Good "I can't chew" foods

[Popkin]

Poor Mr. Popkin. Guy with a hearty appetite is dealing with a bum tooth, and can't really chew.

So far for dinner I'm making salisbury steak (using ground beef patties, to be braised in gravy until it's tonguable) with sautee'd mushrooms.

What do you like to eat when you can't really chew?

[ipsedixit]

Mashed potatoes
Oatmeal (savory or sweet)
Pudding
Congee
Custard
Ice cream
Yogurt

[Cinnamon]

Panang curry, doing the same thing you did with the salisbury steak to make it soft. Any soup with soft tofu, so would think about improvising a tom ka gai coconut soup to only use that and the flavored broth, and/or a hot-sour soup that way.

What about some authentic polenta, possibly fried, possibly with some stewy and maybe creamed tomatoes?

Oxtail barley soup would probably work - the oxtail, when done in a crockpot, gets tender enough to separate easily and not need chewing, the carrots too.

[Stephanie Wong]

Tamales
Baked potatoes loaded with all his favorite toppings (finely chop the bacon if you use it). Also consider baked sweet potatoes/yams or mash with butter, brown sugar (or maple syrup) and scotch or bourbon (medicinal?)
Omlettes with finely diced veggie/cheese/crumbled sausage filling
Lasagna - consider using polenta slices instead of noodles
Chocolate pudding/mousse cake!

My personal experience was really savory flavors helped overcome the constant "tonguable" texture. Hope he gets relief soon.

[salsailsa]

Scrambled eggs, pea soup, mashed potatoes, yogurt, cottage cheese

[Sean]

Gnocchi in Bolognaise

[foodlover23]

This is perfect timing! I just got my wisdom teeth out last week and have been having similar issues all week.

i've been eating a lot of soups and soft pasta dishes. Small pasta can be swallowed without much chewing...

Chili with soft enough beans might be good too.

[monavano]

Mac and cheese, and of course, soup, soup and more soup!

[KristieB]

I feel your pain, fellow dental sufferer. I had some dental work done last week and this week, and I have been subsisting on a dish my mother made when I was a kid. Macaroni and milk. Cook your macaroni, shells elbows doesn't matter. Drain and add milk, butter, salt and pepper. Warm the milk through and enjoy.

[lgss]

Pasta with hummus is a nice variation.

[danhole]

I get really bad headaches from TMJ so chewing is a big deal for me. One of my favorites is a big bowl of Split Pea Soup. If you add finely diced ham to it there isn't much chewing involved at all. To make it more filling I add cheese to it.

If you have some leftover salisbury steak you could chop it up in little bits, add it to some small pasta, like orzo, add lots of gravy and some herbs. A sort of improvised casserole/hash type thing. I also like a big bowl of ABC macaroni with butter and seasonings. It's almost like a cereal for me.

Another favorite of mine is mashed potatoes or smashed red potatoes. Just add more milk or whatever liquid you normally use to make it looser than usual, or add lots of gravy.

Hope Mr. Popkin feels better soon.