You DON'T make this at home . .

[LaurieB]

Ususally when my husband & I eat out, we order something that we can't make at home. Do you do the same, and if so, what is it?

Laurie

[Marlene]

For me, it's lamb. I love lamb, but no one else does, so I'll often order it when we go out. I confess to ordering liver sometimes as well. Something else that would never make it across my doorstep. Until recently, it was also carpaccio but I can make that at home now!

[silentmeow]

Pizza and really terrific sub sandwiches! I can't make them at home to even come close to the restaraunts! We have one place for the subs, been going there 21 years and never ordered anything but the subs. The pizza place is the same senario only thats been for 40 years!

[lesfen]

Of all things... meatloaf. I do make meatloaf at home, but I can't seem to get it the way that I want it.

[Melianne]

When I get a craving for sushi or dim sum, I have to leave the house.

I've also been known to order liver when dining out (I just can't do it justice at home - and damn, I miss Toronto's Orso; that liver was so fine!) and if there are sweetbreads on the menu, I will always have them (jeez, now I'm getting all misty about Avalon...)

[Megan Blocker]

Anything Asian, really. I LOVE Asian food (particularly Vietnamese, Japanese and Thai), but I never make it at home. I should probably start doing that...hmmm....

[Gifted Gourmet]

Because my home kitchen is kosher, I always order foods which are 'forbidden' at home: bacon, ham, pork chops, shrimp, lobster, scallops (preferably on the same plate!) ... yeah, pretty much anything that allows me to "sin culinarily" ...

[Chris Amirault]

Fried clams and Shanghai soup dumplings. Not at the same time!

[chiantiglace]

right now the only thing I can cook at home is popcorn. So everything is on the table for me.

I'd have to say calamari though. No matter what equipment I've had, that has never been practical.

[ludja]

I don't make many fried things at home, so if there is an opportunity for sometihng good--like fried clams, I'll go for it. Along the same lines, cannoli must be ordered if they are on the menu at a promising place.

I haven't tried cooking sweetbreads at home yet and really like them, so I'll often order those if they're offered. I also haven't cooked game often (other than buffalo) so that is another menu item I might gravitate towards.

Agree with dim sum and sushi, so far no attempts to recreate that at home.

Edited May 30, 2006 by ludja (log)

[FabulousFoodBabe]

Foie gras. Anything like oxtail or shortribs (that takes a long, long time to do just right). Any kind of hard-to-get or hard-to-prep seafood (urchins, eel). Stuff that no one else will eat when I make it at home, like duck confit and goat.

Now that the classes I taught in sushi are over, I'm back into "make it myself" mode -- partly because it's so good and cheap to do it this way, but mostly to get rid of the extra nori and Kohuko Rose rice. Other than that, anything Asian has got to come from a restuarant. They do it best!

Edit to add: I never, ever do dim sum at home. No patience, no time. And ditto the fried stuff, Ludja. When I have a jones for a fried seafood platter, we go out for it.

Edited May 30, 2006 by FabulousFoodBabe (log)

[Megan Blocker]

French fries. Forgot those. Organ meats I'm coming around to cooking, more and more...but still can't quite bring myself to potentially ruin foie gras.

[julski]

Sushi is really fun to do at home with a few guests! Roll-your-own and it's fun to come up with interesting combinations. I leave the sashimi to professionals though, and only use cooked fish (shrimp cooked on skewers straightened out, softshell crab), a variety of veg, etc and plenty of nori to get the hang of it.

I've been craving flash-fried spinach but would never do that at home.

[suzilightning]

i'm with maggie - lamb, lamb, lamb, lamb, lamb. the only time i can cook this at home is when johnnybird is away. (hmmmmmmmmmmm he's down in GG's neck of the woods this week. i say lamb burgers are in the future).

french fries. i'll do oven baked fries, though.

sushi - specifically rainbow roll for the birdy

i need lamb now...........in an onion pita with raita and sauteed onions - bye

[SuzySushi]

Deep-fried foods. I can count on one hand the number of times I've deep-fried at home. I don't eat them frequently enough to "waste" all that oil.

Also, tempura, which falls into the deep-fried category, but for another reason: the only way to have really good tempura is when it's fried just moments before eating, which means the cook is cooking while the guests are eating!

