Aarrrghhh! Everything I Cook Is A Disappointment!

[Christine]

I'm the "cook" in my house and I like to eat good, interesting food. I grew up in a household where we had a real dinner every night. My dad was the big cook.

I've been married for over 20 years and have been cooking. I don't know whether I'm just too busy these days or what, but nothing tastes good anymore. I keep trying new things that I see on TV, buy Rachael Ray's cookbooks, follow Alton Brown, suscribe to Cooking Light and visit their site. I hear and read how this recipe is fabulous, so YUMMY, on and on and on. I end up making them and they are totally boring and lacking flavor.

Last week I bought some very expensive chicken breasts that were pre-brined and supposedly wonderful. I got a recipe for Rosemary Chicken with roasted vegetables. It was soooooooo boring and bland.

I then made a few Rachael Ray recipes this weekend. Again, what a disappointment.

I get tired of putting all this effort into buying, chopping, preparing, cooking and cleaning it all up, just to have it be boring.

I keep thinking "am I losing my taste buds" but others agree that the food is just ho-hum.

Anyone else feel this way?

 

[jipsy]

Yea - that's usually when I go out to eat for awhile

It is great to try new things, but when they aren't working out stick with the family favorites until you're in a better cooking state of mind. I always taste everything before while I'm cooking it; if it's bland I season it up before I serve it, no matter what the recipe had in it.

 

[Christine]

Yea - that's usually when I go out to eat for awhile

It is great to try new things, but when they aren't working out stick with the family favorites until you're in a better cooking state of mind. I always taste everything before while I'm cooking it; if it's bland I season it up before I serve it, no matter what the recipe had in it.

Well, the problem is we really have no family favorites. Or I've cooked them so many times everyone is sick to death of them. I carried out two nights in a row last week because I was so disgusted but that gets expensive. I spent this weekend cooking and I'm just annoyed and tired of it.

 

[allie&mattsmom]

I have to admit I'm not real talented in the kitchen! I think I set a record last week though when I actually cooked five nights in a row! And they were all new recipes! A lot of times my DH will cook b/c he really enjoys it and really as ashamed I am to say it, he's better at it than me. But I do hate it when I put lots of time and effort into something and it just doesn't turn out, that's probably why I don't really "look forward" to meal preparation time!

 

[Christine]

But I do hate it when I put lots of time and effort into something and it just doesn't turn out, that's probably why I don't really "look forward" to meal preparation time!

That's how I'm feeling. The funny thing is, I really used to *pride* myself on being a good cook. I really used to study recipes and I could usually just read the recipe and know whether it would be good or not by the spices. I don't know what's happened to my "radar." It could be that all these TV cooks are very good and ooohing and aaahhhing over their creations that they've got me believing them.

I've bought 3 different Rachael Ray cookbooks and have yet to be WOWed by any of them. They are certainly not all flops, but I have yet to be impressed. I will admit that my standards are probably a bit high.

 

[AllyandJack]

You want to talk about kitchen disasters?

I set the mail on fire boiling water for macaroni and cheese (Kraft....with the powder cheese...).

I burned my stomach baking cookies (the kind you slice off a big sausage cookie).

Whenever you feel inadequate in the kitchen, think of me.

 

[Christine]

You want to talk about kitchen disasters?

I set the mail on fire boiling water for macaroni and cheese (Kraft....with the powder cheese...).

I burned my stomach baking cookies (the kind you slice off a big sausage cookie).

Whenever you feel inadequate in the kitchen, think of me.

AlleyandJack--We should get together and compare burn marks!! I am so "rough" when I'm cooking and I'm always sling things around. I have a wall oven that is low (and I'm tall). Well I've got several burns on the tops of my forearms and hands. How attactive is that?

Last week I was making tea and my electronic gas ignition didn't work right away. When it did it WHOOSHED out and all of a sudden my bathrobe was on fire.

