What is your deal breaker, recipe wise?

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that's why we are picky about where we eat out, too. i hate chain places like the olive garden, where i've seen the big bladder of sauces that were produced in some central factory for distribution to their restaurants. their excuse is that it provides for uniform quality, but in the end it's no different than using canned soup.

View attachment 12579That is why I dislike Olive Garden. I would rather cook myself. Better and Cheaper, but the damm dishes!!:LOL:
 
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that's why we are picky about where we eat out, too. i hate chain places like the olive garden, where i've seen the big bladder of sauces that were produced in some central factory for distribution to their restaurants. their excuse is that it provides for uniform quality, but in the end it's no different than using canned soup.

I have been in mom and pop pizza shops where their sauce came from a one gallon can and their shells were delivered fresh in the morning, so it isn't just limited to chains. Of course, no one talks about Erie County's pizzas like they do New York City's :LOL:
 
what a great idea for a thread you came up with in "deal breakers", addie!! i have been following it with much interest. it even seems there may be some addie spin-offs--threads with related topics to this one. i would like to add another possible thread subject: what is one dish that you make DESPITE the long list of ingredients, the many steps, the pots and pans? do you have a dish you like so much that you are willing to make an exception to your deal breaker rule? one of mine is paella. paella is a dream dish that is in a class all its own. it rewards me richly every time i attempt it, and the combination of flavors is simply and utterly divine!! for paella the rules just don't apply--not in my book anyhow....:)
 
I have just recently picked up my knives again after a several year sabatical, due mainly to the "hubby whines too much" factor:mad:. So I have yet to exaust my memory bank of recipes. Pots, pans and steps don't bother me too much, nor do I need a picture of a finished dish. When I get back to cookbooks and other sources, my deal breakers are.

Olives.
Anchovies
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Imitation Crab

I am fortunate to live in a fairly diverse ethnical area and most ingredients are just a short 20 min drive away, with a really good meat market and farmstand in between here and there. I am also teaching my 12 yr. old daughter to cook, so steps that she can help with are a plus for me.:chef:
 
My deal breaker tends to be if I am going to spend a lot of money on that one esoteric ingredient that I have no use for afterwards, of if I have to go through some arcane ritual just to prepare it.

I also stop when I am looking for something "scratch" and the main ingredient is canned. For instance, I was looking for some ideas on scratch tomato sauces, to better understand the process from starting with a tomato, and 80% started with 1 28oz can tomatoes. Gah.
 
My deal breaker tends to be if I am going to spend a lot of money on that one esoteric ingredient that I have no use for afterwards, of if I have to go through some arcane ritual just to prepare it.

I also stop when I am looking for something "scratch" and the main ingredient is canned. For instance, I was looking for some ideas on scratch tomato sauces, to better understand the process from starting with a tomato, and 80% started with 1 28oz can tomatoes. Gah.

A good time to refer to Andy M's signature ;)
I think most people refer to making a sauce from scratch as to not opening a can of Prego and adding stuff to it. Cans of tomatoes are acceptable.
And there's also the, "You need to buy your tomatoes and make your own sauce" crowd.
And then there is, "How can you buy those grocery store tomatoes? You should grow your own. It's easy." There is those purists.
And then there is Carl Sagan. :LOL:
 
Oh no I get it, and I use the canned crushed tomatoes for my sauce usually.

BUT.. Kathleen had started her garden and we had designs on turning tomatoes into a nice sauce. That recipe does not start with opening a can of tomatoes. :LOL:
 
Then that is as scratch as it gets. Just don't be adding any jarred garlic to it :ROFLMAO:
 
Dawgluver - YAY! Glad to know I'm not alone in my "swill" habits. Its not that I can't or don't make gourmet meals, its just not the only thing I do. I have kids and a husband to please after all.

(One of their favorite meals is chicken thighs that are cooked in a mixture of ketchup, brown sugar and salsa. Sweet and tangy chicken...they LOVE it)

One of the favorite dishes in my circle of friends is Funeral Chicken. A bottle of Thousand Island salad dressing, one can of cranberry jelly sauce and chicken thighs. Mix dressing and cranberry sauce together, smear on chicken, let marinate and then bake. The most ghastly looking dish you ever saw, yet delicious. I have to turn it down. I am diabetic and the jelly sauce has too much sugar in it. And then when I look at the ingredients in the bottle dressing? UGH!!!!

