is there a seemingly simple recipe you can't get right?

[SunFloridaDisney]

I can make perfect french toast, but I can never get brownies to turn out right! Maybe too much taste-testing of the batter??

 

[Pixiedust34]

Fudge. I couldn't make a decent batch of "no fail" fudge if my life depended on it.

 

[THE HAT]

well my non ability to make jell-o has come in handy for once.....it earned me my second tag!!

 

[MoniqueU]

Fettucini Alfredo

 

[MagicalMom]

I always seem to put too much mayo in my tuna! I usually get Dh to make it for me now.

 

[mickeyminnie]

I too have earned a tag courtesy of my non-talent

 

[dis ms.]

I'm so glad to know I'm not alone. Pancakes are the bane of my existence. Unfortunately, they are DS's favorite food. Thank God for IHOP!

 

[Evil Genius]

Gravy. It comes out in a solid block that you can slice. YUM!!

 

[Captain Brain]

I can't even make toast.

I tried and made a fire on the counter..

Mom thought it was funny.. Guess who can't use the toaster anymore?

 

[Saphire]

I love to cook but there are a few things I fail at, every time...

Mashed potatoes (the right consistency eludes me)
Popovers (I have tried a dozen tips, but they never really POP)
Whipped cream (that consistency thing again)

 

[Poohlovr]

Since it's confession time--the only kind of gravy I can make is the kind in a jar. If I try to make homemade, not only is it filled with lumps, but it is tasteless. Yuck--it's really awful.

I also, sadly, cannot make cream puffs. My mom and my SIL (using my mom's recipe, no less) make the world's best cream puffs. They're light and fluffy and they puff up so big--those things are huge!
Then, there's mine--little flat globs lying there on the pan, usually burned on the bottom because I left them there, while I prayed to the cream puff gods that eventually they'd rise.
Mom and SIL have tried every trick they know to get my cream puffs to work--are you doing this? Try this. Don't do this. Nope--there is no hope. It took me many years to finally accept that I am cream puff impaired.

My last two confessions are the same thing, yet different--meringue. I can't get my meringue to form stiff tips and be thick and fluffy. Doesn't work on a pie and it doesn't work if I try divinity candy. I just have thin white stuff with no body. It just sits there, all thin and dribbly and laughs at me....

Thank goodness for frozen Lemon Meringue pies....

 

[beckmrk04]

I'm awful at pancakes. It's really the only food I just can't do! I make homemade yeast rolls that melt in your mouth. And I can make caramel. Cakes, cookies, pumpkin roll (another specialty of mine).

But I can't make a frickin' pankcake to save my life. Too thick, too dry, or lumpy, never smooth and even like IHOP or Denny's. You have to drown the darn things in syrup to choke them down. SO. I give up. It wasn't meant to be.

 

[cepmom]

There are lots of things I can't make right ~ too many to list. The list would be shorter for things I do make well

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

OK, pancake-challenged girls...mine always turn out just fine. I think it's because I bought one of those Pampered Chef non-stick skillets. Turn on your burner, put the pan on it. Heat the pan at medium. When a drop or two of water dances on your pan, the heat is right.

Spray with no-stick spray, and then pour on your batter. DO NOT turn the pancake until there are bubbles on the top of the batter that are popping open.

The second side takes less time than the first.


For you rice-krispy challenged girls, don't cook them when the humidity is high. They won't set. Other than that, I can't help you.

For your chicken challenges, get a meat thermometer. They don't cost much. Cook your poultry to an internal temperature of about 170 degrees. I turns out perfectly every time!

Pooh, with your gravy, are you introducing heat to your thickening agent before putting it into the pan? If you're using flour, put a spoon or two of hot liquid into your flour mixture before pouring it into the cooking pan.

Meringues won't work if your mixing bowl has the slightest amount of oil or grease in it.

I make fettuccini alfredo often. What I've found to be the secrets: Lots of fresh parmesan cheese, freshly grated. Don't buy the stuff in the can or the pre-grated stuff in the bag. Don't rinse the fettuccini after cooking it.
I use an egg yolk, an 8 oz. carton of heavy cream, and then parmesan for the proper consistency. Heat the cream and egg yolk, pour in the fettucini, and then after it's had a few minutes of bubbling, add the cheese. Season with nutmeg and a little salt. YUM.

French toast, like pancakes, needs a good non-stick pan with medium heat and non-stick spray.

Potatos--well, I'm not so good at those. I can't help you there.

Brownies seem to always turn out right for me if I cook them in a Pampered Chef stone.

LOL, I sound like a Pampered Chef ad. I don't mean to!

 

[jahexom]

My big confession, I can't bake bread from a mix in my bread machine. It never seems to rise properly. I can , however make pancakes.

Jen

 

[kristen821]

I can't make oatmeal in the microwave. It always turns into oatmeal soup! I can make it on the stove so I know I am measuring everything right.

 

[kbkids]

Grilled cheese sandwiches. They are either soggy and inedible or dry and inedible. DH makes great grilled cheese sandwiches.

This is exactly what I was going to say. If the kids want grilled cheese sandwiches, they know to go find Dad.

 

[beckmrk04]

This is exactly what I was going to say. If the kids want grilled cheese sandwiches, they know to go find Dad.

How can you not make grilled cheese? Ok- I understand,that this is coming from a girl who can't make pancakes, but grilled cheese is infinitely easier than pancakes.

Take bread. Butter it. Heat nonstick pan to oh, medium. add cheese, put in pan, cook, check the underneath- flip it when golden..... WHat are you guys doing wrong?

 

[minkydog]

Gravy. It comes out in a solid block that you can slice. YUM!!

Me too. I finally gave up. Now I buy it in a can.

I also buy frozen biscuits because I could never get homemade biscuits right--they're like baseballs And my cornbread--my DH just asked me to please, stop

 

[minkydog]

I can't make oatmeal in the microwave. It always turns into oatmeal soup! I can make it on the stove so I know I am measuring everything right.

Here's your recipe: 1/3 cup 1-minute oats, 2/3 cup water, 1/4 tsp salt(give or take). Put it in a cereal bowl. Microwave on high 3 minutes. Comes out perfect if you measure. Simple chemistry