What recipe have you tried, hated and wished you never wasted so much time making it?

[kevintheorangecarrot]

I have just tried a creamy garlic, chicken and mushroom sauce and I really wish I hadn't now. I consumed as much as I could as well as my DH, then thrown the rest in the bin (thank god for food waste recycling where I live!)

Thank you!! 😁

Tom yum goong, sour prawn soup. Ingredients were expensive, and it tasted awful.

I find the recipes from JO's first book - the Naked Chef by far his best.

I've made nearly all of them and they are now all ones I can make without even thinking.

Perhaps because I was learning to cook and actually followed the recipes! I'm a very confident cook now and much more likely to adjust as I go along with whatever I have/don't have lying about.

Nigel Slater was great for getting me to substitute/add things/mix things up once you have the basics right.

So... very experienced, confident cook but almost every one of JO's 15 min and 30 min recipes were crap. A faff and not worth it and certainly not doable in the time he claims.

The only useful thing from both books was Pataks current paste )not sauce), especially the tikka masala one, is excellent and tastes better than mixing your own spices from scratch.

I live Nigella but she is better for sweet things IMO. The book I've made the most recipes from is Forever Summer - one of her earlier books.

I can't bake - as PP have said I'm too used to adding a bit here and there.

I can do reliable lemon drizzle, banana bread and carrot cake. The former and letter I elevate to pretty good with the addition of a fuckton of lemon drizzle and a LOT of cream cheese frosting!

Oh and to PP and frying endless aubergine for parmigiana- I had the same angst about it and one day just thought fuck it and layered it up without the frying.

Nor did I spend hours simmering the sauce in advance.

So aubergine, garlic, fresh basil (lots of both), mozzarella, olive oil, pepper, pinch of chilli flakes (controversial), salt, bit of sugar, balsamic, black pepper and a couple of tins of good Italian tinned toms, layer up cook on low for about and hour and a half - lovely!

Literally layer raw and go. Ok doing it properly tastes about 10% better but not frying fucking aubergines for ages better!

Aubergine cooks brilliantly in the slow cooker with nothing added.

For years I prided myself on my excellent Yorkshire puds. The recipe from my mother, let the batter stand for the right amount of time, the fat just the right temp etc. Then one day I had no time for some reason and bought some frozen. They are just as good if not better...

Aubergine parmigiana. Friend was convinced eating it two nights in a row brought on her labour.

I was desperate to get DS out so bought all the fancy ingredients and made it.

Managed less than half of a portion (quarter of the dish) - and I had to reheat that twice. I could just not force it down.

Another vote for Jamie's make ahead gravy. It was shit and I followed the instructions to the letter.

Scones are never ever as nice as shop bought and it makes a fuck load of mess.

Beef curry