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I ask because I've come across (on TV) a couple of strange recipes (IMO) for fairly standard dishes, that I've ever seen....and I wondered: "who came up with that idea?" One was supposedly delicious. The other not so much.
One.... was (on an old Tyler Florence cooking show, Food 9-1-1), a woman wrote in totally perplexed as to why her meatloaf was dry and no one liked it. So he watched her make it. And he stopped her cold when she went to mix TWO CUPS of oatmeal in her meatloaf. Stunned, he said, "Wait? you put two cups of oatmeal in your meatloaf?!.... I've seen people go a little heavy on the bread crumbs, but 2 cups of oatmeal. THAT's your issue. Who taught you to make it that way?" I forget who she said taught her, but she said she'd always made it that way. And her family has never been a fan of her meatloaf...but it's a quick weeknight meal she likes to make. She was stunned it was the oatmeal. Tyler nicely explained that 1) the oatmeal was sucking all the moisture for the meat. 2) Even if you put breadcrumbs in, you wouldn't put two CUPS. That you want to put as few breadcrumbs as possible, just enough to barely hold it together because as it cooks the breadcrumbs will act as a binder. That two CUPS of any binder is too much. She was like, "Oh, Okay."
Now, how can you put two cups of oatmeal -- not bread crumbs, but OATMEAL -- in a meatloaf, and be stunned that that's why it's dry as a brick? She was a good sport about it.
2) .... was on the TV show "My Family Recipe Rocks" with Joey Fatone. A man makes his handed-down family recipe for deviled eggs with tablespoonS ful of melted butter...and sugar. The sugar part, I suppose I've heard of before if you like your deviled eggs sweet. (Personally, I think they're sweet enough from the relish that's usually put in. But whatever.) However, the melted butter in deviled eggs? Uh,no.
3) My SIL always has made very liquidy, watery tuna fish. But I'd never seen her make it. Just seen the mushy result in a bowl. Then one day I saw her make it...... She doesn't drain the oil or water out of the can!!! She just puts the tunafish, oil-or-water straight in a bowl..and THEN adds mayonnaise. I stopped her, and asked, "You don't drain your tuna fish, drain off the oil or water first?" She said no, never have. I asked who showed you how to make it like that. She said that's the way her mother had always made it....never drained off the liquid. No wonder her tuna fish was always so soggy. Sometimes there was a half-cup of water/oil/mayo in the bottom of the bowl, the tuna fish sitting in that. Yuck.
SO.... are there any recipes you've come across that you thought were strange...for good or bad.
-- If it's good, I guess the reaction is a positive, "Oh, interesting, that's a good idea, I'll try that.
-- If it's bad, I guess the reaction is, "yuck who came up with that nasty idea?"
I guess from experience I might question amounts in an ingredient list or technique in the directions. If it is a first time recipe we may make it to the letter, being conscious of amounts and method. Most often if we decide to make it again, we'll tweak the ingredients and/or cooking time/method.
I ask because I've come across (on TV) a couple of strange recipes (IMO) for fairly standard dishes, that I've ever seen....and I wondered: "who came up with that idea?" One was supposedly delicious. The other not so much.
One.... was (on an old Tyler Florence cooking show, Food 9-1-1), a woman wrote in totally perplexed as to why her meatloaf was dry and no one liked it. So he watched her make it. And he stopped her cold when she went to mix TWO CUPS of oatmeal in her meatloaf. Stunned, he said, "Wait? you put two cups of oatmeal in your meatloaf?!.... I've seen people go a little heavy on the bread crumbs, but 2 cups of oatmeal. THAT's your issue. Who taught you to make it that way?" I forget who she said taught her, but she said she'd always made it that way. And her family has never been a fan of her meatloaf...but it's a quick weeknight meal she likes to make. She was stunned it was the oatmeal. Tyler nicely explained that 1) the oatmeal was sucking all the moisture for the meat. 2) Even if you put breadcrumbs in, you wouldn't put two CUPS. That you want to put as few breadcrumbs as possible, just enough to barely hold it together because as it cooks the breadcrumbs will act as a binder. That two CUPS of any binder is too much. She was like, "Oh, Okay."
Now, how can you put two cups of oatmeal -- not bread crumbs, but OATMEAL -- in a meatloaf, and be stunned that that's why it's dry as a brick? She was a good sport about it.
2) .... was on the TV show "My Family Recipe Rocks" with Joey Fatone. A man makes his handed-down family recipe for deviled eggs with tablespoonS ful of melted butter...and sugar. The sugar part, I suppose I've heard of before if you like your deviled eggs sweet. (Personally, I think they're sweet enough from the relish that's usually put in. But whatever.) However, the melted butter in deviled eggs? Uh,no.
