# Dishes you like but are too much of a pain in the ass to cook. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 30, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-you-like-but-are-too-much-of-a-pain-in-the-ass-to-cook/736202 "2015-10-30T20:37:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-you-like-but-are-too-much-of-a-pain-in-the-ass-to-cook/736202/121 "2015-11-03T05:23:47Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’ve made pumpkin pie several times from scratch (due to being in places where canned pumpkin was not available) and I honestly couldn’t tell the difference between it and the stuff made from canned pumpkin. (I’d disagree about the cranberry sauce, but that’s pretty easy to make and hardly any effort, assuming you just mean the chunky stuff with the berries in it and not the jelly.) chunky stuff. The sauce I made was slightly better than Ocean Spray, which is surprisingly better than store brand. It wasn’t nearly enough better to be worth the effort. Which included cleaning cranberry spatter off the back-splash. > [@WhyNot](#): > > Thai food, Indian food, (and nthing) Chinese food. So many herbs and spices. So much work. And still not as good as from the restaurant. (Probably Ethiopian food as well, but I’ve never even bothered trying to make that.) Disagree. The Indian food we make is better than what’s available at any nearby restaurant, and the Chinese is as good the best restaurants, and neither is all that much work. We don’t make Indian breads, those, we can buy better. Same with samosas and tandoori. The biriyani is a full day project, but the fried chickpeas, twice-cooked potatoes, lentils, barbeque lamb, cauliflower stew, and several other dishes have become some of our staples. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-you-like-but-are-too-much-of-a-pain-in-the-ass-to-cook/736202/122 "2015-11-03T06:07:13Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Beef Wellington: a LOT of work, and if not done right, ruins the meat. Ack, that’s what I meant, not Chateaubriand. I get the names mixed up. Not the food. I agree; a lot of work and ruined if not done properly. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-you-like-but-are-too-much-of-a-pain-in-the-ass-to-cook/736202/123 "2015-11-04T01:52:42Z")
Toast. I hate it that it is impossible to buy a toaster that makes toast quickly and dependably. Our new one takes 3 goes to brown a slice when it’s set on high. No idea how many it takes on low, because I gotta go to work sometime. ---
**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:** [November 4, 2015, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-you-like-but-are-too-much-of-a-pain-in-the-ass-to-cook/736202/124 "2015-11-04T03:06:40Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > Toast. I hate it that it is impossible to buy a toaster that makes toast quickly and dependably. Our new one takes 3 goes to brown a slice when it’s set on high. No idea how many it takes on low, because I gotta go to work sometime. I don’t understand. All the toasters I’ve had browned consistently, usually at a somewhere between a 4-5 setting on a 10 scale, for fluffy white bread, and maybe 6-7 setting for Polish rye bread. Once you find the setting that works for the bread you are using, it should be consistent. I’ve never had it require more than one go, and it’s not like I have a fancy toaster–just a regular $25-$30 Oster. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-you-like-but-are-too-much-of-a-pain-in-the-ass-to-cook/736202/125 "2015-11-04T03:18:54Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I don’t understand. All the toasters I’ve had browned consistently, usually at a somewhere between a 4-5 setting on a 10 scale, for fluffy white bread, and maybe 6-7 setting for Polish rye bread. Once you find the setting that works for the bread you are using, it should be consistent. I’ve never had it require more than one go, and it’s not like I have a fancy toaster–just a regular $25-$30 Oster. I understand. My current toaster goes from light brown to burny brown in one sixteenth of an inch. I’ve yet to find a toaster with a control mechanism that isn’t a total PITA. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-you-like-but-are-too-much-of-a-pain-in-the-ass-to-cook/736202/126 "2015-11-04T19:13:19Z")
French onion soup. I am supposed to brown the onions for 25-30 minutes, and I can’t just stand there stirring for that long. Likewise for polenta, although the end result is not all that awesome, so that probably doesn’t count. Oddly, I enjoy cooking Thanksgiving, even though the process of deboning and butterflying the turkey takes a while. As does making the stock, the stuffing, the rolls, and all the rest of it. Regards, Shodan ---
