What to cook for a picky eater?

[Anonymous]

I have a picky eating husband. The simpler the better. He likes smooth sauces, not chunky ones. One of his favorite meals is roast chicken, green beans, and some kind of potato. For your sides, I recommend plain steamed vegetables as one side.

[Anonymous]

My in-laws have all sorts of health issues and when you place their dietary restrictions together, it's almost impossible to find something that everyone can eat. But here are some ideas that work pretty well:

- A continental classic. Make chicken medallions any size you like (I usually do about 1-1.5" diameter pieces and I like think so only like 1/2"-3/4" thick). Chiffonade (chop) some sage and save at least one whole sage leaf per person. Melt butter in a skillet and let it cook a little (not fully brown, but starting). After butter is completely melted drop the whole sage leaves in until they get crispy, then take them out and put on a paper towel (this step is optional as the fried sage leaves are a garnish). Saute the chicken in the butter. When cooked, add the chopped/chiffonade sage. Leave on the heat for about 15-30 seconds until the sage becomes aromatic. Take off the heat. Either plate the chicken or put on a serving plate family style. Add a froed sage leaf as a garnish to each individual plate or make a small stack of them on the serving plate if family style (If I do this, I arrange these leaves to look like a flower). Make sure that each piece of chicken has some chopped sage on it, then squeeze half a lemon over the chicken. Put the other half of the lemon on the serving plate for individuals to squeeze more on if they want it. It almost takes longer to type this description than to cook it, it's that easy.

Usually I serve this with buttered noodles or spaetzle, but for your guest, try garlic mashed potatoes (if you don't want to make these, you can often find some containers in the deli refrigerator section of the supermarket) and a vegetable side like steamed broccoli. If you make a salad, get a spring mix, then add grape tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, and sliced red/orange or yellow bell peppers and either sunflower seeds or candied walnuts. Serve with a vinagrette on the side for others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have to make dinner for a few friends. One is a picky eater. She doesn't eat rice, pasta, quinoa, red meat or any kind of sauce!!!
I was thinking about a salad but she can't stand avocados, corn and dressing.
What can I make that's easy.
FYI I am a poor cook.

I am a picky eater. I do eat red meat, rice and pasta though. Not quinoa, not avocados, no dressing. You could make baked chicken, any sort of potatoes that aren't spicy (baked, mashed, etc.) and green beans, or broccoli or cauliflower. You can make a salad and put the dressing in a pitcher on the side so people can take as much or little as they want (or for me, none). I'll just eat around the parts of the salad I don't like. I just don't want anything with lemon or anything too spicy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ham & Spinach quiche (so easy to make with store bought crust), a make-your-own salad bar, baguette and cheese for the rest of the normal eaters.

I find adult picky eaters like this intolerable. Bless you for agreeing to feed her anyway.

I'm an adult picky eater. I wish to hell I weren't one. But I can truly not eat a lot of things without either making an awful face or gagging. It's not a thing to be impolite, even if I were alone and ate something with lemon I'd be spitting it out and chugging a ton of water. My body is physically sensitive - there's nothing I can do about that. You eat something that hasn't cooled off yet and consider it warm, but I eat the same thing and it physically burns my tongue and inside of my mouth which swells up. We go outside and you think the sunshine is beautiful. I overheat and pass out because it's too hot for me. In all ways, including food, I'm a delicate flower. It would make my life so much easier if I weren't - it would be nice to not constantly have to work around myself.

FWIW, I would not want to eat ham or spinach or cheese. So I'd have salad and a piece of bread.