Home › Forums › Open Discussion › YET another THING that Drives Me Crazy!
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November 11, 2013 at 6:09 pm #609648
2 Much WhineParticipantIs it just me? I start to go nuts when I read a recipe online and then start to read the reviews.
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Here’s an (exaggerated) example:
Tonight I made this recipe for Grilled Chicken with Mango Peanut Salsa for my family. It was excellent! My husband ate it all and the kids asked for seconds! Probably the best I’ve ever had! I can’t say enough about this dish – you just have to try it! The recipe calls for 3 pounds of chicken breast but I only had half a pound of shrimp, a couple hot dogs that were a week past the pull date and some horse clams left over from the eggs benedict I made last week so I used that. I don’t like my salsa as sweet as it can be with mango and my kids are allergic to peanuts so I substituted ketchup for the mango and chopped pickled dog eggs (dill – not sweet) instead of peanuts. Our BBQ isn’t working so I cooked the shrimp, hot dogs and clams in the microwave (be sure to cover with a towel so it won’t splatter). Instead of cilantro I used egg shells to add a bit of crunch. This was by far the best grilled mango chicken recipe I’ve ever tried. . . . .will certainly try again. 5 stars for this one!
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This drives me crazy! How about you?
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Randomly capitalized words for no APPARENT reason is on my LIST as well!
November 11, 2013 at 6:23 pm #799968
wakefloodParticipantHA!! TOTALLY agree. Or how about the inverse? Love the ones who completely change the recipe and then give it 1 star – or “hated it!”. They used mushroom soup instead of making a bechemel and complain it was too salty and mushroomy. ;-)
November 11, 2013 at 6:29 pm #799969
KatherineLParticipantLOL, this also sounds like a version of my mother’s recipes. When I was first married, I’d ask her how she made X. I’d get a baffled, “I don’t use a recipe for that.” Or she’d dig up her original recipe, but it would be full of amendments. “I use cream instead of milk here.” (We had a cow, but we kids refused to drink milk with any speck of cream showing. She had to use it some way.) “This calls for x amount, but I just use a scoop.”
I could seldom get my results to match my mother’s.
November 11, 2013 at 6:41 pm #799970
wakefloodParticipantSorry, K, but that’s the only way I cook! I get asked for recipes all the time and I just shrug. I do everything by feel and often switch up ingredients a bit just to see how it works out.
Oddly enough my memory is good enough to remember what I did if I want to recreate something I made up but I seldom feel like talking through it with someone who wants to try and recreate it. I end saying things like…”well, THIS time I used a few splashes of worcestershire but I’ve done it with liquid smoke or even a tablespoon of condensed beef stock”…or whatever. So if every other ingredient has one or two or more options depending on my mood it’s really pretty frustrating for people to try and write it down. I basically gave up. Now, I usually just tell ’em when I plan on cooking it again and they buy the base ingredient(s) and I’ll do a double batch. :-)
November 11, 2013 at 6:45 pm #799971
blblParticipantcheck out the comments on the recipe for ice cubes on food dot com. Hilarious.
November 11, 2013 at 6:47 pm #799972
JoBParticipantLOl.. i like to call myself a rustic cook :)
What that translates into is that i read recipes for inspiration..
but when it comes to cooking..
i use whatever i find in the fridge and cupboards ..
the good news is that after thousands of successes and failures i have a pretty good idea what i can do with what is in the cupboard
the bad news is that i can never exactly re-create any recipe
this has been a challenge for hubby who is one of those there is one right way to do things sort of guys ;->
November 11, 2013 at 6:56 pm #799973
SueParticipantIt’s not just you. :) I once saw a raw vegan cookbook trashed online in a review because half the recipes were made with nuts, and the person was allergic to nuts, and how dare they not give alternatives for replacing things people might be allergic to (which could be everything in a recipe, depending on a person’s allergies). Not to mention that raw vegan cooking is often very heavily nut-intensive. The author even tried to help in a response, and they just kept getting trashed. Unbelievable.
