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Your Most Frustrating Foodie Moment


Ladybug

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Last spring, our church had a "Spring Fling" with all sorts of games, entertainment, and even a baking contest. I entered the baking contest and (blush, blush) figured I'd win because I'd seen what most people brought to potlucks at church. I brought a beautiful Key Lime Pie, completely from scratch (of course!) topped with billowy clouds of lightly sweetened whipped cream piped into sweet little rosettes, etc. I spent some serious TIME on this pie. I wanted to bring something "worthy." Well! Guess what won first place? My lovely homemade-never-been-near-a-box pie? NO! First place went to a newlywed who made . . . dirt cake! Yes - it was made with boxed mix, boxed pudding and Cool Whip and festooned with gummy worms. It even came in a luvly luvly disposable foil pan. ACK! I did win second place. I slunk away, feeling that I'd probably gotten what I'd deserved. My dessert was superior, but perhaps I'd needed that swift kick in the pants to remind me that I was not hot snot on a silver platter - just a cold booger on a toothpick. Ha!

I think I've learned not to be so snooty about having higher food standards, but I haven't yet been able to wrap my brain around the concept of making food to fit the audience. The last potluck we had at church, I made a wonderful recipe I'd recently discovered - Spicy Sichuan Noodles - and had to take 75 percent of it home with me. The people who brought KFC didn't even have a single crumb left in the bottom of their bucket of chicken.

The best thing about this whole story is that I feel I've evolved from feeling superior because my food was better to feeling ignorant about what most people really like to eat. Now I'm on the lookout for recipes I can bring to potlucks (that people will actually EAT) without succumbing to StoveTop stuffing and Campbell's soup recipes. I still do have SOME standards.

A short disclaimer lest I still sound uppity: Compared to y'all, what I know about cooking wouldn't fill a gnat's ear.

Anybody else have a funny story?

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what I know about cooking wouldn't fill a gnat's ear.  

What you know about cooking is irrelevant because you know plenty about eating which is the key factor. You have my sympathy, but nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the public, that's why fast food places are all over the planet like a rash while places serving decent food close weekly.

Go for easy, go for simple, maintain your standards in the quality of the ingredients. One of the (many) reasons I never opened a restaurant is that "casting pearls before swine" - feeding decent food to people who don't appreciate it - would upset me too much.

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The real lesson here is to always know your audience.  In potlucks, and in life.  Oh, and have realistic expectations which can be achieved by....knowing your audience. :laugh:

I agree. :biggrin: When I go to a specific group of friend's parties I tend to bring stuff I wouldn't dream of eating myself (stuff filled with dulce de leche as an example.) They love the stuff, and I'm happy that they do.

I'd rather eat pumpkin custard from sripraphai...but it won't fly.

-Jason

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I recently had the opportunity to be a temporary parent. My brother and his wife were heading off for a weeks vacation, and I offered to watch their kids (12, 10, 8). I hadn't seen any of the kids for about 3 years, so as a way to re-introduce myself to them, when I got there, I tossed their mom's menu aside, and asked them each what their favorite meal was, and that I would make one night's meal a special one for each of them.

The oldest one wanted roasted chicken... fine, no problem. The middle one said his favorite meal was --- ramen noodles. Ok. Ok. Helps with the budget, despite my shock. The last one didn't know, but finally settled on pasta.

To accommodate the other two, who have some weird aversion to spaghetti sauce, I decided to make spaghetti carbonara for the pasta night. I mean, who doesn't like that?

Well, apparently they didn't like that. The picked out the bacon, and left the cheesy pasta. I ended up eating it all week long as leftovers at lunch.

Pearls before swine. (and I say that in only the most loving terms.)

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Oh man, this topic totally strikes a chord with me. Some of you may know that baking and desserts are my passion (along with cocktails :cool:). I love trying new techniques and recipes, but I have no desire to actually eat all of what I make - I'd weigh about 300 lbs by now if I did. So I bring stuff to work. Stuff like charlottes, tart tatins, genoise with real buttercream, danish from scratch, and various other pies, cakes and cookies - a range from high-end and fancy to down-home and familiar. Some people will eat a few bites now and then but most items either sit on the office kitchen counter for days, and some must be thrown away. However, if someone brings in day-old donuts from Safeway, they are gone in half an hour. My co-workers complain that my desserts are "too rich and fattening" and they are on "diets", but they'll scarf up stale donuts?! So I've made an effort to bring in lower-fat desserts, but knowbody touches them.

I work at a graphic design firm, not an autoshop. These are people who consider themselves to have sophisiticated tastes (even a bit snobbish) and dine at some of the city's best resaurants. Now I just make what interests me and if it gets eaten, fine. As long as I enjoyed making it and maybe learned a new technique I try to be satisfied.

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Hello! Long time lurker, first time poster here! Thought I had better start participating on these marvelous forums!

