The gravy fuckery has gone too far

[WillYouDoTheFandango]

I’ll start with saying we share the cooking but DP likes to cook the Sunday dinner (moved to Monday this week as we had time on our hands). He has proclaimed himself as a fabulous Sunday dinner chef. Second to none. He likes to throw in weird and wonderful shit into our food and I am expected to just go with it. I have had to start taking DS’ food out first, before DP adds loads of stuff to it or he won’t eat it.

He has started to fuck about with the gravy. It started with the beef gravy - onions, red wine, garlic powder, nothing too out there, pretty good results. But now he’s decided he’s going to perfect his chicken gravy.

We had a whole conversation about how much I hate rosemary. Next day, there it was, poisoning my gravy. I reminded him of my dislike but apparently “it goes with the chicken”.

Today we hit rock bottom though. My Yorkshire pudding was covered in bright orange, spicy gravy. When I asked why, I was told it was probably the paprika. 😫I mean where will it end? I’m either going to have to have a serious conversation about pre-warning me about what he’s throwing in or start joining DS in the bisto so I don’t end up with any more “surprises”.

And I know i could make it myself but any suggestions of that are taken as a personal insult to his cookery credentials. Anyone else living with a culinary innovator and not always enjoying the experience?

A new Jamie Oliver in training ?

Although I Understand your frustrations and perspectives op, all the best

LTB

Bit ott

Ah the gravy or jus you have my sympathy. Mine does the same with fish sauces 🙈

Buy him a nice gravy boat for Christmas then he might use it for his innovative gravy concoctions. You can then do a jug of bisto too, and decide which you're having at the table.

I rescue mine and DSs food from DH before he is allowed to arse around with it. We had marmite in our gravy once and followed it with curry powder in our apple crumble!

Dh once made cheese sauce from a packet. I was ill and all I wanted to eat was smoked fish in cheese sauce, and I nearly cried when he produced this abomination that looked and tasted like sick.

I did not LTB - though maybe we should have had family counselling.

@WillYouDoTheFandango - you have my deepest sympathy.

My husband is like this with roast dinners as well - nothing can be simple, it all has to be fannied around with The only thing he never changes is his Yorkshire pudding recipe because he perfected it over years of trial and error (he still likes to look at his YP spreadsheet, and make other people look at it).

Does he wash up? If he does I'd be more tolerant. Although I would have a discussion about how cooking for other people means not using ingredients he knows they really dislike.

I have a DP like this. He insists on putting nutmeg in everything. I like it in sweet foods not savoury. He also drenches things in black pepper. He finally gets the message when the food goes straight in the bin.

We had marmite in our gravy once
A little bit of marmite in gravy is a thing of beauty.

Jesus, I've got one like this. I came home late and knackered from a 12 hr shift once to be given beef stew. Lovely! Umm. What's in this? It's a bit... Unusual?

Marmalade.

Ffs.

I had toast.

I think you might be married to my DH!

Yeah my husband has form for this. He once was making cheese on toast and decided mine should have mayonnaise on the bread, under the cheese. But he didn't just spread a thin layer of mayo, oh no. He squeezed it out of the bottle and left thick worms of mayo which then got covered in cheese before going under the grill. I like mayo but this was not pleasant. Especially as he didn't tell me he'd done it, I only found out when I took a big bite.

These concoctions sound revolting. There's a lot to be said for simple flavours!

Is he someone who generally can't be told anything? That sort are crap with recipes and always think they know best.

Gravy boats are a fucking joke. Designed to hold as small an amount of liquid as possible while rapidly cooling it.

Gravy needs a proper jug. We always used the big kitchen measuring jug, in stainless steel.

I can see that maybe it would be. DH missed the memo about the size of the portion of marmite.

Yes yes yes- and as for Christmas gravy which requires a brisket two weeks in advance to make the “base for the jus”

I secretly throw in bisto into my stews etc and he really likes them.

A roast dinner takes days of clearing up if he is let fully loose.

Wait @LubaLuca - Yorkshire pudding spreadsheet??? I think I've fallen for your husband! 😂

Sympathies OP.
I’ve had to introduce a rule that “we” (DH) don’t muck around with a recipe until it’s been done normally once.
Fortunately he’s been sensible with gravy.

Mine adds things but then he's a chef and a massive foody and actually knows what he's doing. So I trust that it will taste good, and if it doesn't he doesn't do it again as he isn't precious over his recipes.

I make the gravy because my DP says I'm better at making it than he is. For cooked breakfasts he's better making fried bread. He's not so great at keeping the kitchen tidy though.

Couldn't you do some bargaining? Paprika in gravy sounds grim. Can't he just make gravy with butter and/or meat juices, flour, water, marmite and a drop or two of Madeira or marsala? To make it fancy he could add mint sauce for lamb, redcurrant jelly for beef and Apple sauce for pork and leave chicken as it is but paprika!!

Cant stand this trend for rosemary in things, like eating soapy pine needles