Cookin' with Congress

Eating Like Royalty Ep. 5: Charles II of Spain

Why was I drinking almost 20 cups of hot chocolate in a day? What does that have to do with a head full of water and a missing testicle? Find out on a subscriber exclusive episode of Eating Like Royalty. I have no one to blame but myself if I ever catch a case of the sugars.

Eating Like Royalty Ep. 4: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex

Meghan Markle may have her own TV cooking show now, and will she ever have me on as a guest star? No chance. But what did she eat like as an active member of the royal family? What was her daily diet? And how easily can you source these ingredients in rural Arkansas? All important questions I am answering here with this day of eating. I spent $32 on bee pollen oh god.

Your Weird Family Recipes

Coming your way: a new series!

I've been recreating some of the strangest recipes out there from real politicians -- ham mousse, frozen pear mayonnaise ice cubes, beef tongue in gelatin, crackerass. It's where Cookin' with Congress started and I never get tired of what fresh hell awaits me in a weird community cookbook from the 1970s or Mitt Romney's Twitter feed.

But I'm willing to bet these politicians aren't alone...in fact, I bet YOU have some weird family recipes to share.

And I want to try them.

Just like with my Eating Like America series, this will be open to submissions for subscribers only. This will eventually be a Tier 2 perk (Tier 2 doesn't exist yet, you didn't miss anything), but I'm going to offer it up to ALL existing subscribers between now and June 9, 2025.

Here's the link: https://forms.gle/xpxeKuVHDimvL7HH8

Submit your recipe at the link above by June 9th as a paid subscriber on Patreon, TikTok, Instagram or Substack (god that's so many places), and your weird family recipe will be on the docket automatically! Emphasis on the weird, the strange -- it doesn't have to be a gross recipe, but it should be 1) honest (please don't make up something insane just for this) and 2) unusual in some way, whether it's a wild ingredient combination you love or a truly disgusting dish you remember eating as a kid.

Examples from my own childhood:

• BBQ'd pulled raccoon

• Peanut butter on baloney slices

Examples from friends of mine:

• Hot dog soup

• Butter on a stick

• Nutted ambrosia salad

Episodes will be public for everyone on all the usual spots, it's just the submissions that'll be paid subscriber-only.

Disclaimer: these recipes belong to YOU. I will never use them for a future cookbook. I'm grateful to be recreating them here for fun, but they're yours and will always be yours. Also if they're horrific enough, why would I!

Can't wait to see what food scarred you in childhood and let it scar(e) me too.

-Bennett

Eating Like Royalty Ep. 3: Emperor Justinian I

*REUPLOADED - sorry for the whiplash and wait! Patreon tech issue.
This was a fun experiment to eat like an ANCIENT royal, but I’ll probably stick to more modern royals from now on just because the documentation is there. We really know how King George III or Princess Diana or Megan Markle ate, but back this far, it’s best guesses based on norms and research. Still, I discovered new refreshing beverages! And nothing was unhinged in the least.

Eating Like Royalty Episode 2: King George III

The King of England during the American Revolution was….sad? He struggled with mental illness later during his reign but even before that, his meals were waaaay less majestic than I expected. Almost makes you feel bad for all the tea-dumping.

Should I post ALL my CwC episodes here?

I'm considering uploading not just the paid-subscriber-exclusive videos (Eating Like Royalty, etc) here, but all my video episodes (about 3 per week). Any thoughts?? I feel like most of you are watching on TikTok or Instagram or YouTube, but would it be better to have it all here too?

Eating Like Royalty Episode 1: Princess Diana

First in a new series! Eating like Royalty: Princess Diana. This was fascinating. Diana struggled with anorexia and bulimia nervosa for years, but this daily diet is after the darkest days of her past were behind her. Pulled much of it from biography and McGrady’s interviews. Love this soup recipe, maybe I’ll share it?? Also, this is my first time posting a video on Patreon here, so let me know if it goes well or if you have any suggestions. Thanks for being a supporter, you made this series possible!

New Way to Submit (and a series tease)

Hey everyone! For those of you who are paid supporters or are thinking incredibly hard--possibly every waking hour--about becoming a paid supporter, there's a new way to submit your daily diet to me for the Eating Like America series.

Just follow the link to this Google Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSflvla6QGtqz7e_244XJjmNACzdP1fJ5f1aLebGs9lxrqUOYw/viewform?usp=sharing

If you have already sent me your average day of eating, you do NOT have to fill this out. I've already got you. 

I have no idea why it took me so long to create a form. Let's chalk it up to prioritizing making more important things instead, like cream cheese baloney.

Also, starting this month for members of The Cabinet ($2.99/month here and elsewhere), I'm going to start a new series for you all, Eating Like Royalty. And the first episode?

Princess Diana.

Keep an eye out. It'll be posted for TikTok, Instagram and Substack subscribers, too, but not the general public. I'll be taking suggestions too for Royalty episodes beyond #1, just drop a comment!

-Bennett

Politics is COOKED.

Hi! You've probably found me here from TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, NPR, Food & Wine and probably not by googling "best Mitch McConnell recipe for my child's birthday party" but that too would somehow take you straight to me.

Patreon is one of many places, but I'm going to make it THE place, to become a paid subscriber to Cookin' with Congress.

What does that mean?

It means you can submit your daily diets (and those of your family or friends!) to me and I'll eat like you and add it to my Eating Like America series. It means you'll get exclusive content. It means you'll be part of a growing community of people who both love and hate politics. And it means you'll be supporting the show in all its various forms.

Thanks for being here and for being a part of Cookin' with Congress, the weirdest little niche of the internet that keeps getting bigger.

-Bennett