Telling a Friend they Can't Cook

[sadie1263]

There's a new show on ABC - Inedible to Incredible - where you turn in a friend of family member that think they cook great.......and you think their food is horrible.......and a chef surprises them and turns their recipes around.

I was just wondering.......do any of you have friends that are like that.....and would you do that to them? Especially on national television?

I would hope I would take it in the spirit that it was intended.....that they wanted me to improve myself.......and my cooking abilities.....but then I'm also afraid I would be really hurt and embarrassed.........

[alanseago]

I would never accept, either as a friend or a family member, anyone who could not cook. (Or appreciate wine).

[sadie1263]

But would you out them on national television?

[alanseago]

I woud just keep them out of the kitchen. Anyone who does not like wine can drink beer, water or coke.

[♫anna♫]

Jul 5, 2010 20:32:59 GMT alanseago said:

I would never accept, either as a friend or a family member, anyone who could not cook. (Or appreciate wine).

I really hate it when someone cooks something for you that you hate. I dislike almost all Italian food. Starchy and gooey..i was forced to eat that as a child attending Catholic schools and hate it ever since.

I only cook health food stuff with much competency. Brown rice or millet with mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, etc..usually vegetarian.. When i do the cooking people stay slim and trim. If you're not a health nut, like me, than you won't like my cooking.

[sadie1263]

If I was really close to them.....I would tell them or at least make suggestions on how to improve stuff........

The couple of shows I have seen.....the stuff is really greasy or just ridiculously bad. I don't even understand how they thought it was good.......but they seem to think it is their signature dish and serve it over and over at family gatherings...........so maybe that is why they had to do something drastic.

[randomvioce]

Life is too short to bother about all this. Can't cook? Order a pizza

[DAS (formerly BushAdmirer)]

First of all, I have to reply to Anna. Italian food, really good Italian food, is WONDERFUL!!!! It doesn't have to be starchy or particularly fattening. Have you noticed that some of the world's most beautiful women are Italian? I have.

Try this wonderful Italian recipe. You should only attempt this dish when you have a source of very fresh swordfish.

Grigliata di Spada, Gamberi E Calamari

2 Fresh Swordfish Filets
4 large prawns (shrimp)
4 whole calimari (squid) cleand
1 lemon (juiced)
4 tablespoons good olive oil (60 milliliters)
1 tablespoon Chopped Italian Parsley (15 ml)
3 tablespoons good olive oil (45 ml)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (15 ml)

Marinate the swordfish, prawns, and calimari in a bowl with salt, pepper, lemon juice, olive oil, and parsley. Turn on broiler or outdoor grill on medium high heat. Place all seafood on grill and cook until the swordfish is just barely flaky and turns opaque. Be careful not to overcook or the fish will be dry.

Remove fish from grill and top with fresh parsley, oil, and lemon sauce. Serve immediately.

[♫anna♫]

No problem with that Das! I just hate sphaghetti, pasta, ravolis, etc. always the same bleached non whole wheat grain made gooey. The Italians make great salads, if they leave those stupid noodles out. I never eat that white bread that's so popular in the US either!

[DAS (formerly BushAdmirer)]

American white bread is a disaster. You would think that the country which put a man on the moon could produce a decent loaf of bread or a bottle of good beer, but you would be wrong. Our upscale supermarkets have started baking breads on premises that look like European country loaves, but they don't have the taste or the crumb. There are some good artisan bakeries in America and some excellent small independent brewers, but the big corporation produced products like Budweiser are terrible.

[♫anna♫]

Jul 8, 2010 14:34:39 GMT DAS (formerly BushAdmirer) said:

American white bread is a disaster. You would think that the country which put a man on the moon could produce a decent loaf of bread or a bottle of good beer, but you would be wrong. Our upscale supermarkets have started baking breads on premises that look like European country loaves, but they don't have the taste or the crumb. There are some good artisan bakeries in America and some excellent small independent brewers, but the big corporation produced products like Budweiser are terrible.

I'm glad you share my dislike for that US white bread with the strange foamy or spongey texture! The super market whole grain breads also seem suspect. Backeries seemed to have to sell donuts to stay in business. The health food store seemed like the best place for bread in the US!

European beer drinkers as a rule dislike canned beer and most breweries don't risk their reputation by offering their beer canned. It would be really corny if wine came in cans. I'm no big beer drinker and was used to seeing my US family and relatives storing a 6 pack of canned beer in the refrigerator. People in Germany say chilling beer kills the taste, but i understand how warm drinks are no fun on a hot and humid American summer day.

[Big Lin]

Actually cooking is pretty easy once you: a) get over your nerves; b) read the instructions; c) get in lots of practice!

I was lucky when I met Mike because he'd been a bachelor for years and had learnt to cook!

I did a bit at home but to be honest I've mainly taught myself!

He makes great soups and desserts but I reckon I'm better than him at the main courses!

[DAS (formerly BushAdmirer)]

I tend to be most critical of cooks who overdose on convenience foods. I was at the supermarket this past weekend. In front of me in the checkout line was a woman with every imaginable convenience food: canned soups, frozen pizza, frozen dinners, etc. That stuff is all terrible and costs more than freshly made meals with fresh ingredients.

[chefmate]

I grew up eating Limpa bread and loved it..........sure miss it out here in California

[Big Lin]

It is amazing how easy most so-called 'difficult' dishes are.

I agree absolutely about the convenience foods - I restrict them simply to emergencies.

It's a doddle making a home-made soup and it tastes SO much better than the rubbish you get in tins or packets.

It takes hardly any time to cook or prepare most foods so I'm afraid I just blame most of the aversion to cooking on sheer laziness!

[sadie1263]

I have a good friend that cooks great......but they will invite us over for a cookout every now and then and her husband turns everything into charcoal. I've even brought some of the leftover steaks home and my dogs wouldn't eat them.

[Lauren]

My mother is an amazing cook. Without fail, everytime she invites her side of the family and my father's side of the family over for a dinner, everyone comes. No less then 31 people in the house because they adore her cooking.

There are no leftovers when she cooks, and she cooks a lot. She always gets high praises for her cooking, but the only problem is, she thinks everything she cooks is horrible, even if everyone is eating mountains of food.

My dad's family usually only cooks with salt and pepper as seasoning, and my mother is risky, she likes to add different spices and marinades to make meats tender and potatoes tasty.