A "What would you have done"

[lovetoscrap]

As the meal is being prepared by my inlaws today I realize that the plan is to make a long, and involved stuffing recipe that was also made last year--and no one ate!

I love my inlaws to death and get along with them very well. DH is an only child so it is just us and his parents for the holidays. The only people that eat stuffing are the women--MIL, me and my 2 daughters. But neither my daughters or I could eat the stuffing made last year--it was just blech. I guess MIL liked it since she was making it again. The recipe also makes enough to feed like 12-15 people.

So what would you do?

ETA: Also, what would you want someone to do if YOU were the cook? Would you want to know that no one liked what you were making before you went to all the time, trouble (and expense) to make it?

 

[Acklander]

I voted other. I'd do the same thing I always do when something I don't like is served. I take a small amount for my plate and have an even smaller bite just to be polite.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

I picked the second option. However, I think I'd pass it off as "Wow, I found this great recipe for stuffing I've been dying to try. Would you mind if I made it and brought it along?" I'd probably offer to bring something as well, so as to camoflage my true intentions.

 

[lovetoscrap]

I voted other. I'd do the same thing I always do when something I don't like is served. I take a small amount for my plate and have an even smaller bite just to be polite.

I should have included that but part of the issue is that the recipe makes "stuffing muffins" so you have to take the whole darn thing! No just getting a small spoonful. And really easy to tell that you haven't eaten!

I will often just take a small bit and make it look like I ate it.

 

[Bluestars]

I wouldn't say anything. I would probably put a small spoonful on my plate just to be polite.

 

[Acklander]

I will often just take a small bit and make it look like I ate it.

LOL - I'm the queen of making it look like I ate something I didn't. yeah, if I had to take a big huge portion of it, I would just pass on taking any and not say anything.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

Like PPs, I would take a muffin and only eat a smallish amount for myself, I'd also encourage a couple of people from my immediate family to take at least a small amount.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Other....because there has to be an other.

I would tell MIL that we did not care for the stuffing and would be bringing our own.

If I was the cook and someone hated the stuffing I was making I would try to accomodate or tell the people to bring their favorite to share.

 

[Swimnoid]

My brother made stuffin' muffins. They were really good!

 

[Meriweather]

I just wouldn't take any....there are probably other things I wouldn't eat either.
And if I was the cook, I would still make what I want even if no one ate it......maybe notice and change next year, but if I like it, I would still make it.

 

[Imzadi]

If it is so long & involved, maybe a vital ingredient was left out of it last year?

Is this only the second year she has made this or is it every year?

If no one eats it again this year, mayber she'd realize no one likes it.

Maybe a couple times throughout the year, (not near Thanksgiving,) tell her well in advance that you were at another dinner and someone made a stuffing that was absolutely to die for and you were able to get the recipe. It's become DH & DD's favorite. Then before Thanksgiving, ask if you can make DH & DD's favorite stuffing.

You have a whole year to find & make a "favorite stuffing."

 

[ragdoll]

I voted other. I would tell them not to go through all that trouble. Maybe say something like...that recipe takes such a long time to make, we don't want you to go through all that trouble, we would rather that you had more time to relax and enjoy your family.

If it was me making the recipe I would rather that someone tell me they didn't care for it and not to bother. However, we wouldn't have to worry about that as I would have just gotten a box of Pepperidge Farm.

 

[kim929]

So, what did you do?

 

[JennaTX]

I voted other, I just don't think that Thanksgiving Day is the time to tell someone you don't like what they are making, kwim? Since you get along so well, maybe tell her after the holiday that you and your daughters didn't really like it.

 

[NotUrsula]

If you can find a way to tell them when the pressure is NOT on, yes, you can do it.

My sister is a decent cook, but there are two things that she does not do well; stuffing and spaghetti sauce. Guess what two things she is ALWAYS volunteering to bring to family events? Her stuffing is always only eaten the following day, because very few people will eat it at the actual dinner. She and I used to make duelling recipes when I still lived near home -- VERY different styles.

As to the spaghetti, well, she doesn't have much money, and it's cheap to make, so we compromise. (The stuffing happens only once a year; the spaghetti sauce shows up much more frequently.) We take it into the kitchen, hand her a couple of glasses of wine so that she is tipsy enough not to notice, and we doctor the stuff to death. Totally not the same sauce an hour later.

 

[Imzadi]

As to the spaghetti, well, she doesn't have much money, and it's cheap to make, so we compromise. (The stuffing happens only once a year; the spaghetti sauce shows up much more frequently.) We take it into the kitchen, hand her a couple of glasses of wine so that she is tipsy enough not to notice, and we doctor the stuff to death. Totally not the same sauce an hour later.

She might actually think she's responsible for it tasting so good and that's why she brings it so much.

 

[bballmom56]

When I cook the meal, I notice what has been eaten and what has not. I can figure out from that what people liked. Maybe MIL really enjoyed it as leftovers? So I voted that I wouldn't say anything - saying we didn't like it would not go over well at my MIL's house.

 

[powellrj]

I voted say nothing. I love green bean casserole. Nobody likes it but me. If I make it anytime other than the holidays, people whine and complain they don't like it. If I make it for a holiday, nobody says a word. They don't eat it, I eat all I want and have plenty of leftovers!!

 

[JessicaR]

I voted to say nothing too. I never heard of stuffing muffins and I am wondering what her recipe is. I guess if you ask that would indicate you like it!

Let us know how it went!

 

[Carly_Roach]

When I cook the meal, I notice what has been eaten and what has not. I can figure out from that what people liked. Maybe MIL really enjoyed it as leftovers? So I voted that I wouldn't say anything - saying we didn't like it would not go over well at my MIL's house.

I agree. There's no need to take a cook "gently aside" and explain to her that people aren't eating a dish because they don't like it.

Cooks aren't children: we know what people liked (or loved) by what comes back into the kitchen to be wrapped up after the meal. I NEVER have leftovers of my spaghetti, cinnamon rolls or chicken. And when it comes to my strawberry cheesecake, I have to snatch a piece in the kitchen before I bring it out, otherwise I'd never get any.

If it were me serving a dish that didn't seem to go over well, I might take a relative or a friend aside later on or the next day and ask what they didn't like about it or how I could make it better in the future. That would be the time for them to "be gentle" and give me their honest opinion.

Personally, if I made a dish twice that came back into the kitchen mostly untouched, I'd likely not make that dish again for those people. If the dish was 1/2 eaten or others had taken some and eaten it, I wouldn't know that they didn't like it and were just eating it to be polite. I'd likely make that dish again because it appeared that they liked it.