OP - Did you punch your sister last year around Thanksgiving?

Anonymous wrote:I don't think this post is for real, but if so you have a lot more to worry about than overcooked chicken.

I'm with you. All this over the top bragging about "BO-RING" food that she can do with her eyes closed? And "who wants to eat a pile of raw apricots"? Clearly jabs, trying to get a reaction. Not to mention the husband trying to ban his dad over a bad meal, and the snooty MIL "picking at" her inferior food. All little sprinkles of drama, our reactions to which are feeding OP's storyteller narcissism.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. 13:06, yes, there is more going on here. DH says he's had it up to here with Dad's bad cooking. I need to make the weekends when they come down as pleasant as possible for everyone to prevent some blow out. If DH feels that we are catering to his father's desire to wreck good meat, he's going to limit their visits. And I can't grill during the week at all, or weekends when there's work for one of us, or the weather's bad, etc. etc. It's those weekends with good weather when both DH and I have the days free.

As to thermometers, learn something new everyday! I didn't know that thermometers are not used for kettles. So you DO have to learn to eyeball it? See, I have a lot of work ahead of me...

As to takeout, I'm trying to avoid that. Despite my culinary aspirations, due to work I eat enough prepared foods during the week during working hours. I just can't do it on those precious lazy weekends as well.

It is not your job to prevent a blowout. It is not the end of the world if you see your ILs less. If DH doesn't want to spend that much time with his parents, why are you insisting he do so?

The grilling thing would not be so much of an issue
If they weren't over often. Or have them over more often in the winter!

Why the heck would you give him apricots and cheese to grill if he can't hack chicken?

My husband is an experienced griller, smoker and certified bbq judge, and even for him sweet things like fruit and drippy things like cheese take some finesse.

For chicken, have him grill thighs instead of breasts. They are better for grilling, and the axtra fats helps minimize drying out.

If he likes to char, have him do brats or other sausages. Get creative lady! You are a good cook, think simpler and outside of your culinary box.

Does FIL think the meat is cooked right? Because tastes differ. Our neighbor cooks beef till it's grey and then slices it onto a serving platter so it gets nice and dry and cold. Every time. That's how she likes it. Her DH bathes it in gravy.

Anonymous wrote:This is so weird. OP, your husband really wants to ban his parents because he doesn't get meat grilled the way he likes? Is that right? If it is every Saturday then I get it. But once a month?

Agreed. This is ridiculous, OP, and now you're off on a tangent about your tasty soup and your apricots and cheese....Please go post on cooking web sites instead for that kind of detail.

I don't think you can even see past your perfections to realize how much both you and your husband utterly come off in your posts as valuing your perfectly cooked foods over your relationship with FIL. As someone else noted, let him grill burgers and dogs.

You set yourself up for this dilemma, do your realize that? Prepping for 36 hours for a meal for JUST your family and the in-laws, when you already knew that FIL would do a bad job, was basically setting yourselves and him up for failure. Can you possibly recognize how passive-aggressive THAT action was on your part? Cut it out. Stop the extensive prep for meals when he's coming, and let the man have his fun. Save the gourmet stuff for yourselves and give FIL a break and treat him like a relative who deserves some respect -- not like some lousy sous-chef you just cannot quite bring yourself to fire from your perfect kitchen.

Those of us whose parents are dead, like me, or whose parents are far away and too ill to ever visit again, like my husband, would LOVE to have a dad or FIL come here and burn some food. Please, OP, get some perspective here. Will your husband be happier when his dad can't come visit any more and you can have all your perfectly cooked food never again ruined by him? Yeah, that'll fix the problem!

Stop being so controlling and weird about food.

I don't think this post is for real, but if so you have a lot more to worry about than overcooked chicken.

This is so weird. OP, your husband really wants to ban his parents because he doesn't get meat grilled the way he likes? Is that right? If it is every Saturday then I get it. But once a month?

