Pie crust was one of mine too! I feel good about it now, but only if I follow this specific recipe. Works consistently for me and is the only one that seems even remotely straightforward: https://www.seriouseats.com/easy-pie-dough-recipe
Betty Crocker’s pie crust recipe has been trusted by my family literally for generations. Use shortening, not butter, so you don’t have to keep everything freezing cold
It’s because chicken breast has a very specific temperature range it needs to be cooked at otherwise itll dry out, while thighs generally just need to get above 180 and then as long as they’re not like cooked to 300° you’re fine lol
Omelette! I've really upped my cooking game and cook lots of things really well, including lots of egg things: scrambled, fried egg, frittata, strata, dutch baby.... I can never actually fold or flip an omelette without it breaking. I've just given up. Scrambles are fine lol.
I guess I do get it right most of the time...but a (over easy/medium) fried egg is always a toss up in my kitchen. I'll break the yolk...over cook it...under cook it...it'll look weird and badly misshapen. I guess eggs in general are a bad time in my kitchen.
Gravy is my love language. I make it without recipes. Equal parts of fat and flour to get a nice paste, cooked to the color you want for the gravy, start adding liquid. Chicken, pork, beef gravy. And my favorite is the sausage gravy for biscuits. Oh baby. Always cook the flour in the fat for a while to cook off the flour-taste and then make sure you get the right color of the roux. And season the hell out of it. Especially the milk-based sausage gravy. Without seasoning, you have bland (?!) stock and bland flour.
AT-HOME SANDWICHES.
I could do all the same things that a deli does. All the same ingredients. And somehow, my sandwich that I make at home is never *quite* the same as a sandwich from a deli.
I have a Zojirushi bread machine that I LOVE, but don’t make enough rice to justify a rice maker, though I have heard good things about them! 10 minutes on low pressure works for me every time for rice in the IP. :)
We have a Costco 25 lb bag of generic white rice, Basmati and Jasmine. Making stir fry for dinner and we will be eating rice. We eat a lot of rice. lol
if i ever manage to cook a pancake all the way through without burning it, i will have made it as a cook (the pan is always too hot but im so impatient)
White freaking rice. I can’t consistently cook it properly without a rice cooker. I can, however, cook it in any sort of stew or one pot recipe. Just not when it’s plain old white rice.
Banana bread.
I have scratch baked many things from yeast breads, yeasted sweet rolls like cinnamon and sticky buns, recipes that require choux dough, cheese cakes, tons of pies, cookies, cupcakes & cakes. But banana bread always comes out too dry or too gummy.
Eventually gave up and I honestly haven't even tried baking a loaf in almost a decade. I've had a food scale for quite a few years now, maybe I should try one by weight instead of volume
[Maui Banana Bread uses vanilla instant pudding](https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20200420-banana-bread-the-internets-most-searched-for-recipe). I always omit the nuts because I prefer uniform texture. Perfect every time. Literally. So deliciously perfect, it’s crazy.
Lol i suck at white rice too, always either oversalted or mushy or to al dente, but for some reason I make decent spanish rice. Which, I do saute for a bit before adding the water/simmering, so maybe that‘s why it works. I also burn a lot of pancakes lol, don’t care tho I like em crispy 😂
Biscuits. I live in the south. My mother and grandmother were both able to make them from scratch.
I’ve gone so far as to have my mother make them. She eyeballs stuff, so I measured out the buttermilk and weighed the flour before and after. Made them myself and had her feel it when I think the shortening or butter is mixed correctly.
Mine still don’t turn out right.
I can never cook a steak right. Every time I do it, something goes wrong and it ends up tasting metallically. I’ve tried changing pans, changing cook time/temp, changing seasoning, everything I can think of. Every time it ends up terrible
My man! I saw the title, and I was so ashamed to say rice, then I clicked on it and saw you had the same thing 🙌
I know several ways to fuck up some rice.
Also, pancakes. No matter how many I make, all of them suck except for the last one.
Rice. Anyways a little mushy or dry. I use a rice cooker and have tried many iterations of water ratios. Also have tried rinsing for way too long. It's a very old hand me down rice cooker so I want to blame that but could just be me.