[jm chen]

Any kind of sampler, especially a cheese plate. I can have delicious cheeses at home, but not, say, five of them, with two kinds of grapes, fresh walnut bread and a cherry mostarda.

And I rarely make dessert at home because I don't want to have leftovers in the house, so a good restaurant bread pudding will get me every time.

[Marlene]

i'm with maggie - lamb, lamb, lamb, lamb, lamb.  t

←

Ahem. That's Marlene to you. I've got a period coming up with the boys away. I'm thinking rack of lamb would be really good one night!

Any kind of sampler, especially a cheese plate. I can have delicious cheeses at home, but not, say, five of them, with two kinds of grapes, fresh walnut bread and a cherry mostarda.

And I rarely make dessert at home because I don't want to have leftovers in the house, so a good restaurant bread pudding will get me every time.

←

I love love love cheese plates. I don't bother much at home, but I'd much rather have a cheese plate than a sweet dessert. Unfortunately few restaurants have them anymore, but when they do, I always order one.

[*Deborah*]

I'm with Fabby: foie gras at almost every opportunity. Duck, not that I can't make good duck myself, but I love well-prepared duck so much...

French fries, aye.

[suzilightning]

i'm with maggie - lamb, lamb, lamb, lamb, lamb. t

←

Ahem. That's Marlene to you. I've got a period coming up with the boys away. I'm thinking rack of lamb would be really good one night!

sorry marlene <hangs head in shame>. how much is a quick trip up to canada these days? i can be your kitchen helper... for rack of lamb. i am a good dishwasher...

[BeeZee]

Hmm, many things already mentioned, so I'll second them

French Fries, Onion Rings, Tempura (no boiling oil on my home range)

Sushi/Sashimi (I can't get quality fish that often, and the one time I did prepare tuna sashimi at home I was acutely aware of EATING RAW FISH vs. the lovely plate presented to me at the restaurant).

Crabs, Lobster (can't bring myself to boil them alive)

Pizza (since I don't have an authentic brick oven)

[nessa]

Anything that requires killing before or during the cooking process I will not do at home. So I'll eat lobster and crab out, but not cook them at home. Dim sum for sure is a dining out pleasure. Clams, mussles and oysters, out not in.

Game. Out, not in.

[mizducky]

Let's see ... I do a lot of Asian cooking at home, but I'll probably always go out for pho, because I'd much rather have the guys down at the cafe go through all the labor and fuss of making that broth--plus they sell it for so darn cheap that I'd probably wind up spending more per serving trying to make it myself.

[purplewiz]

I'm another one for fried foods. I hate to fry at home - not because it's difficult, but because the smell of hot oil permeates the house for days. I hate that smell. I rarely even pan fry lightly breaded pounded thin chicken breasts because of the smell afterwards.

French onion soup. I've made it before, it's not hard, but I like the fancy melted cheese over a crouton presentation, and having done that, it's more trouble than it's worth. We have a place about 5 minutes away where I can get a crock for $3.95, and that's a lot easier.

Chinese/Thai/Vietnamese dishes. I admire those who cook them at home, but they often require either ingredients that are nearly impossible to find around here unless you're ordering a whole case (like Asian hot peppers), or ingredients of which you need 1/4 tsp but you can only buy in the 1 quart size, the rest of which will go bad before it can be used, or higher temperatures than my electric stove can produce, or deep frying (see above). It's more cost effective just to order them when we're eating out.

Marcia.

[Marlene]

sorry marlene <hangs head in shame>.  how much is a quick trip up to canada these days?  i can be your kitchen helper... for rack of lamb.  i am a good dishwasher...

No problem. It can't be all that expensive can it? Hmmm, maybe I need to look for or start a rack of lamb topic. It's been ages since I've made it.

Edited May 31, 2006 by Marlene (log)

[ZenKimchi]

My arrogant "I can make anything" self tried to make the Koreanized Chinese dish JjajangMyeon (Noodles in Black Bean Sauce) at home Friday night. My sources on the internet made it look easy. Just add Black Bean Paste to stir-fried garlic, onion, and veggies and thin it with liquid (I used both chicken stock and water).

It was freakin' AWFUL!!!

So I'm going to continue ordering out for my JjajangMyeon.