PrintDo you cook untried and untrue dishes for guests?
Call it bold, foolhearty or just plain nuts, but I find myself doing this more often than cooking dishes that have been tested in my kitchen several times, to very favorable reviews. I can't really explain why I have this fascination, but I must admit, I've had tremendous dumb luck. Maybe I just get so excited about food, that I put more emphasis on the creation than the appreciation. But I hope not. I have a couple of bread recipes that are the gold standard for dinner, so family has come to expect fresh French or Challah. Other than that, the rest of the meal can be an adventure.
Have you tried out a brand new recipe on guests that was "the" bomb? Or was it a real bomb?
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16 Comments:
If you're cooking for adventurous and/or forgiving people, taking risks with the menu isn't that much of a risk. And if you've got a "plan B" ready to roll, that's good -- even if plan B is leftovers or a local take-out place.
The people I cook for most often are rather picky eaters, and it usually takes me a week or two to mull over the dishes and the recipes and make sure it's not going to scare them too much. Sometimes it takes a couple phone calls to make sure I'm not including ingredients that they won't eat. Usually whatever I make is a variation on something I've done before (with ingredients removed), because anything new to me would be way over the top for them. And, if I made something that failed completely, I'd have a heck of a time trying to cobble together something else that they'd eat.
Hubby is the one who eats my experiments, and usually he doesn't know he's being experimented on because that's just the way I cook.
dbcurrie at 1:16AM on 03/05/08
On occasion if a recipe is not too scary and I can visualize myself doing all the steps, I'd try it out on company. More times than not, I depend on T&T recipes for guests because the lower stress of something familiar allows me to relax more during the visit.
chiff0nade at 6:36AM on 03/05/08
I often try out new recipes on cooks, mostly successfully. I think it helps to be good at reading recipes and understanding what the final product should be. I can usually tell if something is too complicated, too bland, or just won't work.
Library Lady at 10:05AM on 03/05/08
I meant on guests, not "on cooks".
Library Lady at 10:06AM on 03/05/08
YES, it is weird but oddly enough the recipes usually turn out perfect. if i make it again later it doesn't come out as well. i almost always try out new stuff just because i know i will be more careful with following the recipe.
http://organicandnaturalmom.blogspot.com/
love2cook at 10:14AM on 03/05/08
I do this all the time. So far, so good. Don't know if it's dumb luck or enough experience to know what's a sure winner (anything with bacon!)
My husband thinks I have an aversion to making the same thing twice, so maybe that has something to do with it :)
bitchincamero at 10:29AM on 03/05/08
Depends on who I'm cooking for. If it's someone who would love me no matter what, they are often treated to my culinary experiments. If it's someone I don't know as well, like cooking a first meal for a date, I'm sticking to tried and true. Must admit, I always tweak though - just my nature I guess. Always room for improvement. ;)
PerkyMac at 10:42AM on 03/05/08
I guess I'm just really lucky that I don't have picky eaters in my family or guests with a lot of special food requirements. The ex-SIL was the picky one, and after a couple of years I just got tired of the whole attitude and let him pick out onions, mushrooms, etc. so the creative process wouldn't be stifled.
I honestly can't remember a new dish that turned out really badly. Most of the time, the faux pas have been in the cooking, not the recipe. Like the time I made dinner rolls and used sesame seeds that had gone bad. (always refrigerate them and taste first!) Or the time I only double foil-wrapped my cheesecake pan for the water bath. The water seeped in and dampened the crust. Not to be deterred, I made another crust, triple wrapped it and flipped the finished cake, scraped off the crust and carefully replaced it with the new one. A feat of engineering that I hope will not have to be implemented ever again. It was really scary.