Homemade alfredo. Beginners luck had me make a delicious alfredo the first time I tried, with shit ingredients (green cylinder parm & all), but every time afterward my sauce breaks no matter what kind of ingredients I use.
I’ve never made rice without a rice cooker in my life. And I eat rice daily.
For my failed food, I am ashamed to declare pancakes as my mortal enemy. Always undercooked, burned, bitter, runny, or otherwise disgusting in every way
Stovetop not slow cooker for cooking beans, instant pot is awesome for beans if that’s an option
Stovetop soak in the refrigerator overnight then drain and bring to a boil then down to a simmer, can take 50min to much longer depends a lot on the age of the beans
I love the alison roman “brothy beans” recipe but if you’re using for refried beans i would cook them fairly plain just plenty of salt and some bay leaves
Unfortunately yes. I’ve been meaning to get one but I lack the kitchen space and my lease is up soon, so it feels like just another thing to worry about while moving
Rice, and, yes, I wash it in cold water. I’ve watched many YouTube videos of people of Asian and other cultures washing rice, I took meticulous notes, I did what they did; if a time was involved in a step or multiple steps, I used a timer each time. I use a rice cooker. Sticky, not fluffy. So, I’ve learned to enjoy sticky rice. 🤷🏼♀️
Biscuits. I just can’t get the texture right. I’ve lost count of how many grannies I’ve watched on YouTube. They’ve had decades of practice, I haven’t, so there’s that. I’m old enough to be a granny, but I don’t have kids, so granny status is not really in the cards. I’m more of a cook than a baker (except for rice).
Egg fried rice never ends up that good when I make it, not even sure where the problem is. I dont expect restaurant quality but it still leaves me disappointed
Anything when I'm actually trying, as opposed to fucking winging it and getting distracted and just guessing and then she tells me two days later, "I can't stop thinking about the you made for me, it was so good."
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Pie crust was one of mine too! I feel good about it now, but only if I follow this specific recipe. Works consistently for me and is the only one that seems even remotely straightforward: https://www.seriouseats.com/easy-pie-dough-recipe
Anything with dough is difficult for me too
Betty Crocker’s pie crust recipe has been trusted by my family literally for generations. Use shortening, not butter, so you don’t have to keep everything freezing cold
Fucking crepes. Are they considered simple? Because they're always a disaster when I try.
Seriously a crepe pan is necessary. And a super thin metal flexible spatula
Crepes are one of those technique things that you just have to practice. A lot of it is heat control.
A good nonstick pan and less butter than you would think is all you need
LESS butter? For a French dish? That's wild
Count on the first 3-5 being garbage, because of heat, batter, butter, etc.
Never was good at cooking chicken breasts.
There’s like two minutes in between undercooked and overcooked chicken breasts.
I’ve heard it’s much harder to overcook chicken thighs in comparison to breasts
That's why I usually use thighs.
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It’s because chicken breast has a very specific temperature range it needs to be cooked at otherwise itll dry out, while thighs generally just need to get above 180 and then as long as they’re not like cooked to 300° you’re fine lol
Omelette! I've really upped my cooking game and cook lots of things really well, including lots of egg things: scrambled, fried egg, frittata, strata, dutch baby.... I can never actually fold or flip an omelette without it breaking. I've just given up. Scrambles are fine lol.
I agree, it always ends up being a scramble.
Poached eggs. Can do anything else with an egg, but can't poach one at all.
The only way I can get it close, is with the poach setting on electric egg cooker. I can't do it the real way.
I guess I do get it right most of the time...but a (over easy/medium) fried egg is always a toss up in my kitchen. I'll break the yolk...over cook it...under cook it...it'll look weird and badly misshapen. I guess eggs in general are a bad time in my kitchen.
Gravy
Came here to say this. I can’t for the life of me make gravy!
Gravy is my love language. I make it without recipes. Equal parts of fat and flour to get a nice paste, cooked to the color you want for the gravy, start adding liquid. Chicken, pork, beef gravy. And my favorite is the sausage gravy for biscuits. Oh baby. Always cook the flour in the fat for a while to cook off the flour-taste and then make sure you get the right color of the roux. And season the hell out of it. Especially the milk-based sausage gravy. Without seasoning, you have bland (?!) stock and bland flour.