One of my foodie frustrations is along the lines of yours, Ladybug. A couple of years ago, I was in a small chili cookoff at work that was going to be judged by our co-workers. For the chili cookoff, I spent two days creating my entry, using several quality ingredients and different techniques, layering flavors, taking my time, and cooking with love. My boss, on the other hand, took ground beef, added a can of beans, chili powder, a jar of salsa, and put it in a crock pot.

While I am no expert chef, I love to cook. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and I think I am a decent home cook. I have my failures as well as my successes, but I had been making chili for years. It turned out very nice, and I was pleased with my creation.

The results? In a contest that was judged blindly, he took home second place. I finished in seventh...out of eight places!

To each, their own...different strokes for different folks, and all...but my goodness, how humbling! :blink:

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When you put out your fancy offerings at the office, preslice it into reasonable portions. If you leave it whole, no one wants to be the first to touch it. Those on diets will take itsy bitsy pieces. If it's preportioned, they'll more than likely take a full portion.

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When you put out your fancy offerings at the office, preslice it into reasonable portions. If you leave it whole, no one wants to be the first to touch it. Those on diets will take itsy bitsy pieces. If it's preportioned, they'll more than likely take a full portion.

That's a good idea Rachel. I'll test it out with spice cake I brought in today and let you know if it works. Although it might be painful to preslice some of the more elaborate, decorated items.

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Nightscotsman, I guarantee that if you bring your desserts into my office, I will eat them.

I think Rachel is probably onto something with the portioning, though. Ever notice how people are reluctant to open a door if there's an already open door they can go through, even if it means they have to wait? There's probably a similar syndrome at work with the desserts: if I have to choose the portion myself, people will see how much I take and think I'm greedy, so I'd better take just a sliver. Whereas with donuts, it's completely obvious how much to make.

Maybe you could maintain your standard of presentation and still get people to eat the food by setting it out in a pristine state for a little while, then hacking it to pieces. Kind of like how they'll sometimes present a whole fish or bird and then take it back to the kitchen to carve.

Matthew Amster-Burton, aka "mamster"

Author, Hungry Monkey, coming in May

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I work at a graphic design firm, not an autoshop.

That's the problem right there. You obviously work with a bunch of people who don't like to eat. If they winge about fat content in your pastries and cakes (which translates to winging about real butter), then they deserve to eat Enteman's with that fake fat stuff. Take your goods to an autoshop and watch the mechanics' eyes well up with tears after the first bite.

I also agree with Rachel that with food-averse people you have to make it easy for them to grab a portion. Food-averse people don't like to handle food. Grabbing a day-old Safeway donut and scarfing it down in two bites behind a giant Macintosh monitor is not really eating, is it. However, cutting one of your lovely danish in half, heating it slightly in the toaster oven with a pat of unsalted butter, and enjoying it with a fresh cup of coffee is eating, and they're all on a diet, you see.

--

ID

--

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However, cutting one of your lovely danish in half, heating it slightly in the toaster oven with a pat of unsalted butter, and enjoying it with a fresh cup of coffee is eating, and they're all on a diet, you see.

Damn... Ivan just made me really, REALLY hungry for a nice danish!

(Don't mind me, please continue...)

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Some very good observations here.

That's the problem right there. You obviously work with a bunch of people who don't like to eat.

I think that's hitting it right on the head (ow).

There's probably a similar syndrome at work with the desserts: if I have to choose the portion myself, people will see how much I take and think I'm greedy, so I'd better take just a sliver.

Very true. And nobody will ever touch the last piece. They'll take half of it, then half of the half. Sorta like puting the milk jug back in the fridge with a few tablespoons of milk in it.

I think there's also this unspoken feeling that homemade stuff is richer and more fattening than store-bought. I'm sure that if I brought in fresh, homemade donuts they would sit for days. :wink:

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My daughter's 3rd grade class had an "Around the World" day complete with costumes and foods from each country. My daughter, Lamar, chose Japan because she wanted to wear her kimona(sp?), but more importantly, she wanted me to bring Japanese food to the event. I took off work early the night before to go to one of the best fish markets in town and purchased sushimi grade tuna and smoked salmon, to be served with all the right condiments. Next day, about an hour before the student/teacher lunch was to be served, I picked up a few non-raw sushi rolls from a wonderful local sushi bar. My daughter was delighted, but later told me that she had overheard other mothers talking about how they just couldn't believe I would *expose* the children to raw fish.

I asked my kids how they felt about that and they told me it was the other mothers who should be ashamed.

Celine

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After bitter experience along these lines, I have found there to be one -ONE -item that , if homemade, especially, (but the store-bought crap would probably do as well! Argh!) always 1)gets chosen first 2)gets snapped up at the bakesale 3)wins the prize.

That buttery, sugary, (in our case baba rhum sirop infused) .....pineapple upside down cake. I kid you not. We made a beauty for our daughter's pre-school bakesale. The lady we handed it to had a peek, said "Hot damn," put five bucks in the till and put it aside.

Our daughter's waiting for the results of her LSATs right now and we have made many the upside-down cake in the ensuing years.

