How oh how can I tell Mr Inferior in a kind tactful and above all EFFECTIVE way that his culinary repetoire is deeply limited? Tell me that, eh?

[motherinferior]

I fully concede that I tend to cook the same things a lot. But DP - who only learned to cook about six years ago after taking up with me, in any case - currently cooks about two things in the week. Nigel Slater's chicken supper thing (somewhat neutered by DP's preference for skinned chicken breasts) and spaghetti bolognese which he learned from his mate Tory Ben. I have sort of tried sort of tactfully (by my standards) to ask could we not have the chicken thing every time he cooks. Hence the revisitation of Tory Ben's spag bol. Oh, and sometimes, to be fair, he does do some sort of pasta sauce variant. But it's deeply limited. Especially as DP has Prejudices against various foodstuffs including risotto. And cous-cous. And given my limitations in the areas of Tact and indeed of Relationships, please can you give me some suggestions for nudging him into a wide variety of gastronomic experimentations? Because quite seriously, it is beginning to get me down.

Oh and while you're about it how can I get him to cook more of our fresh veg delivery?

What about giving him a Gordon Ramsey cookbook?.

Who is Tory Ben when he's at home (she says with ignorance). Thought Nigel Slater was an actor!!

Salmon and chicken gravy - yetch (insert vomit icon here).

Morning paper - there's nothing wrong with frozen peas!!.

oh you're making it too easy for him

make sure there is no chicken, spaghetti, mince or pasta in the house

if you find any, or he brings any, quickly make it into something else

keep it like that for weeks

Doesn't he fancy Nigella, then?
She has that whole sex and food thing going on, doesn't she? Might be the inspiration needed.

Unless, he's more a Delia man, in which case, it's a lost cause.

Next time he's cooking, just say "oh for God's sake, not that again!!! I'd rather eat my own shoes just for a bit of variety." He'll thank you in the end.

I think she was looking for tact and sensitivity there, HappyDaddy.

Oh, is that my taxi?

I have been married to my DH for 8 years. In that time, apart from supermarket quiche, oven chips and beans (which I don't count) and Asda curry meal deal (which I also don't count DH has cooked for me once. I was supposed to be cooking but got called into work. I quickly wrote out precise instructions to make chilli and rice. I got home to find a great chilli but an awful smell of burnt plastic (not good in open plan house) and no rice. He had put the rice in the microwave with no water for 20 minutes. So personally I would be tucking into Tory Ben's spag bol with gusto.

And I know that is not helpful. But I think you've had some great suggestions on here so don't really need me to be helpful. I am firmly in the DH clears up camp, mind you. And also in the teach-DS-and-DD-to-cook-so-they-are-not-useless-adults camp.

My dh has been very taken with Nigel Slater, and has produced a few new dishes all by himself...
It all started after a particularly tasty sausage and potato pie with onion gravy. I think he was just astonished that shop bought pastry was so easy to use. He is inordinately proud of himself, virtually beats his chest in a "I man, I made pie" manner. Do you think your dh could feel the same, give the right encouragement?

You're very lucky that he cooks TWICE a week .
I bought DH the Gary Rhodes Fast Food cookbook a few years ago and made him keep it in the car so he could shop on the way home.
He loved the quick recipes (all under 1/2 hour) and 1 recipe per page with a lovely photo.
It made a difference for a few months.
Now I'm a SAHM and he works 60-80 hours a week hence I do (almost) all the cooking. He does doa mean BBQ though

MI, just saw this. Now you are not to moan.
I would be glad of beans on toast if I didn't have to cook it.

But I can see that's not much help....

A colleague of mine is cooking his way steadily through some fancy cookbook but he is an annally retentive list-maker type which I'm sure yr DP is not.
lol at Nigel Sl being manly and at Jeremy Clarkson writing a cook book!
lionheart I used to have a boss who fancied Delia and Nigella. WTF??

OK I'm no help at all am I? I think the Jamie Oliver cook book is a good idea. or find an obscure veg in yr organic box and challenge him to use it next time?

I like the something new every fortnight idea - dp and I tried that a couple of years ago and it lasted for about 3 months, but we got a fair few new meals from it (which we're still making...).

surely this review of that Jamie book on amazon ticks all boxes (I mean, I know he is 15, but thats a good place to start, hein?)