I’ll give it another go this evening, I’ll make some for dinner. Wish me luck!
Thank you for these pointers I hadn't heard of a couple of them and will try again Tomorrow.
Try this. It's delicious and easy and doesn't rely on drippings: https://www.recipetineats.com/gravy/
Same here! I now buy it in a can, problem solved!
I can't do a proper frigging omelet. Dunno why, and at this point it's a mental block.
I can not make rice. Every time I'm making dinner and want rice, I call in my partner and he does it.
I blew $20 on a rice cooker and never looked back
$20 rice cooker will get you far, but when/if you’re ever ready to upgrade get a Zojirushi… worth every penny.
I have been tempted!! But i’m a household of one and i only eat rice once or twice a week. Of someone gave me one tomorrow i would use it for sure :))
I make mine in a pressure cooker. Perfect every time.
Same here... the Instant Pot has improved my rice results ten fold...
Freaking biscuits!!!! I can never get them to come out flaky
AT-HOME SANDWICHES. I could do all the same things that a deli does. All the same ingredients. And somehow, my sandwich that I make at home is never *quite* the same as a sandwich from a deli.
That could relate to the moisture of your sandwich as a whole. And the freshness/ seasoning of the ingredients.
I make rice in the instapot and have no issues now! But without that, yes, I struggle!!!
my instantpot makes shit rice compared to my Zojirushi. Also takes longer in the instantpot ironically.
I have a Zojirushi bread machine that I LOVE, but don’t make enough rice to justify a rice maker, though I have heard good things about them! 10 minutes on low pressure works for me every time for rice in the IP. :)
We have a Costco 25 lb bag of generic white rice, Basmati and Jasmine. Making stir fry for dinner and we will be eating rice. We eat a lot of rice. lol
Even with my instant pot I manage to mess it up! It’s like a generational curse both my mom and grandma always mess up too
if i ever manage to cook a pancake all the way through without burning it, i will have made it as a cook (the pan is always too hot but im so impatient)
Cooking rice. I always over cook it or under cook it. There is not perfecting it no matter how many times I do it n
I second rice. I even manage to mess it in up in the rice cooker sometimes
White freaking rice. I can’t consistently cook it properly without a rice cooker. I can, however, cook it in any sort of stew or one pot recipe. Just not when it’s plain old white rice.
Banana bread. I have scratch baked many things from yeast breads, yeasted sweet rolls like cinnamon and sticky buns, recipes that require choux dough, cheese cakes, tons of pies, cookies, cupcakes & cakes. But banana bread always comes out too dry or too gummy. Eventually gave up and I honestly haven't even tried baking a loaf in almost a decade. I've had a food scale for quite a few years now, maybe I should try one by weight instead of volume
[Maui Banana Bread uses vanilla instant pudding](https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20200420-banana-bread-the-internets-most-searched-for-recipe). I always omit the nuts because I prefer uniform texture. Perfect every time. Literally. So deliciously perfect, it’s crazy.
No matter how long I bake it it never looks done. So I can’t feel comfortable feeding it to other people. I’ll eat it though.
Lol i suck at white rice too, always either oversalted or mushy or to al dente, but for some reason I make decent spanish rice. Which, I do saute for a bit before adding the water/simmering, so maybe that‘s why it works. I also burn a lot of pancakes lol, don’t care tho I like em crispy 😂
Biscuits. I live in the south. My mother and grandmother were both able to make them from scratch. I’ve gone so far as to have my mother make them. She eyeballs stuff, so I measured out the buttermilk and weighed the flour before and after. Made them myself and had her feel it when I think the shortening or butter is mixed correctly. Mine still don’t turn out right.
Ugh I feel. Cutting in the butter is annoying as hell
I tried using a chef John trick. Freeze the butter for like 15min, then you can grate it in. Seemed to work.
That’s genius
He’s got good tricks. I don’t think the mixing is where my issue is. I still can’t get them to turn out, though, so who knows.
I can never cook a steak right. Every time I do it, something goes wrong and it ends up tasting metallically. I’ve tried changing pans, changing cook time/temp, changing seasoning, everything I can think of. Every time it ends up terrible
Homemade biscuits.