Oh, I just remembered one! I was making a new recipe for pork tenderloin and read the recipe wrong and used a pork loin instead. I couldn't understand why the time was so off in the recipe for the meat! Dinner was about 1 1/2 hours later than planned while we waited for the meat to cook. A whole loaf of bread, salad and vino (a few) were consumed in a very leisurely way while I stalled on the entree. Thank goodness the guests were my very sweet in-laws. Ironically, the pork tenderloin w/ black currants and cassis has become a recipe I make at least once a year, now that I have learned to read.
frederika at 10:46AM on 03/05/08
I do this all the time.... in fact I am doing a Stuffed Marsala Chicken tonight for a new couple we are having over for the first time! My motto is "Variety is the spice of life" so I get tired of the same old, same old! I am a good recipe reader, recipe junkie that is! Rarely have things not turned out. I usually stick with recipes that I can find reviews on so that I know that others have had success with them too. I appreciate all their helpful hints which also help avoid a dinner disaster!
I do however have my tried and true fave's....they are usually the show-stoppers that I use to really impress on those very special evenings. Hey life is short......why not go for it! Be brave and trust your ability as you share your love of food with those lucky enough to be invited to partake in your epicurean adventure!
wolbears at 11:22AM on 03/05/08
Hmm, I've never made something for a guest that I've never tasted or seen in my life - so I'm not quite as adventurous. I don't like the stress of not knowing if the consistency is right, esp. with food that I have no pictures of so I don't know what it's even supposed to optimally look like to gauge whether I've failed partway through the process. We'll do it if it's just the two of us.
The food that we often make at home has been considered too adventurous for some of our guests, let alone trying to cook a cuisine or dish no one has yet eaten. So when we have guests, we just make stuff anyone will like, e.g., gumbo, pad thai, sukiyaki, sushi, to be safe.
Cassaendra at 11:31AM on 03/05/08
You may say that the first time I made Thanksgiving dinner, the entire menu was "untried and untrue" to me (I came to the States from England 5.5 years ago when I got married), but hubby described what his ideal Thanksgiving table would be and I just went with it. Every year now I am expected to "just make what you did last year":-).
brooke29 at 11:54AM on 03/05/08
Yeah - I use my friends as guinea pigs whenever I am trying out new recipes... but I sometimes tell them beforehand, especially if it's something I am not too confident in.
They're always good sports and will try anything I cook... nothing has gone to waste, so far. :)
MadelynRodriguez at 2:00PM on 03/05/08
Yeah--I never really thought about things not turning out well. I do tend to think about the dishes exhaustively during the days leading up to the event. That way I feel like I know the essence of the dish and can taste and tweak as I need to--seeing as I think recipes are more of a guide than anything else...which is why I don't bake, I guess.
wookie at 2:10PM on 03/05/08
I do it quite often as well......I tend to block out the bad experiences....so yes...it's all good! lol
mepolo at 9:53PM on 03/05/08
If I trust the recipe or recipes on which I'm basing my experiment, definitely!
This past Christmas I took on the principal elements of Christmas dinner--a roast goose (a first, for me) and a plum pudding (second time, but I wasn't able to get my hands on proper lard)--at my boyfriend's parents' home. I would have enjoyed it, actually, but had just come down with a ghastly flu, which made it challenging and worrisome, because I was afraid I might infect everybody.
I think I'd only pass on going the exploratory route if what seemed to be a critical ingredient was unavailable.
mongoose at 2:23PM on 03/06/08
I do this because I have a growing list of recipes I'm eager to try but can't justify making without a special occasion: they're too complicated or too expensive for everyday cooking. For those same reasons, they're not easy to test beforehand.
But if I'm having folks over, I also try to be sure that most of the cooking/prep can be done in advance, so that leaves much less cooking stress at the time. It also give me the chance to assess any potential problems and try to come up with a workaround.
I only had one true dud, and that would have been avoided if I'd thought it through when picking the recipe. I saw crab cake and corn and assumed deliciousness, but didn't consider how the technique would turn out something a little too different.
And I usually try to make sure there is at least one dish that I know and that is likely to have wide appeal (potatoes are my best friend in this category).
renzata at 3:00PM on 03/06/08