Food Chat thread - for general convo by food forum regulars (Ice cream cake, thick)

[gentlearts]

Originally Posted by nmnita

The Sandwich man is still on some shows and he won about 7 or so years ago: There was also Mellisa or I think that was her name. She had a program on for several years called dinner under $10 or something like that. Anyway I always watched her and she still, occasionally is a judge. There have been a few others, but most are here today, gone tomorrow. as for Guy, I loved him at first but now I am sick of him. It is almost like the network should be named, Guy, chopped and the food network, so of like when Rachael was the super star.

I prefer watching PBS and Sara Moulton, and programs like that including Top Chef, but I haven't seen Master Chef Jr.

The only show I really like is the Barefoot Contessa. I trust Ina Garten recipes, and I appreciate the quiet elegance of the show. It’s like the old Martha Stewart shows.

Although I just tried her cabbage roll recipe, and we didn’t like it....a first.

[fleetiebelle]

I love the cooking shows on the Food Network, I just wish there were less of the "white lady living on a farm" variety. Say what you will about Giada, at least she stays on brand with her Italian schtick.

[Jill_Schramm]

Does anyone have any funny stories about bad cooks?

I ask because my Mom is a pretty bad cook and I just heard this from her on the phone. She was raving about a particular Tomato Dill soup she makes, then said: “I also discovered that if you refrigerate the soup instead of leaving it on the counter for two to three days (my emphasis), the leftovers taste so much better!” I said: “Mom, of course you are supposed to refrigerate the soup!” And she said: “Well, you are supposed to leave tomatoes out of the fridge. They taste better that way.” Me: “Yes, Mom I know. But we’re talking tomato soup, not tomatoes.” Surprised no one has died over there yet.

[Gerania]

My mom was a pretty capable cook, but there were some hilarious mistakes. One Thanksgiving she added far too much stock and sage to the stuffing. It came out of the turkey looking like diseased meatloaf. It tasted terrible, too.

[Texas Ag 93]

The first Thanksgiving my Mother made a turkey for her new husband and in-laws, she put it in a bag, per the instructions on the recipe. She didn't know it was supposed to be a cooking bag, so instead, she used a paper sack. And apparently, that's exactly what the turkey tasted like.

They went out for Chinese.

[gentlearts]

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

I love the cooking shows on the Food Network, I just wish there were less of the "white lady living on a farm" variety. Say what you will about Giada, at least she stays on brand with her Italian schtick.

I can’t stand the older lady from upstate New York, Nancy Fuller, who they plugged in after they booted Paula Deen. Like they didn’t think we’d notice. She abrasive, fat, and not at all charming.

[Jill_Schramm]

Thanks for the stories. Why is it that most hilarious bad cooking stories revolve around Thanksgiving? It’s a phenomena I’ve noticed before.

I wasn’t there to experience myself (thankfully) but I heard from my sister that one Thanksgiving, my mother decided to go native and cook a Wild Turkey. (They had a bunch living on their property and had a friend come in and shoot one). Let’s just say it was NOT succulent and delicious.

[DontH8Me]

I have to preface with the fact that this happened about 30 years ago while living abroad. My now Ex MIL had vision issues, so she would do some interesting things here and there. When preparing coffee for guests, she once put salt in place of sugar, but then she mistook the cream of wheat for sugar and the guest who has done asked for sugar in his coffee was stirring, and stirring, wondering why the 'sugar' wasn't dissolving.

One time I purchased a 'heat and eat' frozen dish that consisted of savory meat filled crepes. She found it in the freezer and decided to 'help us out' by preparing them for my now Ex hub and I. She heated them up and put them on a platter, then poured clumps of powdered sugar on top (she didn't bother with a sift, just cut a hole in the bag and shook it over the food). She only saw the word crepes on the box, so she thought they were sweet.

[silibran]

My mother was not a terrible cook; I think grudging and uninspired would be better adjectives. At any rate she once bought a frozen boxed pie, took it out of the box and shoved it into a hot oven. In just a few minutes she knew something was wrong. It turned out she had attempted to bake an ice cream pie.

My mother could rise to the occasion for a holiday meal, or when we had guests. But she had trouble continually pumping out everyday meals.

[Flamingo13]

I'm not usually such an idiot but I was making chicken noodle soup: started w/the chicken cut up w/all the veggies, etc. to make the stock. After it was ready I had a brain glitch and put the big colander in the sink to strain out everything so I could then pick the chicken, use fresh veg., etc. and forgot to put a big bowl under it to catch my homemade stock - down the drain it went.