The name came about becuse it is simple to make and to take to a home for an after services luncheon. I would have thought it came about because the poor chicken had to die before she would let herself be seen with that goo all over her.
 
Oh no I get it, and I use the canned crushed tomatoes for my sauce usually.

BUT.. Kathleen had started her garden and we had designs on turning tomatoes into a nice sauce. That recipe does not start with opening a can of tomatoes. :LOL:

Even the pros say that canned tomatoes are better than flavorless greenhouse tomatoes in the winter. And I have to agree with them. Then the price of buying "on the vine" leaves my pocketbook empty. They still haven't found a way to freeze those delicious red orbs in order to capture the immediate fresh essence of the glorious tomato. Once the tomato is cooked, you can freeze it. I wonder if I opened a large can of tomatoes, simmered them for about ten minutes and then placed in a freezer friendly bags, would that do the trick of maintaining their freshness and getting rid of the can. Although I have done canning, mostly jams and jellies, I am very hesitant about canning tomatoes. Botulism is not my favorite food. I would prefer my 'canned' tomatoes be in a glass jar. (No, not Prego.) But they only come in cans. And for added ingredients all I want to read is "basil and salt." Anything else, I will add myself.
 
I wont make anything that has goat cheese in it. Tastes like the goat smells if you ask me :rolleyes:
 
JoshuaNY said:
I wont make anything that has goat cheese in it. Tastes like the goat smells if you ask me :rolleyes:

You know, Joshua, you make sense. I've tried really hard to like goat cheese, but it always had that, je ne sais quois, (pardon my bad French) goatlike taste!
 
I wont make anything that has goat cheese in it. Tastes like the goat smells if you ask me :rolleyes:

That taste comes from billy goat.

I know folks who raise goats and make goat cheese and they won't own a billy goat, just so the milk won't get that special taint.
 
That taste comes from billy goat.

I know folks who raise goats and make goat cheese and they won't own a billy goat, just so the milk won't get that special taint.

I am lost on this one. It sounds like you are saying that Billy Goats give milk.

I am under the impression that female goats, like heifers, (or any female animale) cannot come into giving milk until they have been bred. And they can't be bred without a male in the picture. Am I wrong on this?
 
I am lost on this one. It sounds like you are saying that Billy Goats give milk.

I am under the impression that female goats, like heifers, (or any female animale) cannot come into giving milk until they have been bred. And they can't be bred without a male in the picture. Am I wrong on this?

:LOL:

No, Billy goats don't give milk. But, Billy goats have so much pungent odour, that it can taint the milk if they get near the nannies.

You are right that the nanny goats need to get pregnant regularly to continue giving milk, and yes, it takes a Billy goat to do that. I had to ask about this too. They just get stud service from another goat farm, instead having one of the stinkers around all year.
 
:LOL:

No, Billy goats don't give milk. But, Billy goats have so much pungent odour, that it can taint the milk if they get near the nannies.

You are right that the nanny goats need to get pregnant regularly to continue giving milk, and yes, it takes a Billy goat to do that. I had to ask about this too. They just get stud service from another goat farm, instead having one of the stinkers around all year.

I used to work with 4H kids and their animals. When they would bring their animals to the fair, very few males were allowed. Just too ornery and mean. The males had to be of championship blood line. And that included roosters, bunnies, pigs, horses, etc. The reason for the championship line is that the kids would sell them during the fair for stud services to farmers that needed a good stud line. I never met a male animal that didn't stink. They all have that musk sac. :pig:
 
Proof that you learn something new every day. I've never had goat cheese, and I won't bother now.
 
you really should try it zhi. how would you know if you don't like it if you don't give it a shot?


and lol, the reason males get mean is that they're not around females very often, so when they see one their breeding instincts take over.

conversely, if you spend a lot of time around females, you realize that god created sports for a reason... :cool:
 
I wont make anything that has goat cheese in it. Tastes like the goat smells if you ask me :rolleyes:
A friend of mine says the same thing. I love goat cheeses, but CANNOT stand goat milk. However, I am considering getting a dairy goat next spring. I too have been told if you don't have a billy, the milk doesn't have that strong taste/smell. And, a nanny is a lot easier to milk than a cow is. Sheep are very hard to milk, IMO. Been there, done that. But I did find the nanny (goat) easier to milk by hand my friends had. Been there, and done that too. Figure I can make cheese and give any excess goat milk to the hens.
 
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