**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:** [November 4, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-you-like-but-are-too-much-of-a-pain-in-the-ass-to-cook/736202/127 "2015-11-04T19:16:36Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > French onion soup. I am supposed to brown the onions for 25-30 minutes There are methods that help with this. One is just to do it in the oven, and that takes hours, but little to no attention is required. Mine is to use extremely high heat, and that takes about 15 minutes of attention. This [highly snarky tutorial](http://stellaculinary.com/category/site-categories/ingredients/onions/caramelized-onions) is the method I use. ---
**Author:** ![Lowdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Lowdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lowdown)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-you-like-but-are-too-much-of-a-pain-in-the-ass-to-cook/736202/128 "2015-11-04T20:03:05Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Just realized a twist on the gripes here. What you make takes forever and isn’t even as good (or at least isn’t much better) as what you can just buy. Thats bad enough. > > But when it cost even MORE to make than to buy. > > Talk about adding insult to injury! Several months ago a new grocery store opened up in my area that is much better than what we had. The bakery there sells cheesecakes that are pretty good, and less expensive than what I’d spend on ingredients to make one. When I first saw the price I thought, “That can’t be right.” ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-you-like-but-are-too-much-of-a-pain-in-the-ass-to-cook/736202/129 "2015-11-04T20:26:45Z")
I’m on call seven days a week six months out of the year, which means I really can’t go anywhere on the weekend. My hubby and I would take one of those weekends to make an international meal from scratch. We did Chinese, buying the wonton wrappers and making shrimp-filled wontons and I made sesame beef and wonton soup in the wok. One weekend we did Mexican, with chicken cheese enchiladas and tres leche cake which was so good I made it for my Christmas dessert (the cake, not the enchiladas.) Italian was chicken parmesan with tiramisu, and damn, did the tiramisu come out perfect. Chicken parmesan was tasty too. It’s fun to do every once in awhile, but it is labor intensive. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-you-like-but-are-too-much-of-a-pain-in-the-ass-to-cook/736202/130 "2015-11-05T00:35:44Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > There are methods that help with this. One is just to do it in the oven, and that takes hours, but little to no attention is required. Mine is to use extremely high heat, and that takes about 15 minutes of attention. This [highly snarky tutorial](http://stellaculinary.com/category/site-categories/ingredients/onions/caramelized-onions) is the method I use. Another way is to cook on low heat on the stove. It takes a long time, but you don’t have to pay much attention. Just give them a stir from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-you-like-but-are-too-much-of-a-pain-in-the-ass-to-cook/736202/131 "2015-11-05T01:08:31Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > I’ve remembered another dish from my youth. Deviled Crabs. You could buy them everywhere when I was growing up in Florida, but they don’t have them in California. Ooooo, I’ve had those, sold by a vendor on the beach at Daufuskie Island, off the coast of South Carolina. You know, I can get picked crab at my local fish store, and I’ll bet you can, too. Why not just make deviled crab in a baking dish? There’s no real reason you need to stuff it back into the empty crab shells. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-you-like-but-are-too-much-of-a-pain-in-the-ass-to-cook/736202/132 "2015-11-05T11:24:00Z")
The type I’m talking about aren’t stuffed in the shell. The crab is mixed with a bunch of other ingredients and then formed into sort of a fat cigar shape and deep fried. Vendors would sell them piping hot from their carts. I particularly remember them in the parking lot at the grocery store, which was why I always wanted to help mom with the shopping. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-you-like-but-are-too-much-of-a-pain-in-the-ass-to-cook/736202/133 "2015-11-05T11:39:47Z")
Eggs benedict. Because hollandaise. (And doubly so if you go all out and make the muffins, too) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishes-you-like-but-are-too-much-of-a-pain-in-the-ass-to-cook/736202.md?page=6)