What Foods Seem Easy to Prepare but Are In Fact Difficult?

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Risotto


I’ve never really understood this. I find risotto super easy to make, as long as you pay attention.


It is easy. Mindlessly so. I guess if you are precise about texture maybe…really it just needs to be eaten as soon as it’s ready. So maybe timing with overall meal? You don’t have to constantly stir it either.

I said what I said.
Anonymous
Pie crust.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I can do much more complicated things, but totally sucked at rice.

Rice cooker was a serious improvement for me.


Agree. Always use less water than you think.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:hear me out - tacos. taco night seems like it should be the ultimate easy dinner but you have to brown the meat, time the shells right in the oven, grate cheese, prep lettuce and tomato, put out sour cream and salsa, fill the shells … I’d rather just do a meatloaf!


It's a ton of dishes and bowls and groceries (so unlike most ground beef dishes, it's not cheap).
Anonymous
Shepherd's pie.
Anonymous
I find bread easy but cake deceptively hard. I can make a bread loaf look bakery-window-worthy without that much effort, but every time I make a cake, I feel embarrassed by it. I've watched videos and read lots of tips on ways to make sure a layer cake stays level, how to make the icing look smooth and professional, etc. But even an ultra simply cake always looks a mess when I do it. They taste good at least.

I also find any meal that involves cooking a whole bird much harder than I think it should be. Not even talking about like a Thanksgiving dinner but even just a roast chicken. Partly I just hate dealing with poultry that hasn't already been deboned. But also I find it so much harder to properly season the full bird and cook to temp. It's so fussy. I make my DH handle it whenever we do this. I'm fine with boneless breasts and thighs but have no idea what to do with a whole bird or even a 1/2 chicken or something.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Shepherd's pie.


Use a large cast iron skillet. Brown mean, onion, vegetables in that, add your seasonings, a little flour and some broth. Put mashed potatoes on top and put skillet in oven.
Anonymous
I think truly good pancakes are quite difficult. You have to get the heat just right.
Anonymous
I cannot not overcook pork chops consistently.
Anonymous
Breaded fried chicken cutlets. It seems so easy, but I make a huge mess and can never get the oil temp right and even up with too browned chicken that is uncooked in center.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I can do much more complicated things, but totally sucked at rice.

Rice cooker was a serious improvement for me.


OP here. I struggled with that one as well and my rice cooker really made a difference. Rice cookers are the way to go.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Pie crust.


This definitely. Pie crust is a pain in the arse.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:hear me out - tacos. taco night seems like it should be the ultimate easy dinner but you have to brown the meat, time the shells right in the oven, grate cheese, prep lettuce and tomato, put out sour cream and salsa, fill the shells … I’d rather just do a meatloaf!


It's a ton of dishes and bowls and groceries (so unlike most ground beef dishes, it's not cheap).


I feel like you are doing tacos differently than we do! We buy one of those taco kits that has the seasoning for the meat and the shells altogether. We brown the meat and then add the water and seasoning and cover, and then using one large cutting board we chop the lettuce and tomatoes on that board. Shred a pile of cheese in another corner of the board. Put out salsa with a spoon right in the container. Shells take 5 minutes in the oven.

When we serve, people take shells right off the cookie sheet, fill them with meat straight from pan, then get their toppings straight off the cutting board, plus a spoonful of salsa from the jar.

It takes 25 minutes, tops, and the dishes are super minimal -- only one dish that takes any effort to clean and everything else can either go in the dishwasher or is really quick to clean. And inexpensive -- dinner for 4 people for around $12-15, depending on what meat we get.

We do tacos once a week and it's the one meal we can make on autopilot and doesn't even really feel like cooking it's so easy, but super satisfying and filling. I wish most weeknight dinners were as easy as tacos, or that we could do tacos 3 nights a week.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I find lasagna to be a PITA


Yes. Definitely if you are making your own red sauce with meat and béchamel sauce and have to par boil the noodles. Total PIA and makes huge kitchen mess


YES. boiling those impossible large flappy noodles makes it just a no-go. The move is no-boil noodles and use sausage. That gives enough energy to make your own marina if desired.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Pie crust.


This definitely. Pie crust is a pain in the arse.


Completely agree and I don’t think homemade pie crust tastes much better than premade. Not worth the effort.
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