November 11, 2013 at 7:29 pm #799974
2 Much WhineParticipantOh man, those ice cube RECIPE reviews are hilarious! You just MADE my day! THANKS blbl.
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Another great one is along the lines of “I can’t give a good review of the Seattle Sardine Store because I went there and ordered the sardine stew and the sardine pie and the sardine mousse and everything tasted like sardines and I hate sardines. . . . “
November 11, 2013 at 9:14 pm #799975
PangolinPieParticipantThe thing that currently drives me nuts with recipes are the food bloggers who post an interesting recipe, but have to fill you in about their WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE before they get to the recipe part.
And they always do it in short, pretentious little sentences.
Like this.
Please, please…
Just get to the damn recipe. I don’t care what your kids and husband are up to today.
Thanks.
November 11, 2013 at 9:23 pm #799976
wakefloodParticipantPretentious…little…sentences. Love…it. ;-)
November 11, 2013 at 9:29 pm #799977
wakefloodParticipantI need to go now. I have to post my recipe for pomegranate coriander jalapeno molasses ice cubes…
November 11, 2013 at 9:30 pm #799978
wakefloodParticipantBut still messing with the cilantro ratio.
November 11, 2013 at 9:35 pm #799979
SarahScootParticipantI’m with you, 2MW, which is why I don’t even bother with sites such as AllRecipes.com, where this style is rampant. I stick with verified recipe sites I trust, like MyRecipes.com, Cook’s Illustrated, Alton Brown, etc. It’s amusing that other people have noticed this phenomenon and have also been annoyed! I thought it was just me. :-)
November 11, 2013 at 10:34 pm #799980
addParticipantLOL on all of the above. I like epicurious.com but the reviews often tend be like the OP’s experience. Slight variations I find very useful but the complete revamping of the recipe makes me nuts, too!
November 12, 2013 at 5:36 pm #799981
pattileaParticipantNovember 12, 2013 at 6:09 pm #799982
KBearParticipantHow about people who can write their own forum posts but expect someone else to perform searches for them?
Hey, can somebody post a link to the ice cube recipe on food.com?
November 12, 2013 at 6:13 pm #799983
PangolinPieParticipantThis is how I like to answer questions like that. :)
November 12, 2013 at 6:28 pm #799984
wakefloodParticipantHere’s a recipe related question for you all.
You know how every family makes spaghetti, right? Well, virtually every red spaghetti sauce has the same basic ingredients – tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, basil, etc. but isn’t it weird how they all have their own distinct “family flavor”?
I get there’s some variations – red wine, sugar, meat, etc. but the range of flavors seems weirdly more distinct than the variables might suggest.
Or maybe it’s just me?
November 12, 2013 at 6:43 pm #799985
blblParticipantAwesome, PangolinPie. Using that from now on.
November 14, 2013 at 12:36 am #799986
seaopgalParticipantRe. OP: I laughed when I first read this, then got busy and didn’t comment … but I didn’t want to let it pass without a shoutout. I love googling ingredients to find recipes for what I have “on hand,” and usually get lucky, but have learned to ignore the comments.
Re. wakeflood #18: I don’t have an answer to your question, but it reminded me of my family who spent years trying to recreate my Uncle Mario’s salad dressing (oil, vinegar, salt) with no luck. He was an inveterate gardener, and we finally decided that the missing “ingredient” was the soil residue on his hands when he tossed the salad.
November 14, 2013 at 1:50 am #799987
wakefloodParticipantThat’s a crackup, seopgal.
I still haven’t figured out my friends vinaigrette. He only serves it over moche or arugula and I know it only has four ingredients, three of which I know, the fourth he won’t divulge. He laughs every time we bring another version over cuz we just can’t nail it. I guess my next stop is dirt.
November 14, 2013 at 2:38 pm #799988
JoBParticipantwakeflood..
the secret ingredient i discovered this fall while putting my spaghetti sauce up was muscato wine…
in the sauce.. not in the cook though i suspect that would work too..
haven’t tried making vinaigrette with it yet ;->
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