For years I was in a bi-monthly cooking group. We usually met at a friends house and would make dinner there. One night all those terrible things your mom and your aunt Sally forced on you came up.
Number 1 was Green Bean Casserole, for the uninitiated this is 1 can green beans, 1 can Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup, topped with Durkee fried onions then baked. It is terrible, canned green beans are mushy and flavorless, cream of mushroom soup is also mushy and terrible with the added bonus of tasting like a salt lick. Durkee fried onions I will eat as a snack (I will hear no bad words about them, though they are also terrible in their own way. Don’t start). The original recipe unsurprisingly came from Campbell’s Test Kitchen as a way for working housewives to get dinner on the table with a minimum of fuss.
We talked about it (argued) and half the group thought it could be a great dish, the other half speed dialed their therapists.
The next time we met Green Bean Casserole was the main. Blanched fresh green beans were layered with crimini mushrooms simmered in cream and herbs, then topped with Asian fried shallots. It was a hit, and ended up in rotation. It is actually fantastic when made fresh.
No.2 was Fish in Aspic. No one could do anything with this, the dish just sucks.
No.3 was Fondue, which I hated as a kid then had good versions of. Porcini (Cepes) with Beaufort and sourdough, Beef loin with carmelized onions and red wine reduction, etc.
What are yours? Have you recreated any horrible dishes and made them delicious?
p.s. great aunt Beth you almost put me off Turkey for life…
ETA: I know we’re supposed to tag posts, I don’t see a way to do that in Voyager. Anyway, Discussion
My most hated was macaroni salad. Bowtie noodles with Miracle Whip, peas, shredded carrot, dill, and salt. Occasionally other items would make an appearance, but the main recipe was the most common.
It was so bland and mushy, and it wasn’t helped by the fact that it was made every few weeks during the summer, and in a quantity that meant I was eating it for lunch and dinner for almost a whole week every time it was made.
Grandma Helen is offended, as it was her goto in the summer.
Agreed, I don’t remember touching on that one though.
It can be really good though, don’t cook the pasta for three hours, don’t use that McCormick Dill you got as a wedding gift in 1946, etc.
Fresh herbs, aioli, slightly less than al dente pasta.
Yes! I make my own salad with fresh dill, onion and garlic powder, homemade mayo or olive oil, a bit of fresh basil, and baby spinach leaves to add some crunch. I just don’t call it pasta salad or macaroni salad because the name is forever associated with blandness to me lol.
I don’t ever make pasta salad, but I’ve heard you actually want to overcook the pasta to account for the retrogradation of starch once you cool it down. https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-make-the-best-pasta-salad#toc-rule-3-overcook-your-pasta
Same here. Cannot stand pasta salad. Ironically I love cold macaroni and cheese though so I don’t know exactly what way my brain is short-circuited.
I’m seeing a discrepancy here
It drove me crazy too. It was actual macaroni when I was a kid, but then my mom decided bowties were fancier and started using those instead.