 

[jipsy]

Actually I've never been really impressed, the few times I've watched Rachel Ray. Everytime I see her cooking something, she's always using bacon and that can't be good

Maybe a recipe swap with some friends who also cook whose food you like would be in order.

AllyandJack My aunt was boiling water one time for tea and forgot about it. The water boiled out and the enamel pan stuck to the eye of the stove. My father used to joke that she was the only person he ever met who actually burned water.

 

[allie&mattsmom]

You want to talk about kitchen disasters?

I set the mail on fire boiling water for macaroni and cheese (Kraft....with the powder cheese...).

I burned my stomach baking cookies (the kind you slice off a big sausage cookie).

Whenever you feel inadequate in the kitchen, think of me.

Oh my, I feel better now

 

[Christine]

Oh, and how could I forget. Right now I'm making Braised Pork in Salsa in my crockpot. I've made this once before and it was delicious. I had some huge porkchops from Costco that weren't really good as pork chops (too dry) so I thought I'd use them to make the stew.

Well, I just looked and for some reason it has turned into a watery, fat-laden MESS. It looks NOTHING like when I made it before. All I can figure is that there is something about the pork that didn't work well with this. As soon as I get enough energy, I'm going to throw THAT dish out and clean the crockpot.

 

[jipsy]

Christine LOL - maybe it's time to encourage the kids to learn how to cook.

 

[allie&mattsmom]

.

AllyandJack My aunt was boiling water one time for tea and forgot about it. The water boiled out and the enamel pan stuck to the eye of the stove. My father used to joke that she was the only person he ever met who actually burned water.

Oh I almost forgot, I did something similar to this. I was boiling pasta but evidently didn't add enough water. Put it this way, I didn't need to drain the noodles. When I went to check on it, there was no water left in the pot and the noodles were stuck to the bottom of the pan. I just threw the whole darn pot out. Now that's pretty bad!

 

[jipsy]

Christine, try this - it's one of our favorites, although it does take planning ahead, but you don't seem to be bothered by that:

Coq Au Vin
2 1/2 pound broiler/fryer, quartered or cut in pieces
6 bacon slices, diced before cooking (I swear this recipe didn't come from Rachel )
2 tablespoons butter
8 small white onions, peeled
8 large fresh mushrooms
2/3 cup sliced green onions
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 or more tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups good red wine
1 cup chicken broth
chopped parsley
8 small new potatos, peeled

Day one: Wash chicken and dry with paper towel. In at least a 3 quart dutch oven over medium heat, saute bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and drain. Add butter to bacon fat and heat. In hot fat, brown chicken on all sides. Remove and set aside. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the dutch oven. Add onions, mushrooms, green onions and garlic. Cook covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in flour, salt, pepper and thyme. Gradually add wine and chicken broth, scraping bottom of pan well. Bring mixture to boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add potatoes, chicken and bacon and mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Day two: About 2 hours before dinner time, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake Coq Au Vin, covered about 1 hour and 50 minutes or until chicken and potatoes are tender. Sprinkle top with parsley before serving. Serves 4. If you need to cook more for more people, simply increase ingredients and size of dutch oven.

A good loaf of french bread, some steamed asparagus with hollandaise and the rest of your good red wine and you should be good to go!

 

[tmt martins]

That's how I'm feeling. The funny thing is, I really used to *pride* myself on being a good cook. I really used to study recipes and I could usually just read the recipe and know whether it would be good or not by the spices. I don't know what's happened to my "radar." It could be that all these TV cooks are very good and ooohing and aaahhhing over their creations that they've got me believing them.

I've bought 3 different Rachael Ray cookbooks and have yet to be WOWed by any of them. They are certainly not all flops, but I have yet to be impressed. I will admit that my standards are probably a bit high.

Remember most of those on TV and selling books are just doing that SELLING.Just keep it up you will find something and if 1 book doesn't get it done then switch to another chef.

