Friday OT #2 - Avoid the Masses

My SIL is always on some new flavor-of-the-month diet and will cook some crazy **** that takes a traditional side dish and replaces the most important ingredients. Like mashed potatoes, but the instead of potatoes it's like mashed up cauliflower or some ****.
 
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Probably an unpopular opinion: pumpkin pie is absolutely disgusting.
Also - we’ve replaced turkey on thanksgiving with fried chicken. We’ve never looked back.

I don't mind turkey. Other than buying deli meat, we never make turkey except on Thanksgiving.

However, I think your on to something with the bolded.
 
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Pumpkin chiffon pie > pumpkin pie
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Marshmallow jello fluff. It is usually a pale green color, and the combination of textures and flavor have never clicked for me. But at basically every family gathering, someone brings it.
My family used to make something similar. I think one year I got food poisoning and now whenever I see the stuff I want to gag.
 
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Couldn't really come up with anything I hated or was awful. I don't exactly come from a family known for culinary arts, mostly midwest small town worker fare, basic feed but nothing awful. Did make me think of my mothers basic pea salad. I bet I haven't had that in decades and sorta want to make some for nostalgia sake even though it's not something I think I've ever craved or missed until this thread.

Hell, I'd probably even eat that green bean stuff baked with Campbells mushroom soup and topped with those dried/fried onion things. I would NEVER make that for myself or to serve anyone but I can still eat a spoonful or two of it if I scoop around those onions.
 
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Ma boy @JM4CY sent me this idea this week! I'm going to paste his exact description, because it's better than any phrasing I can do:

With the holidays vastly approaching and with covid potentially preventing us from seeing certain relatives, What is one food that you are glad you don’t have to pretend to like this year? Or asked another and more simple way, what is one food you have had to endure through the years that’s brought to family functions by a relative who can’t cook worth a damn?

I'm going to have him share his example, because it's really good, so I'll share mine. I love my mom more than any woman who isn't my own child, but she will be the first to admit she's not a good cook. When I was little, she was more in-practice as she had to feed us, and she used to make some scalloped corn that I loved. The only problem is that it could sometimes be undercooked, and the middle would be really soupy and inedible. As she's gotten more rusty, it's skewed toward the soup more often. But she's SO sweet, she'll make me an entire pan for myself because I love it when it's cooked all of the way, and I don't want to ever hurt her feelings.

What are yours?

Green bean casserole. Yuck. Talk about your soupy mess.
 
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Does anyone have a family member like by uncle?

At these holoday meals with insane amounts of food he just piles his plate full, and when he runs out of space he piles food on top of the food on his plate. Usually ending with the puddings and jellos sitting on top of all the hot food. Then inhales all of it with impressive speed.

I am not one that gets too concerned with foods mixing on my plate, but he takes it to a new level.
 
Hell, I'd probably even eat that green bean stuff baked with Campbells mushroom soap and topped with those dried/fried onion things. I would NEVER make that for myself or to serve anyone but I can still eat a spoonful or two of it if I scoop around those onions.
If it doesn't taste very good, I think I've divined your problem.

;)
 
My wife's family does just a plain turkey, very mildly seasoned, roasted in a roaster. I'm not sure there is anything worse than a dry, under-seasoned piece of turkey breast. There's not enough gravy in the World to save it.
I was never very fond of turkey. I would eat it but like you said its often dry and bland.

The first year my dad tried cooking the bird on his Big Green Egg was to this day the best turkey I have ever had. I have had it from the egg again and while still good, that first time when I was expecting flavorless dry turkey and was met with juicy deliciousness was unbelievable. It even resulted in my cousin going to the hardware store the next week and buying an egg for himself.
 
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For some reason, my grandparents always get godfather's pizza on Christmas eve, and it is awful.
 
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Being that I am in Illinois and most of my family is in Iowa, the "family" holiday will probably be non-existent this year. Especially since my in-laws, who live here are both in their mid 80s and rely on us to do so many things for them. I'd be nervous of spending any amount of time with my large family in Iowa and then being around my in-laws.

That being said, I've never been a friend of traditional holiday food. My Grandmother's were both amazing cooks, but when it came to holidays, everything was always bland and the turkey was always overcooked. I've become a pretty good home cook over the years and have offered many times to do the main dishes, but the elders in the family have not been willing to give up their duties. I think a lot of that is them wanting to be able to complain about having to cook every year.

Even the mashed potatoes, which is one of my favorite foods, were always bland and tasted more like boiled potatoes than what I consider mashed potatoes. I usually look forward to the holidays as it means a couple of days I won't be leaving the table over full.

My in-laws are the exact opposite though. They always ask me to do the cooking. It's better with them as well, because we don't need a large turkey. I usually do a turkey breast on the smoker and a beef tenderloin roast. And I am able to make mashed potatoes like I prefer, more of a potato soufflé than smashed up boiled potatoes.

And as others have mentioned, my most hated is always the marshmallow jello fluff stuff that always makes it's way to the table. Same with green bean casserole. Why not just get some fresh green beans, blanch, then sautee with some garlic, minced onion and almond slices?
 
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What is with all of the hate for the Green Bean Casserole?!?! Try these tweaks and it will be much more enjoyable! 1) Instead of using the plain "cut" green beans use the french cut ones instead (the plain "cut" ones are not that great 2) Use cream of celery soup instead of the cream of mushroom soup- i find the mushroom soup way too blah 3) lots of french fried onions on the top- you can never have too many!
 
My family used to make something similar. I think one year I got food poisoning and now whenever I see the stuff I want to gag.

@Mr Janny is an incredible cook, and I am lucky he can pick up the slack because I'm a terrible cook. Every Christmas, he would always ask the kids and I what dessert we wanted. The kids and I voted that Jello pretzel cream cheese thing several years in a row, because it's really good... until two Christmases ago, when we all got norovirus TERRIBLY right after eating the Jello pretzel salad. It's been a pretty hard sell to bring it back.
 
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