When Good Food Meets Bad Technique

[The Late Night Gourmet]

We’ve all been in situations where someone else is making the food, and we’re at the mercy of how they’re making it. I’m thinking of this as I wait for dinner. My wife’s mom said she wanted to make something with potatoes and chicken. The chicken breasts look good: they’re breaded and pan fried. The potatoes are in the oven.

Just now, she joined us in the living room to watch TV. I was nervous, so I asked if the chicken was done yet. She said, “I’m keeping them warm while I’m waiting for the potatoes to be done.” I tried to act casual as I got off the couch.

The chicken breasts had been done for several minutes. The pan was on medium heat, all the chicken still in there, gradually turning black. I took the chicken off the heat: the potatoes cooked for another 15 minutes, and the chicken would have been incinerated.

Dinner was good today. I took the thickest one, and it was still moist inside. The seasoning was good. The potatoes were also good, but overly salty.

Disaster was averted, but this beats the heck out of other bad home dining experiences. I’ve mentioned more than once how my brother in law routinely turns hamburgers into charcoal briquettes. I wish I could be like my wife in these situations: she just looks at it and says “no”. I feel obligated to be polite, so I pretend to like it while I choke it down (I then look for an opportunity to shovel it into the trash when the cook isn’t looking).

 

[mjd]

It sounds like you salvaged dinner if it came out mostly good (except for the salty potatoes). Maybe you can gently suggest some ways so that all the food is ready around the same time. My mother-in-law is passed now but I got "lucky". She hated me so I never had to endure her cooking anything or even visiting us (3 time sin almost 20 years). Thinking on it, though, I doubt I would have said anything to my MIL if I was in your situation. Like you, I'd just show gratitude and leave it at that.

You remind me of my ex. He would never tell me if he didn't care for something on his plate. He would just find a way to bury it under other food. I told him that it wouldn't hurt my feelings if he didn't care for something and I wanted to know so I'd stop preparing it! He won't even ask for ketchup or napkins at a drive-thru. However, he is very passive-aggressive so he'll smile in your face while stabbing you in the back (something I learned far too late to get out of Dodge).

 

[rascal]

My mil who I miss, used to cook a mean roast on a Sunday lunch. I got to eat there quite a few times as a teen taking her daughter out. Later on we took her with us on our hols at Xmas. She loved it, and I loved baiting her.lol.
We need to take flowers to their graves, soon.
I cook 99% here and never had a complaint, in fact I get requests.

Russ

 

[TastyReuben]

My mom was always running behind, so she ended up burning things a lot trying to get food on the table, and she also was of that generation that believes all meat must be cooked extra well done or it's deadly poison otherwise.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

she also was of that generation that believes all meat must be cooked extra well done or it's deadly poison otherwise.

My wife's dad would sometimes buy us "uncooked ham". No...it wasn't gammon. "Uncooked ham" is what most people would refer to as "ham". He thought, because it was pink, it must be undercooked, so he'd advise cooking it for 2 hours or so.

 

[caseydog]

My ex-brother in law was very competitive with me -- I don't know why. I cooked outstanding steaks, even the well-done one I cooked for my ex-sister-in-law was tender and a little juicy.

So, he decided he was going to grill (outside) some steaks over charcoal like I did. He had never done it before, and turned down offers for my assistance. We all had steaks that were WAY past well done. Basically shoe leather.

CD