Anonymous wrote:I am 12:27. Listen. I love to cook and am quite good at it. But he is your FIL for cripes sake. Having good manners certainly trumps a cooking compulsion.

Agree. And I think it is sad that your husband thinks his parents come over too often.

Let him cook. Save your fancy marinades etc fr when it is just your family.

You could try to say, hey, I like mine less well done so I am going to ill mine off the grill early.

FYI, I prefer charred and well done.

14:24, OP here. Oh, I know. It's not normal. Most people consider cooking a chore. But I enjoy cooking the way other people enjoy watching football, golfing, meeting up with good friends for gossip, going to the movies, etc.

It just so happens that this hobby has a productive side, and my family gets to benefit from it. But I do sincerely enjoy it, and I find cooking incredibly relaxing. I would choose to do it over any other recreational activity out there.

Now the cleanup, that's another story.

To bring this back to my initial issue, that's why I'm not that grateful for FIL's offers to grill. I know he's not doing it for me--he enjoys it. OTOH, I know where he's coming from, and I don't want to rob him of the joys of grilling...

Anonymous wrote:14:10, I marinated it overnight. I said 36 hours because...ummm...well, I started the prep on thursday or friday with the shopping. OK, it was a bit of a stretch, but I do count special shopping times.

I once made french onion soup that took me 2.5 days. My entire weekend. 2.5 days, you say? WTH? Because with a toddler running around I had no time to monitor the broth to make sure it was at a "barely simmer" like the famous chefs admonish you to do and at times it was at an active boil on my crappy electric stove. I also simmered it for a long time, so that the bones looked like archaeological finds, I sucked everything out of them. All the fat leached out of the bones, but I fixed it by chilling the broth in the fridge overnight and then skimming all the fat off. So, yeah, that dish took me 2.5 days--but I managed to multitask during that time and get weekend chores done.

DH said it was the best soup he had ever had in his entire life, including ones he had in restaurants, and promptly went into a food coma afterwards, and that made me very happy!!!

You sound a bit crazy...

Anonymous wrote:14:10, I marinated it overnight. I said 36 hours because...ummm...well, I started the prep on thursday or friday with the shopping. OK, it was a bit of a stretch, but I do count special shopping times.

I once made french onion soup that took me 2.5 days. My entire weekend. 2.5 days, you say? WTH? Because with a toddler running around I had no time to monitor the broth to make sure it was at a "barely simmer" like the famous chefs admonish you to do and at times it was at an active boil on my crappy electric stove. I also simmered it for a long time, so that the bones looked like archaeological finds, I sucked everything out of them. All the fat leached out of the bones, but I fixed it by chilling the broth in the fridge overnight and then skimming all the fat off. So, yeah, that dish took me 2.5 days--but I managed to multitask during that time and get weekend chores done.

DH said it was the best soup he had ever had in his entire life, including ones he had in restaurants, and promptly went into a food coma afterwards, and that made me very happy!!!

Did he post on Facebook about how amazing you are?

;-0

14:10, I marinated it overnight. I said 36 hours because...ummm...well, I started the prep on thursday or friday with the shopping. OK, it was a bit of a stretch, but I do count special shopping times.

I once made french onion soup that took me 2.5 days. My entire weekend. 2.5 days, you say? WTH? Because with a toddler running around I had no time to monitor the broth to make sure it was at a "barely simmer" like the famous chefs admonish you to do and at times it was at an active boil on my crappy electric stove. I also simmered it for a long time, so that the bones looked like archaeological finds, I sucked everything out of them. All the fat leached out of the bones, but I fixed it by chilling the broth in the fridge overnight and then skimming all the fat off. So, yeah, that dish took me 2.5 days--but I managed to multitask during that time and get weekend chores done.

DH said it was the best soup he had ever had in his entire life, including ones he had in restaurants, and promptly went into a food coma afterwards, and that made me very happy!!!