"This book is excellent. The book shows all the basics! The recipies are simple to make and very tasty. The book is very colourful and well set out. Im 15 and I want to be a chef this book is so helpful because the recipies are not to extravagant. "

Attila: frozen peas are GREAT! But seems a shame to let the whole organic veg box go straight into the compost, no?

How is he with gadgets? Could you buy him some salmon fillets and say 'oh Inf could you just bung those in at full power for 3 minutes ' and when he finds he's created a meal in this fashion might he be inspired?

As an unconfident and lazy cook I really like recipes on the back of food packets, as they are a) immediately available and b) always extremely modest in their requirements, number of ingredients etc. i'd recommend exploring those, or asking him to 'because there's no time for anything else'.

My husbands have variously liked making and eating Greek salad and Salade Nicoise. I think they saw/see these foods as international man of mystery type foods.

If you want a macho cookbook, how about The Hairy Bikers' Cookbook ? Mind you, not sure what the recipes are like. Can you get the Inferiorettes involved, and prime them to ask him to cook something else?

If you DO buy him salmon fillets, make sure you hide the Chicken Bisho Granules, just in case he mistakes them for a Delicious Accompaniment

Can you get him to do Tory Bens Bolognaise and then teach him to layer it into a dish with lasagne sheets n cheese sauce, voila another dish!

I'm glad someone uses the recipes on the back of packets, my friend writes them. For Waitrose own-brand stuff.

Woh edam! now THAT is a claim to fame

i always find them reliable and foolproof (sainsburgs tho)

my friend said to tory ben
i cannot eat your spag again
my friend said to tory paul
i do not think you cook at all
my friend said to tory tone
when you cook you eat alone
my friend said to tory bob
i'd really like to eat your stew

MI, this thread reads fantastically as a metaphor for Bedroom Issues

Actually, I think some of these suggestions are too cheffy for the uninitiated. You want something straightforwad, which is why Delia is so good, but admittedly not very manly. But the summer and winter collections ones are great.

Two ideas. We always, always eat with the DCs on a Sunday - same food, same time etc, so we concentrate on cooking something everyone will eat - not dumbing down ours or doing "nursery food" for them for us to eat as well. DCs also contribute to this and the deal is they have to approach it with an open mind. Could you suggest that he contributes ideas for something like that - its more of a positive suggestion - lets cook some different things that we will all like especially as the Inferiorettes' palates are changing etc etc. The Jeanette Orrery "School Dinners" book is very good for this.

Or alternatively sometimes DH and I both agree that we will try something new every week (ie one of us each week). That way you can always cook something brilliant yourself which he can then use.

I'm always a bit nervous about suggesting "something new" each week in case I get More Than I Bargained For.....

Arf at this thread - Chicken gravy with salmon, yummy. Although, dh and I went through a financially v lean period which involved some interesting cooking (a lot of onions and oatmeal), and dh invented a dish using tuna and leftover bacon which we christened "Pig of the Sea". It was surprisingly edible.

I'd def go with the "make it a challenge" thing. I've been doing this myself as I'd got into a bit of a rut with cooking and finally got around to trying some of the recipes I've been tearing out of Good Housekeeping, trying to do one new one a week. Actually, there's a Good Housekeeping cookbook - 1001 recipes, and it's really great, lots of things that are impressive and tasty but more of an assembly job than full on cooking so dp would get more applause for less worry and effort.

Trying to be fair to him , does he ever moan about your cooking?
Does he like cooking ? because making something out of a cookery book is quite arduous compared to a no-recipe dinner like bangers and mash , or egg and chips. Would he be more inclined if he could do quick , blokey food?

I would have eaten the salmon and gravy. I once had to eat a braised banana wrapped in ham and covered in mustard sauce.
But I have got an iron belly

What about doing a joint effort?

Say you will cook together one night a week, two courses - starter and main one week and main and pud the next.

Each of you cooks a course (or could take it week about) and the challenge is that it has to be something neither of you have cooked before - and use at least 2 different veggies.

That way it isn't personal - you can loudly announce that our meal repetoire is getting a bit boring so we're going to do this to liven it up - without it being his fault!