 

[Christine]

Christine, try this - it's one of our favorites, although it does take planning ahead, but you don't seem to be bothered by that:

Coq Au Vin
2 1/2 pound broiler/fryer, quartered or cut in pieces
6 bacon slices, diced before cooking (I swear this recipe didn't come from Rachel )
2 tablespoons butter
8 small white onions, peeled
8 large fresh mushrooms
2/3 cup sliced green onions
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 or more tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups good red wine
1 cup chicken broth
chopped parsley
8 small new potatos, peeled

Day one: Wash chicken and dry with paper towel. In at least a 3 quart dutch oven over medium heat, saute bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and drain. Add butter to bacon fat and heat. In hot fat, brown chicken on all sides. Remove and set aside. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the dutch oven. Add onions, mushrooms, green onions and garlic. Cook covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in flour, salt, pepper and thyme. Gradually add wine and chicken broth, scraping bottom of pan well. Bring mixture to boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add potatoes, chicken and bacon and mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Day two: About 2 hours before dinner time, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake Coq Au Vin, covered about 1 hour and 50 minutes or until chicken and potatoes are tender. Sprinkle top with parsley before serving. Serves 4. If you need to cook more for more people, simply increase ingredients and size of dutch oven.

A good loaf of french bread, some steamed asparagus with hollandaise and the rest of your good red wine and you should be good to go!

I will try that. Definitely a weekend meal though!

 

[wide awake]

You might want to steer clear of the Cooking Light frame of mind...and also chicken breasts. I never buy white meat unless I'm planning to roast a whole chicken, turkey, etc...And while I like some of Rachael Ray's recipes for pasta...the one w/ anchovies, garlic, olive oil, and red pepper comes to mind...lots of her stuff is low carb...ICK !!! Maybe pick some alternate meats for awhile...lamb, veal, different types of fish...make certain you're buying the best pastas, breads, cheeses, etc...the magazine Real Simple has some good recipes...I also subscribe to Gourmet and Savuer.

 

[dash]

The south beach diet cookbook has some really great recipes. The first one has some good ones, but the second has a lot more that are very tasty.

 

[icebrat001]

I told Dear SO that I wasn't cooking until after the new year, we will be on a cruise so that helps. I have 9 more cooking days. I went to the store and bought all the frozen already prepared meals and that is what we will eat, still cheaper than take out.

Give yourself a break, make things easy for a while. The holiday season is the time to rest, why stress over bland food.

 

[zippeedee]

There are some really good ideas on the Home Cooking threads on chowhound.com. Someone posted yesterday for ideas for cooking on Sunday for the whole week and got a bunch of good suggestions.

 

[nwdisgal]

I'm the "cook" in my house and I like to eat good, interesting food. I grew up in a household where we had a real dinner every night. My dad was the big cook.

I've been married for over 20 years and have been cooking. I don't know whether I'm just too busy these days or what, but nothing tastes good anymore. I keep trying new things that I see on TV, buy Rachael Ray's cookbooks, follow Alton Brown, suscribe to Cooking Light and visit their site. I hear and read how this recipe is fabulous, so YUMMY, on and on and on. I end up making them and they are totally boring and lacking flavor.

Last week I bought some very expensive chicken breasts that were pre-brined and supposedly wonderful. I got a recipe for Rosemary Chicken with roasted vegetables. It was soooooooo boring and bland.

I then made a few Rachael Ray recipes this weekend. Again, what a disappointment.

I get tired of putting all this effort into buying, chopping, preparing, cooking and cleaning it all up, just to have it be boring.

I keep thinking "am I losing my taste buds" but others agree that the food is just ho-hum.

Anyone else feel this way?

I have a good book I'd recommend. It's Culinary Artistry by Dornenburg and Page (the same authors that wrote On Becoming a Chef). The book offers complimentary flavor and classical food pairings. It gives you power as the cook to experiment a bit and get comfortable with your own cooking style.