Amateur Hour: Home cooks’ mistaeks that you never make

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Under salt. Too many people are afraid to season their food.

Given how many people worry about this and the differing quality of people's tastebuds, I have started to do this more. It is easy to for you to add salt to your liking at the table.

Add salt during cooking and your food will have flavor. Add salt at the table and your food will just taste salty. Don't make this mistake.

[Anonymous]

Thinking that if a little is good, a lot is better: white pepper, hot sauce, soy sauce, or any flavor enhancer that can take over easily with a heavy hand.

[Anonymous]

I’m so glad I have more money now and I just order food when I invite people over. I tend to get nervous and mess something up, like maybe not salting meat before adding it to the other ingredients.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thinking that if a little is good, a lot is better: white pepper, hot sauce, soy sauce, or any flavor enhancer that can take over easily with a heavy hand.

Except garlic…more is always better!

[Anonymous]

Not sautéing onions (or celery, or mirepoix or whatever) before adding to a crock pot or a casserole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Under salt. Too many people are afraid to season their food.

Given how many people worry about this and the differing quality of people's tastebuds, I have started to do this more. It is easy to for you to add salt to your liking at the table.

This is not the right way to cook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hygiene stuff: handling raw chicken and then not cleaning; same plate for raw/cooked.

not balancing acid/salt/sweet.

undersalting as much as oversalting.

Why do so many otherwise reasonably sophisticated people serve dinners at dinner parties and NEVER serve water. Does no one else drink water? It's like every single friend we have who have had us over we practically have to beg for water.

Overcooked meat.

Not having enough food for the number of people you are serving.

Inviting people over for dinner and not having snacks or starters and then having dinner 2-3 hours later and then underserving.

As many hospitality issues as cooking issues!

That is so funny: I’ve never not been served water, but that sounds awful, honestly!

I agree with not having enough food. My MIL routinely underestimates and then frantically flies around the kitchen and I’m like dude…you could have just remembered this from last time and bought more than one chicken leg for each person.

Here’s one another one—season. Your. Meat. Season it! There is nothing worse than an unseasoned drumstick or sad piece of fish.

I understand the water thing (or rather I've been guilty of the not offering water). You're cooking, you're trying to get everything to the table at the same time at roughly the same temp, you've already spent the time to get people drinks, poured wine, etc - and then suddenly you have to fill all the water glasses from your filter and it.......takes......forever..........

So I've learned to fill a pitcher of water in advance, keep in fridge, and put on table, with all places set with a water glass. Or, assign it to the person hovering asking how they can help.

We joke about eating at my SIL's house, because she will get everything ready -- she's an amazing cook -- on the table, perfect temperatures. And THEN she says "oh, wait, we need WATERS."

We literally don't start eating for another 10 minutes. Now everything is cold and the only person drinking the WATER is SIL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was teaching a friend some very basic recipes. We made chocolate chip cookies together and she didn't believe me that you need to combine ingredients in a certain order and though I was being super fussy to not just dump everything in and mix.

You don’t “have” to. If you made two batches, one where you dumped and mixed and one where you properly creamed the butter and sugar and didn’t overbeat the flour, you’d probably find they were noticeably different but it might not be enough to care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Under salt. Too many people are afraid to season their food.

Given how many people worry about this and the differing quality of people's tastebuds, I have started to do this more. It is easy to for you to add salt to your liking at the table.

Add salt during cooking and your food will have flavor. Add salt at the table and your food will just taste salty. Don't make this mistake.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ask your guests about allergies. Showed up to a friend’s house with the whole family for dinner, she had made amazing looking pad Thai and sprinkled it liberally with crushed peanuts. My oldest has an anaphylactic allergy and carries an epipen. We ended up going out to eat. My friend did know about the allergy, but forgot.

You should have texted a reminder if it’s that serious you can’t expect people to remember that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was teaching a friend some very basic recipes. We made chocolate chip cookies together and she didn't believe me that you need to combine ingredients in a certain order and though I was being super fussy to not just dump everything in and mix.

You don’t “have” to. If you made two batches, one where you dumped and mixed and one where you properly creamed the butter and sugar and didn’t overbeat the flour, you’d probably find they were noticeably different but it might not be enough to care.

You would be wrong about that. I did this once - dumped everything together without creaming the butter and sugar - and you know what you get? Crumb topping with chocolate chips in it. Not cookies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ask your guests about allergies. Showed up to a friend’s house with the whole family for dinner, she had made amazing looking pad Thai and sprinkled it liberally with crushed peanuts. My oldest has an anaphylactic allergy and carries an epipen. We ended up going out to eat. My friend did know about the allergy, but forgot.

This is just as much on you, his parents. Peanuts are a staple for pad thai, and obvious in the dish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hygiene stuff: handling raw chicken and then not cleaning; same plate for raw/cooked.

not balancing acid/salt/sweet.

undersalting as much as oversalting.

Why do so many otherwise reasonably sophisticated people serve dinners at dinner parties and NEVER serve water. Does no one else drink water? It's like every single friend we have who have had us over we practically have to beg for water.

Overcooked meat.

Not having enough food for the number of people you are serving.

Inviting people over for dinner and not having snacks or starters and then having dinner 2-3 hours later and then underserving.

As many hospitality issues as cooking issues!

That is so funny: I’ve never not been served water, but that sounds awful, honestly!

I agree with not having enough food. My MIL routinely underestimates and then frantically flies around the kitchen and I’m like dude…you could have just remembered this from last time and bought more than one chicken leg for each person.

Here’s one another one—season. Your. Meat. Season it! There is nothing worse than an unseasoned drumstick or sad piece of fish.

I understand the water thing (or rather I've been guilty of the not offering water). You're cooking, you're trying to get everything to the table at the same time at roughly the same temp, you've already spent the time to get people drinks, poured wine, etc - and then suddenly you have to fill all the water glasses from your filter and it.......takes......forever..........

So I've learned to fill a pitcher of water in advance, keep in fridge, and put on table, with all places set with a water glass. Or, assign it to the person hovering asking how they can help.

We joke about eating at my SIL's house, because she will get everything ready -- she's an amazing cook -- on the table, perfect temperatures. And THEN she says "oh, wait, we need WATERS."

We literally don't start eating for another 10 minutes. Now everything is cold and the only person drinking the WATER is SIL.

Why don’t you get ahead of it by offering to fill the water glasses? Why sit on your arse and laugh at her later when you could just…volunteer to help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ask your guests about allergies. Showed up to a friend’s house with the whole family for dinner, she had made amazing looking pad Thai and sprinkled it liberally with crushed peanuts. My oldest has an anaphylactic allergy and carries an epipen. We ended up going out to eat. My friend did know about the allergy, but forgot.

You should have texted a reminder if it’s that serious you can’t expect people to remember that

I definitely will next time! We had not been doing much visiting with friends until recently and neither had my friend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ask your guests about allergies. Showed up to a friend’s house with the whole family for dinner, she had made amazing looking pad Thai and sprinkled it liberally with crushed peanuts. My oldest has an anaphylactic allergy and carries an epipen. We ended up going out to eat. My friend did know about the allergy, but forgot.

This is just as much on you, his parents. Peanuts are a staple for pad thai, and obvious in the dish.

She never told us what she was making - we just agreed on dinner at her house, 5 pm, bring a dessert. We didn’t think to ask. Agree it’s on us too, we should have been proactive and reminded her. We felt badly that she made all that effort.