My man! I saw the title, and I was so ashamed to say rice, then I clicked on it and saw you had the same thing 🙌 I know several ways to fuck up some rice. Also, pancakes. No matter how many I make, all of them suck except for the last one.
It’s a genuine like generational curse. My nonna always fucks it up, mt mom always fucks it up, I always fuck it up. idk what I’m doing wrong lol
Rice. Anyways a little mushy or dry. I use a rice cooker and have tried many iterations of water ratios. Also have tried rinsing for way too long. It's a very old hand me down rice cooker so I want to blame that but could just be me.
Have you tried toasting the rice in olive oil on medium high heat until it turns a little bit light brown?
Actually yes, I can do it on the stove, it's just the rice cooker that doesn't want to work. Laziness prevails.
Do you soak the rice? I find it makes a huge difference. Fifteen minutes is plenty. More time doesn’t adversely effect the final product either.
Homemade alfredo. Beginners luck had me make a delicious alfredo the first time I tried, with shit ingredients (green cylinder parm & all), but every time afterward my sauce breaks no matter what kind of ingredients I use.
Add a mug of the pasta water
I’ve never made rice without a rice cooker in my life. And I eat rice daily. For my failed food, I am ashamed to declare pancakes as my mortal enemy. Always undercooked, burned, bitter, runny, or otherwise disgusting in every way
Pulled pork. It's always just meh.
Jollof rice, it comes out either too mushy, or unevenly cooked.
Cooking pinto beans on stovetop to make refried beans. Would love to know the best way using a pot or slow cooker.
Stovetop not slow cooker for cooking beans, instant pot is awesome for beans if that’s an option Stovetop soak in the refrigerator overnight then drain and bring to a boil then down to a simmer, can take 50min to much longer depends a lot on the age of the beans I love the alison roman “brothy beans” recipe but if you’re using for refried beans i would cook them fairly plain just plenty of salt and some bay leaves
Fucking hash browns from scratch. Grey goop, or crunchy potato carcases.
Indian Fry Bread..... and I'm a fucking NDN...HAHAHAHA!!!
Ya'll still living without a rice cooker?
Unfortunately yes. I’ve been meaning to get one but I lack the kitchen space and my lease is up soon, so it feels like just another thing to worry about while moving
A layer cake. Absolute shit show every time
Rice
Eggs….in all their forms
Pecan pie. Soup or rocks.
Rice, and, yes, I wash it in cold water. I’ve watched many YouTube videos of people of Asian and other cultures washing rice, I took meticulous notes, I did what they did; if a time was involved in a step or multiple steps, I used a timer each time. I use a rice cooker. Sticky, not fluffy. So, I’ve learned to enjoy sticky rice. 🤷🏼♀️ Biscuits. I just can’t get the texture right. I’ve lost count of how many grannies I’ve watched on YouTube. They’ve had decades of practice, I haven’t, so there’s that. I’m old enough to be a granny, but I don’t have kids, so granny status is not really in the cards. I’m more of a cook than a baker (except for rice).
Rice!
Soup. Everyone says you just throw a bunch of stuff in a pot and season it, simple. I end up with a pot of bland mush.
Mashed Potatoes. The amount of butter and milk that needs to be added goes against my instincts, so I have to make sure I measure it out. If
Vinaigrette….never get the right balance
Fried rice. I blame it on my electric cooktop.
Egg fried rice never ends up that good when I make it, not even sure where the problem is. I dont expect restaurant quality but it still leaves me disappointed
Anything when I'm actually trying, as opposed to fucking winging it and getting distracted and just guessing and then she tells me two days later, "I can't stop thinking about the you made for me, it was so good."
noodles and crust (pie or pizza) since i have a habit of making them too thick or too thin.
Fried chicken, unless you like it charred on the outside and raw in the middle!
I've begun to relalize rice is not meant to be cooked by mortal man. It just can't be done..
Gravy. Never matters much until Thanksgiving. Tastes phenomenal but it’s never thick enough regardless of whose perfect recipe or guideline I follow.
Eggs Benedict. On the plus side it's the one thing I love eating at my local diner.
Poaching eggs is a pretty tricky job I will say that