Nightscotsman....take your even more beuatiul one to work, with a bowl of real whipped cream. Bet you five bucks it all goes. Does the fruit make it seem okay, maybe?

Margaret McArthur

"Take it easy, but take it."

Studs Terkel

1912-2008

A sensational tennis blog from freakyfrites

margaretmcarthur.com

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Very true. And nobody will ever touch the last piece. They'll take half of it, then half of the half. Sorta like puting the milk jug back in the fridge with a few tablespoons of milk in it.

I just this minute walked through our break room. Someone had left a Dunkin Donuts box (the dozen size), presumably with a few leftovers from a morning meeting in it. By the time I came upon it, all that was left in the box was a knife and 1/8 (yes, one eighth) of a lemon-filled donut.

In the spirit of this thread, I swallowed it whole.

Dave Scantland
Executive director
dscantland@eGstaff.org
eG Ethics signatory

Eat more chicken skin.

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I can't overlook the possibility that the home made from scratch key lime pie sucks, but we all know that's not likely the case. I think one of the reasons many of us are here is that we're starved for the company of people who love food. We're content to talk to them even when we can't enjoy their company at the table. I think the only lesson is that "that's life." Life is unfair. Those of us who are lucky enough to have a few friends who share our love for food are indeed lucky.

I'm lucky to live in NYC, not because the average person here is any more sophisticated in terms of food or anything else, but because we have a large pool of people in which to find friends and accomplices. Nevertheless, over the years we've taken people to wonderful restaurants that have left them wondering why we went out of our way to get to the restaurant and we've cooked for people who wonder why we went through so much trouble to cook. Invariably, the answer is because we enjoyed doing the cooking as much as anything else. We enjoyed the process the way a mountain climber likes climbing and not because anyone is entertained by the result.

It says something about our culture that when we want to disparage someone's taste, we say his taste is in his mouth as if that's the least important of all tastes and as if the taste of food is something we all have and not worth cultivating.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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... they just couldn't believe I would *expose* the children to raw fish.

I love it. That's a classic. Fortunately not all my friends, and not even my foodie friends, log on to eGullet. I will get great milage out of that line at cocktail parties and dinner tables for a long time to come. Celine, you might just want to consider quoting it for your signature.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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I think the key factor at work here is familiarity. When it comes to food, most people will stick to what they know, whether or not it is tasty, fresh, brilliantly prepared, or nutritious by anyone else's standard. Unfortunately, what is most familiar to many people is mass-produced and well-marketed, but relatively tasteless.

McDonalds is not in the food business. They are in the reliable, predictable experience business. Step into one of their stores anywhere in the world, and you know what your big mac is going to taste like. For a lot of people, this is easier than walking into an unfamiliar place and asking, "What's good?"

Even the most adventurous among us long for the familiar from time to time. Consider Tony Bourdain's A Cook's Tour, an epic quest to find the perfect meal from among the world's many cuisines. By chapter 2, he's back in France searching for favorite flavors from his childhood.

Generally, I'm not that bothered by those who stick to what they know, even if it is the lowest common denominator. It's their palate, after all. On the other hand, I don't think it is very hard to expand your friends' food horizons if you really wish to do so. A casual dinner party can be the perfect venue. Invite your guests into your kitchen and they will quickly see that an ingredient or dish they may have considered exotic is not only tasty, but also accessible. Who knows, maybe the next time you bring a pie to work they'll be first in line to carve off a big slice...

Chief Scientist / Amateur Cook

MadVal, Seattle, WA

Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code

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My daughter's 3rd grade class had an "Around the World"...I took off work early the night before to go to one of the best fish markets in town and purchased sushimi grade tuna and smoked salmon, to be served with all the right condiments.

Wonderful of you to make the effort, but for 3rd graders (in Dallas?) it seems like a case of pearls before swine.

I did something similar once, but not nearly as good as yours. Daughter's birthday party, 7th grade. She had about 15 friends over; I was in a pizza-making phase at the time, and was recruited to make pizzas for the party. These were of course American-style cheese, tomato, pepperoni/sausage pizzas with olives, green pepper, etc. They were great pies, homemade thick crust, fresh basil and oregano from the garden, 4 cheeses, etc. I knew it was overkill, but had to do it my way. The reaction from the kids was at least favorable, and nobody hated it. It was the best response I probably could have received; I wasn't expecting anyone in that group to say, "Wow, this is fantastic! I'll never eat at Pizza Hut again!" The pizza was (at LEAST) very good, IMHO.

I asked my kids how they felt about that and they told me it was the other mothers who should be ashamed.

Excellent!

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Well, I know my pie was not the problem. One of the judges of the contest was a general's aide and award winning Army chef. The other four judges were all Shake and Bake sort of people. The army chef told me afterwards that HE had voted for my pie, but there were 5 judges - and the rest all rated my pie second. It obviously could not have been horrid or I wouldn't have won second place. It was a small consolation. I wondered if perhaps I should have made a chocolate dessert? Perhaps that is more universallly appealing? Well, it's a moot point now, and I really can't hold any grudges. :smile:

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