# Amateur home chefs: what dish have you made once but will \*never\* do again? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [September 20, 2024, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-home-chefs-what-dish-have-you-made-once-but-will-never-do-again/1007532 "2024-09-20T22:00:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2024, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-home-chefs-what-dish-have-you-made-once-but-will-never-do-again/1007532/181 "2024-09-27T23:04:17Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Spaetzle is a huge pain in the ass. I bought a flat thingy with holes in it, that you set over the pot of hot water and basically smoosh the batter through, and even that didn’t help much (in hindsight, the water should not have been boiling; it basically cooked it on the flat thing). I do make it, that one day - but the next day, we have packaged egg noodle with the leftovers. Yeah, spaetzle (I made some last night along with some chicken paprikas) can get messy and require some standing over the stove time for sure. But it’s like one of four things my daughter is guaranteed to eat every time, so I make them two to three times a month. And they are so satisfying. I’ve made them so many times I don’t even need measurements (though they are pretty forgiving and after a few goes, you can learn how to do it by feel pretty easily. I do always bring the water to boiling, though.) ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2024, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-home-chefs-what-dish-have-you-made-once-but-will-never-do-again/1007532/182 "2024-09-28T00:06:25Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I do always bring the water to boiling, though.) I do as well, when I’m doing the “drop it in by the spoonful” approach. When I used the metal thing, [like this](https://www.amazon.com/KEISSCO-Stainless-Spaetzle-Traditional-Spaghetti/dp/B0D62RM24C/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?crid=3CBC2ALVM3BV0&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ZgitiDjwPAJtiu_4ydfCJQa9jchxjzv8aPsox9yU7XYpxdt5XWcQOTcu4_333EzrcrxvXoMKAe-8dE1Zh_4E7Duh4ikIJnkvmLiLiqnr9OxoF7cOBdfGh2RZle3T741v_2wN9zGHa77PgdT5STSt0ArSlVcDnMclsJA-ITmzTFYq8aDdk1LL-jqNjgC9IEmSjLB4_oQwzO9KKxn5Y0r7zGEnWt1NHu5TOzaxhtjQPUyxy9ODyXQ_G6H8fKMaJrgVaG79pNwrujyvhDt9ZSEieoqaLimsFtRoy8gnKEtD77o.p3vHb9b9J3FxDepybvLs5zGGTqlmLrS2Va7odJe8Y3U&dib_tag=se&keywords=spaetzle+maker&qid=1727481892&sprefix=spaetzle+maker%2Caps%2C120&sr=8-3-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1), with boiling water, the surface got so hot that the dough was cooking onto the surface. If I’d remembered the comments / reviews, I’d have remembered that a lot of people had similar problems and said to turn the heat down under the pot. I said “water” but I actually use chicken broth - gives it more flavor. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2024, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-home-chefs-what-dish-have-you-made-once-but-will-never-do-again/1007532/183 "2024-09-28T00:11:17Z")
Interesting. I’ve always used the spaetzle maker like you and have never had any issues. Perhaps I leave more space than you do. There’s about a good three inch clearance when I use mine (which is rectangular.) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2026, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-home-chefs-what-dish-have-you-made-once-but-will-never-do-again/1007532/184 "2026-02-24T03:55:37Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Julia Child’s Beef Bourguignon. Sooooo many unnecessary steps and used up every single pot, pan and measuring utensil in the house and it took a day and a half to make. All for some beef stew. It was pretty good beef stew but for sure not worth all that extra work. > > One example that stuck with me-- she calls for braising onions separately. . And then you add them-- to a pot of beef stew where the beef has been braised. With onions. > [@Smapti](#): > > I cook the version from Mastering the Art of French Cooking once a year around Xmastime. It really only takes about 4-5 hours from start to finish and about half of that is idle cooking time. I do skip the last step of straining and thickening the broth, and just serve it as a soup, and I chop the beef into bite-size chunks which don’t take as long to cook through. > > In my experience, the onion that goes in at the beginning pretty much disintegrates into the broth by the time it’s done cooking. The braised pearl onions add texture and variety, though I’ll admit it’s a pain trying to brown them without the layers separating. Revisiting this, because I made a batch of Julia’s bourguignon last night, but I decided to get experimental with it, and try to make it into something more like a typical American-style beef stew like my mom used to make when I was a kid. I kept the beef and bacon the same, but I doubled most of the other ingredients - twice as much beef stock and wine, twice the pearl onions and mushrooms, three times as much garlic, a full small can of tomato paste, etc. Instead of just sauteeing some carrot and onion in the bacon grease at the beginning, I added celery and pulsed it all in my food processor to make a mirepoix that I sweated in the bacon grease as if I were making bolognese. (The foreword to the edition I have comments on how it was written before food processors became commonplace, so while the recipe doesn’t refer to them she mentions that they’re quite useful and I took that as permission to incorporate one.) I made a bouquet garni with a bunch of herbs that I threw into the pot when it went in the oven, as opposed to just the bay leaf and thyme directly in the stew that she calls for, and I also added some Worcestershire sauce to pump up the umami. Instead of braising the onions separately, I sauteed them first like her recipe calls for, then added them right into the stew for the last hour it spent in the oven. I also added about a pound each of sliced carrots and celery in the last hour, along with a pound of baby yellow potatoes that I cut in half with the skins on. Overall I found it to be a _vast_ improvement. Julia’s recipe gives you a very flavorful broth, but there’s not really much in terms of solids to go with it. The added veggies make it into a proper stew that’s a lot more dense and filling. It took about 5 hours from when I started gathering up my ingredients to when it was ready to serve, and I spent about $70 on ingredients because even at the discount grocery store where I work stuff has gotten crazy expensive these days, but I now have enough stew to last all week. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-home-chefs-what-dish-have-you-made-once-but-will-never-do-again/1007532/185 "2026-02-25T05:29:30Z")
