For years I was in a bi-monthly cooking group. We usually met at a friends house and would make dinner there. One night all those terrible things your mom and your aunt Sally forced on you came up.
Number 1 was Green Bean Casserole, for the uninitiated this is 1 can green beans, 1 can Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup, topped with Durkee fried onions then baked. It is terrible, canned green beans are mushy and flavorless, cream of mushroom soup is also mushy and terrible with the added bonus of tasting like a salt lick. Durkee fried onions I will eat as a snack (I will hear no bad words about them, though they are also terrible in their own way. Don’t start). The original recipe unsurprisingly came from Campbell’s Test Kitchen as a way for working housewives to get dinner on the table with a minimum of fuss.
We talked about it (argued) and half the group thought it could be a great dish, the other half speed dialed their therapists.
The next time we met Green Bean Casserole was the main. Blanched fresh green beans were layered with crimini mushrooms simmered in cream and herbs, then topped with Asian fried shallots. It was a hit, and ended up in rotation. It is actually fantastic when made fresh.
No.2 was Fish in Aspic. No one could do anything with this, the dish just sucks.
No.3 was Fondue, which I hated as a kid then had good versions of. Porcini (Cepes) with Beaufort and sourdough, Beef loin with carmelized onions and red wine reduction, etc.
What are yours? Have you recreated any horrible dishes and made them delicious?
p.s. great aunt Beth you almost put me off Turkey for life…
ETA: I know we’re supposed to tag posts, I don’t see a way to do that in Voyager. Anyway, Discussion
For a significant portion of my childhood, any and all food my mom made was made in a slow cooker. There are many great meals you can make in a slow cooker, but there are also many things that should never be slow cooked. Just because you get results if you Google “crock pot pasta” does not mean you should ever get pasta anywhere near a crock pot.
Re: green bean casserole, that’s sounds similar to the logic around the “egg in the cake mix” thing. Basically, the minimum effort to make something “homemade”.
I have the same reaction when I see people doing instant pot pasta now. It isn’t any faster than boiling it on the stove and almost certainly will overcook.
I’ve never seen someone do pasta in an instant pot, but yeah, sounds horrible. Pasta on the stove might take 10 minutes, while an instant pot would take a few to get up to pressure, a few to cook, and a few to cool down. Best case scenario, you save yourself a minute, while completely throwing away your ability to control doneness.