Off the top of my head, although not a dish, but Canning things.
For years ( like 20 years) I was always hesitant, afraid, gun-shy, not confident ...to try and can things. I always thought I'd screw something up. I was afraid of the process and probably afraid of failure. I guess my biggest fear was that Id spend all summer growing things in the garden, just to lose the whole harvest do to my lack of skill and experience in canning.
What makes it so funny is that when I consider all the much more difficult, technique sensitive things Ive done in my life, whether it be in my career ( which is extremely hands on and technical9, my previous education ( organic chemistry and physics labs) and the many many things Ive done in the kitchen for the past 30 + years, I often laugh at myself that I was afraid to try this. I'm not downplaying the canning process and the importance of getting the technique correct. It is a scientific process that has to be done properly or could lead to significant consequences ( significant food waste, health issues and safety issues). But for what ever reason, I just didn't feel confident.
Finally, last year as one of my resolutions for the new year, I was going accomplish this , which I did ( successfully,I might add). I did actually go to the local farm stand and by a half bushel of their tomatoes, as. I didn't want to potentially lose a years crop of my own if I screwed something up
, but I still did it, and no longer fear the process. It is time consuming and a pain in the thing I sit on ( not the couch), and I probably won't use it as my primary mode of preserving, but will do it annually as I feel necessary.
I will post a dish that I had issues with when I think of one, but this is the first thing that came to mind. ( its 4:30am so please ignore spelling , typing and grammatical errors
)