- even unappealing ones. So while you can enjoy such deliciously interesting flavors as toasted marshmallow, lemon drop, bubble gum, buttered popcorn, or grape jelly, you must also keep an eye out for black pepper, booger, dirt, ear wax, sardine, spinach, or vomit. Yes, vomit.

I know there are plenty of foods that might be considered gross to some sensibilities. From tete du veau (calf's head) to vegemite, blood sausage to creamed herring, cultural differences and personal taste influence our opinion of what is disgusting. But is there anyone, anywhere, in any country, who thinks vomit-flavor is a good idea?

I'm not touching you, I'm not touching you!

On the Television Without Pity recap of The Apprentice, (Trump(r) Edition), Jacob described a scene in which gay contestant Clay talking about "Sex in the Office" in front of an audience of Learning Annex attendees:

Adam interviews that things were going well, "until Clay started with his comments." ...Cut to Clay saying, "Maybe I saw this amazing guy that came into work one day, and I was like, 'Oh my God, look at his ass.'" One woman blinks, one starts to chew her lip nervously, and I collapse. Clay, come on. Here's the thing on that: it's one thing to be judged and receive prejudicial treatment for being gay. It's a horrible thing. But what I cannot stand is this "I'm not touching you, I'm not touching you" approach to sexual equality: he's daring you to have a bias and freak out on him. And since he doesn't know anything about you, that's a guerrilla attack and has more to do with gearing up for future outrage than it does about the mistreatment itself. It's the "do I look fat in this?" approach to cultural change, and what it does is piss people off.

I like his coinage of the "do I look fat in this?" approach to cultural change. He's kind of put his finger on something here, Jacob has. My own approach has always been more of the "oh, didn't I mention it?" variety. I feel that if I act as if it's perfectly normal thing that I am gay -- which, of course, it is -- then people will follow my lead. But the whole confrontational, I'm-gay-and-I-dare-you-to-have-a-problem-with-it approach really bugs me. Why go into it with the assumption that people are biased? Why not give them the benefit of the doubt, even if they don't deserve it? Because if you act like there's nothing to be biased about, you're communicating that there is nothing to be biased about,which puts a person in the position of actually having to go out of their way to express a bias. And people are embarrassed to do that. People don't usually want to be perceived as biased, even if they are. And if you are generous enough to give people the opportunity to do the right thing, many of them actually do. And it's even possible, if you can bear my optimism here, that you might help change their attitude. Whereas, if you put a person on the defensive right from the start, even a nice person, you're asking them to defend their attitude. And then you get confrontation, and defensiveness, and have you really accomplished anything?

But I also think that the point really is: Clay is just being a pig. (Jacob does, in fact, go on to say that.) Suppose he'd said the same thing about a woman? No difference. So what this demonstrates is that gay men can be pigs just as easily as straight men. Not a point of pride for the gay community, but further evidence that the gays are really just like you and me.