Food fails

[DianaCox]

Sometimes I post about my culinary adventures, but usually only about the successes. Here's a fail - what have you tried that turned into a colossal fail?

This wasn't an intentional experiment. This was a mistake. I made a batch of my summer fave cucumber-dill yoghurt soup yesterday - peeled, seeded and grated two cukes, spiced it up as usual with salt, white pepper, squeeze-tube dill, and garlic powder, some garlic-infused olive oil, and then dumped in a quart of high-quality full-fat plain yoghurt. Stirred it up, and licked the spoon - and was startled about the flavor - it was weirdly sweet.

It wasn't plain yoghurt - I grabbed a container of vanilla yoghurt at the store by mistake. It is not good. The question now is whether to force myself to eat it - it is several dollars worth of protein and veggies and effort to make it. And I'm cheap. But it's not very good.

It's gonna kill my cheap self, but I'm thinking not gonna eat it. I grilled filet mignon, marinated lamb chop lollipops (the little ones), red and yellow bell peppers and yams tonight - I'll eat that for snacks. And I just found some thin-skinned white potatoes starting to soften and sprout in the cupboard that I forgot about, that I bought a few weeks ago to make vichyssoise (AKA my famous potato leek soup, served cold for the summer). Not as much protein, higher in carbs, but a consolation. With the added bonus that Charles will eat it too.

 

[k9ophile]

Bite the bullet. A bullet has to taste better than what you made. I was drooling until you mentioned vanilla yogurt.

I don't do much cooking so I have to go back to circa autumn 1975. I made one of my favorites with my mom's recipe. It was horrible, really horrible. My DH ate it and said it was good while I threw a crying hissy. Some time later, I attempted to make veal parmesan. We were supposed to go to a party when both of us got sicker than sick. Not pretty in a little house with only one bathroom and very bad plumbing. I called our host to say that we had taken ill and thanked him for inviting us. He asked me if I had cooked. Yes, that's how sad my reputation is.

Then there was the infamous kitchen shower for my nephew's fiancée. I didn't attend, but sent a gift. We were requested to include a favorite recipe. I grabbed a recipe card and wrote: "What I make for Dinner: Reservations." At the wedding I met some of her family and was greeted with, "Oh so you're the aunt from Tennessee?"

I know how sad it is to throw out expensive failures...that veal was not cheap. And both recipes called for veal.

 

[DianaCox]

I gave up cooking veal when I twice tried (on a graduate student's income plus my then-DH's painter's income) to reproduce the veal dish we had at Brennan's in New Orleans on our honeymoon. Both times, it was more like something you'd sole your shoe with, than delicious - I think it was a veal picatta or something with a poached eggs and a silky sauce I was trying to make. The veal was more expensive than filet mignon, and I almost cried.

The cucumber yoghurt soup is very tasty and refreshing on a hot day - you can also add chives, parsley or whatever goes in riata. Funny thing is, I don't like either cucumbers or plain yoghurt - but together, they are delish. Use white pepper to keep it pretty. Except for the peeling, seeding and shredding of the cukes, which takes a while and twice as long to clean up from, it's easy.

 

[southernlady]

Personally, I would toss it than gag it down.

 

[hilary1617]

Toss! I'm a horrible cook and we probably do more tossing than eating when I'm left in charge of food prep. The dill cucumber soup recipe without vanilla sounds delicious. P.S. Vichyssoise is my favorite soup and I LOVE soup!

 

[Kate]

There is an avocado soup that my mom makes that is absolutely delicious! And very simple...just avocado, yogurt, lemon juice and chicken broth. She makes it for me every time she visits. The last time I was missing her I tried to make it...I don't know what I did wrong but OMG it was AWFUL. Must be that mom magic. Like peanut butter n jelly

 

[JackieOnLine]

Funny thing is, I don't like either cucumbers or plain yoghurt - but together, they are delish.

isn't that odd?

like I hate eating coconut but love the smell of it, WTH

I sure don't like plain yogurt - I put in honey - but I need to try a savory recipe.