3) My SIL always has made very liquidy, watery tuna fish. But I'd never seen her make it. Just seen the mushy result in a bowl. Then one day I saw her make it...... She doesn't drain the oil or water out of the can!!! She just puts the tunafish, oil-or-water straight in a bowl..and THEN adds mayonnaise. I stopped her, and asked, "You don't drain your tuna fish, drain off the oil or water first?" She said no, never have. I asked who showed you how to make it like that. She said that's the way her mother had always made it....never drained off the liquid. No wonder her tuna fish was always so soggy. Sometimes there was a half-cup of water/oil/mayo in the bottom of the bowl, the tuna fish sitting in that. Yuck.
SO.... are there any recipes you've come across that you thought were strange...for good or bad.
-- If it's good, I guess the reaction is a positive, "Oh, interesting, that's a good idea, I'll try that.
-- If it's bad, I guess the reaction is, "yuck who came up with that nasty idea?"
Relish in deviled eggs??? Not in My neck of the woods.
See. It's all relative.
Yes, there was a low calorie recipe for chocolate cake I saw once online that called for adding sauerkraut into the batter. They claimed you don't taste it. I never made it.
Yes, there was a low calorie recipe for chocolate cake I saw once online that called for adding sauerkraut into the batter. They claimed you don't taste it. I never made it.
I've got a chocolate cake recipe around here somewhere that has sauerkraut in it. It is absolutely delicious, but it is definitely not low calorie.
There are several cakes that are made with fruit or vegetables that are extremely popular: carrot cake, zucchini cake, apple cake, pumpkin bread ...... sauerkraut is cabbage so it is a cabbage cake. It's not unheard of to put vinegar or soured milk into cake. So you are adding cabbage and vinegar. Not common but not ingredients that are never used in cakes.
(I made it because the recipe sounded so odd that I had to try it)
Yes, there was a low calorie recipe for chocolate cake I saw once online that called for adding sauerkraut into the batter. They claimed you don't taste it. I never made it.
I saw that one too, but since I am not a fan of sauerkraut as it is, I skipped it.
Like carrot cake the shredded vegetable adds moisture and density. I've got the recipe also but don't think I've ever tried it.
I've run into dozens of recipes online that don't sound accurate proportionately. I think there are people out there who just sit around dreaming up recipes without ever testing them. But after time I have found some websites that I'm usually happy with.
Often I browse to get unique ideas and then do my own thing.
Relish in deviled eggs??? Not in My neck of the woods.
See. It's all relative.
Of course, relish in deviled eggs! A little -- to a middling amount -- depending on how sweet you want to make the filling. I prefer my deviled eggs just a bit sweet. I'm not crazy about the filling when it's mostly eggs and mayo. Personally I use a bit of mayo, a bit of ranch dressing, one or two drops of balsamic vinagarette dressing...and all the usual stuff that might go in: teeny amounts of dill, paprika, etc.
I also much prefer when the egg filling is stirred and mixed/broken down by hand -- NOT whipped. Sometimes store bought deviled eggs -- yeah, bad, I know -- are just whipped yolks with a bland, no flavor filling. Ugh.
Of course, relish in deviled eggs! A little -- to a middling amount -- depending on how sweet you want to make the filling. I prefer my deviled eggs just a bit sweet. I'm not crazy about the filling when it's mostly eggs and mayo. Personally I use a bit of mayo, a bit of ranch dressing, one or two drops of balsamic vinagarette dressing...and all the usual stuff that might go in: teeny amounts of dill, paprika, etc.
I also much prefer when the egg filling is stirred and mixed/broken down by hand -- NOT whipped. Sometimes store bought deviled eggs -- yeah, bad, I know -- are just whipped yolks with a bland, no flavor filling. Ugh.
Have never had a store bought deviled egg, and would probably have a terribly embarrassing moment at the dinner table if I ever bit into one with sweet relish in it. My stomach turns just reading about it!
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when she went to mix TWO CUPS of oatmeal in her meatloaf. Stunned, he said, "Wait? you put two cups of oatmeal in your meatloaf?!.... I've seen people go a little heavy on the bread crumbs, but 2 cups of oatmeal. THAT's your issue. Who taught you to make it that way?" I forget who she said taught her, but she said she'd always made it that way. And her family has never been a fan of her meatloaf...but it's a quick weeknight meal she likes to make. She was stunned it was the oatmeal. Tyler nicely explained that 1) the oatmeal was sucking all the moisture for the meat. 2) Even if you put breadcrumbs in, you wouldn't put two CUPS. That you want to put as few breadcrumbs as possible, just enough to barely hold it together because as it cooks the breadcrumbs will act as a binder. That two CUPS of any binder is too much. She was like, "Oh, Okay."
Not in My neck of the woods. 