This evening, I made beef biryani with a spice mix packet. Now, I may make biryani again, but if I use a spice packet, I will only use a small amount, not the whole packet. I’m going to have to dilute the rest of it, probably with tomatoes, to make it edible by my standards. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-home-chefs-what-dish-have-you-made-once-but-will-never-do-again/1007532/186 "2026-02-25T11:17:30Z")
I’m a South Asian born American (lived 30+ years in the US). But even when I had first arrived in the US, I was using a quarter of the biryani spice packages for the quality of rice and meat called for in the recipes on the box. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-home-chefs-what-dish-have-you-made-once-but-will-never-do-again/1007532/187 "2026-02-25T13:50:30Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > This evening, I made beef biryani with a spice mix packet. Yes, one has to be careful with spice mix packets. There’s one that we use for Dansak, but it contains a whole aniseed star, which completely overpowers things. I have to carefully pick it out and just use one branch. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-home-chefs-what-dish-have-you-made-once-but-will-never-do-again/1007532/188 "2026-02-25T23:57:06Z")
I found a can of coconut milk in my cabinet. I may use that, and see what happens. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-home-chefs-what-dish-have-you-made-once-but-will-never-do-again/1007532/189 "2026-02-27T01:07:50Z")
well, you do live in “pierogi” HQ? 😄 ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-home-chefs-what-dish-have-you-made-once-but-will-never-do-again/1007532/190 "2026-02-27T01:43:41Z")
having a German mother, I miss her dumplings, which 90% of restaurants don’t do anymore. I’ve tried the so-called mix, and it’s nothing but grits. To be authentic, you need to boil potatoes, let cool a bit, then rice them, add egg and flour, then shape into balls and drop into boiling water. Heavenly ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-home-chefs-what-dish-have-you-made-once-but-will-never-do-again/1007532/191 "2026-02-27T01:49:12Z")
HE would! (would you expect otherwise?) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-home-chefs-what-dish-have-you-made-once-but-will-never-do-again/1007532/192 "2026-02-27T02:53:30Z")
The last time I made enchiladas with red sauce, I thought I’d experiment with fillings of ground beef and chorizo, both of which I like. Together, they were ghastly. Maybe something inside me has changed, but I simply could not stomach that combination and tossed out most of what I’d made. I’m eating a lot less nowadays than before, so it’s better to avoid such ambitious projects anyway. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-home-chefs-what-dish-have-you-made-once-but-will-never-do-again/1007532/193 "2026-02-27T03:53:21Z")
Chorizo can be a tricky thing. The mass-produced chorizo that I got at Hy-Vee was basically spicy grease. UGH! The chorizo that is made and sold at a local independent butcher shop is great. BTW, I just mixed that pot of fiery biryani with the can of coconut milk. It’s still flaming hot, but it’s at least edible now. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-home-chefs-what-dish-have-you-made-once-but-will-never-do-again/1007532/195 "2026-02-27T13:25:41Z")
Thanks,I know I will have to attempt them again for my significant other because any time we have German food he won’t shut up any the ones his ex Oma-in-law would make. i did try a mix from Amazon after my post here, $20 for a box and he wasn’t a fan. I did get to have some at the Hofbrauhas which he deemed acceptable but I still don’t get it. Mashed potatoes are so much easier and good. He really wants Schweinebraten roast with authentic broth-gravy served in one of those low wide bowls with those dumplings and while I consider myself a competent cook, this is a challenge for me. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-home-chefs-what-dish-have-you-made-once-but-will-never-do-again/1007532/196 "2026-02-27T15:41:17Z")
well, it’s like the difference between instant mashed potatoes and from scratch mashed potatoes; you might want to Google making potato pancakes from mashed potatoes, he might like them ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-home-chefs-what-dish-have-you-made-once-but-will-never-do-again/1007532/197 "2026-02-27T17:50:31Z")
Inspired by the Oxtail soup thread, I made some oxtail soup. It was good, but so expensive. The oxtails themselves were $15 a pound, and I used over 3 pounds. I also made some zhuzhed-up stock that took overnight to make. It made a bit more than four 32 oz containers’ worth, and was at least $80, all told. I froze one and will revisit it, but I doubt that I’ll do it again. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2026, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-home-chefs-what-dish-have-you-made-once-but-will-never-do-again/1007532/198 "2026-03-27T23:10:11Z")
Biryani update: I froze the remainder of that pot, and just got some out and ate it. This time, I diluted it further with couscous and peanut butter. Still flaming hot, but much better. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-home-chefs-what-dish-have-you-made-once-but-will-never-do-again/1007532.md?page=9)