What seemingly easy meal do you always get wrong?

[IcouldbutIdontwantto]

Just for fun.... for me it's an omelette. I'm a pretty decent cook, enjoy spending time in the kitchen and can cook eggs in pretty much any other form. But can never get an omelette right... just ends up as eggy mess with other stuff added 😂

Help me feel better mumsnet!

Thanks @Ghostjail I'll give them a try!

My nemesis is steak. I can't seem to get it perfectly medium rare. They're always either too bloody or overdone. It's also very expensive to get wrong so I've stopped trying and only have a steak if I'm out.

I always used to fail at cooking rice so I bought a rice cooker which is amazing.

Likewise, my omelettes always stuck and looked like scrambled egg. Bought an omelette maker ... problem solved!

Anyone know where you can buy a toad in the hole maker?!

Nellieinthebarn

I bet you'd do better than my SiL with a cooked breakfast. For some reason she cooks the eggs first and keeps them warm while she does everything else so they're always overcooked and rubbery.
Nobody mentions it so I don't either and, tbf, having a cooked breakfast at her's is hardly a regular occurrence and it's nice to be cooked for.
But I do find it odd 🤷‍♀️

My lasagnas are always dry for some reason.

I must over cook them. I think I'm generally a rubbish cook.

This used to be a big problem for me and, exactly as you say, it's too expensive to keep trying until you get it right.
I found a meat thermometer helped a lot (same for roast joints of meat) - the temperature seems much more important than the time. Although I'd love to be one of those cooks that just knows from poking it with their finger.

I can cook rice. And I can cook pasta. I just always make enough for eleventy billion people.

Bizarrely it seems to be one of the things I cook perfectly with no idea how
Which is ironic as I hate steak
I worked as a carer and one woman loved it so it was a case of learn fast

Took me years to master Rice until I read this method and now I can do perfect rice every time.

1 cup of Rice
2 cups of water
Bring to the boil then switch heat off and don't take the lid off
Check after 20 mins = perfect rice every time

Rice, I just use the packet versions now which seems quite wasteful and expensive.
Also curry. Very variable, SOmetimes good, often not.

There are only 2 of us, and I was given a small rice cooker. It has solved all my rice problems - I throw in the measured amount of rice and water and switch it on then ignore it until it stops cooking and switches to 'keep warm'. Works with brown rice too.

@PlacidPenelope i finally learned to poach eggs perfectly by following a turkish eggs recipe by Nigella - from the "microwave" series I think.

Omelettes or pancakes. Can't do it, tried multiple times, fail every time.

Soft boiled eggs are five minutes from the boil. Perfect every time

Yorkshire puddings.

Flapjacks. Always rock hard or falling to pieces.

Oh yes, toad in the hole is another one! I just tend to cover it in gravy now so no one notices 😆

Interesting so many people say rice, I've next really had a problem with that (except the one time I forgot about it and it massively overcooked into mush). But now I'm wondering if I've actually never got it right and eating subpar rice 🫣

Thanks I'll have a look!

Eggs are tricky sods aren't they, it seems egg related dishes are the most problematic.

I can do rice, omelette, scrambled, fried, boiled and poached eggs and Yorkshire puddings. But can I do toad in the hole. Can I hell.

See, baking I’m always forgetting I need butter, so it’s rock solid so I wang it in the microwave, but then forget and melt it all, frequently add things in the wrong order, occasionally (memorably, totally carrot free carrot cake muffins) forget whole ingredients, ruthlessly sub in for stuff I don’t have, reduce quantities (especially of sugar) and most of my cakes turn out fine!

I have over the years both developed and lost the knack for all sorts of things. I struggle a bit with omelettes and similar as I hate wet eggs, so I always over do them, but that’s how I like it soooo…..

Carbonara - can never get the sauce looking that lovely creamy colour it always seems to end up a greasy brown!

Tiramisu. Always incredibly watery despite using proper strong espresso.. Maybe it would be better with instant coffee?? I've given up though. Bit frustrating as I'm generally a very competent baker. Perhaps I should give it another go, it's been a few years!

I am hopeless at boiled potatoes (always under or overcooked) and poached eggs (can't get the white to stay neat round the yolk however fresh the eggs).

@Whyemseeaye Thanks for the tip

I’m excellent at all egg based dishes.

But macaroni cheese?? Stodgy, dry, tasteless every time no matter what recipe I use, and I’ve tried many of them.